Written by Constance Lewis, Children's Book Author, Fertility Coach Constance Lewis is a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, Certified Fertility & Postpartum Coach, Pediatric Sleep Consultant, and children’s book author. Her passion is educating, supporting, and empowering women and families from fertility to parenthood. She provides holistic care, emotional support, and personalized coaching. Trying to conceive can start out hopeful and quickly become exhausting, especially when you’ve done “everything right” and you’re still seeing negative tests month after month. This article offers a gentler, whole-person approach to fertility support, one that honors the body and the emotional, nervous system, and spiritual layers that can quietly influence conception. You’ll be guided through a practical four-pillar method, with simple shifts you can begin today to help your system move out of stress and into safety, balance, and receptivity, while still leaving room for medical care when needed. When hope starts to feel heavy You started with the “right” things – prenatals, cleaner food, less alcohol and caffeine, ovulation apps, timed intercourse. Then one month became three, then six, and you are googling at midnight, “Why am I not pregnant yet?” If that’s you, I know how heavy this can feel. You are not broken, and I don’t believe in “unexplained infertility.” My own journey included losses and eventually IVF, and it reshaped how I see fertility. Conception isn’t only physical. It’s also emotional, neurological, energetic, and spiritual. When we support all four, the body often softens, shifts out of defense, and makes room for life. What “natural fertility” support really means Natural support does not mean “just relax” or ignore the value of supportive medical care. Rather, natural fertility support is about creating the inner conditions that allow conception to happen more easily, physically, emotionally, and energetically. While 1 in 6 adults worldwide experience infertility, many women begin by focusing only on the physical basics, such as supplements, diets, timing, exercise, and reducing toxins. These are important foundations, but they are only one part of the picture. Taking a whole-person approach allows for further investigation into your body’s unwillingness to conceive and possible blocks. Why the basics sometimes aren’t enough If your nervous system is stuck in chronic “threat mode,” your body may prioritize survival over reproduction. Studies have linked higher stress biomarkers with longer time to pregnancy, and elevated cortisol is more common in women who take longer to conceive. Your reproductive system responds to your sleep, emotional load, sense of safety, beliefs, joy, and support. Many of my clients have reported more regular cycles, reduced stress, deeper body trust, improved hormone balance, and yes, natural pregnancies within three to six months of embracing my four pillar method. These transformations happen not through force, but through reconnection, compassion, and consistency. Breakdown of my four pillar method you can start today 1. Mind: Calm the mind to support hormone regulation Why it matters: Chronic stress affects sleep, food choices, thyroid function, intimacy, and hormone signaling. As your mind begins to calm and regulate, your body follows. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s safety. Try this: Manifestation with safety: Manifestation isn’t magical thinking. It’s belief paired with nervous system safety, gentle focus, and supportive habits. 2-minute safety ritual: Place your right hand on your womb and your left hand on your heart. Breathe slowly and say, “I am safe in my body. My body can hold life. I am calm.” Journaling: Write down exactly what you are asking for in your pregnancy and what you wish for your future baby. Let it be specific, emotional, and honest. Thought reframe: Shift “What if it never happens?” to “My body is learning and healing, and I’m supported.” Bonus prompt: “What emotion is living in my body today? What does it need to feel safe?” Affirmations: Use positive statements that retrain your mind. They are not about pretending everything is perfect. They help your body feel calm and open. Print your affirmation list and place it on your bathroom mirror. Say them out loud every morning and night. Affirmation list here . Go deeper on Brainz: How to regulate your nervous system to enhance fertility, Brainz Magazine . 2. Body: Nourish the body to support ovulation and hormone health Why it matters: Nourishing your body is one of the most powerful acts of fertility care you can give yourself. Research shows that balanced nutrition, quality sleep, and gentle movement help regulate hormones, support ovulation, and promote overall reproductive health. Meanwhile, high stress, poor diet, smoking, or excess alcohol can create inflammation and disrupt the delicate communication between your brain, thyroid, and ovaries. Try this: Balanced plate: Aim for 20 to 30 grams of protein at each meal, paired with colorful fiber, antioxidant rich berries, and healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, or nuts. These nutrients help stabilize blood sugar and provide the building blocks for healthy hormones and egg quality. Remove xenoestrogens: Xenoestrogens are synthetic chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body and can interfere with hormone balance. They’re often found in plastics, conventional cleaning products, fragrances, and personal care items. Start small by swapping plastic food containers for glass, choosing natural beauty or cleaning products, and avoiding heating food in plastic. Tip: Use the Yuka app for home, cleaning, and personal products. Sleep as hormone hygiene: Think of sleep as your nightly hormone reset. Aim for seven to nine hours of quality rest each night, and create a consistent bedtime routine that signals your body it’s time to wind down. Quality sleep supports melatonin production, which not only regulates circadian rhythm but also protects egg health and reduces stress hormones that interfere with fertility. Gut health testing: Complete an over the counter gut health or sensitivity test. Gut testing doesn’t replace fertility labs. It strengthens your whole body foundation and allows you to take targeted action instead of guessing or trying random supplements and foods. Brainz reads to reference: Lifestyle choices and fertility; Beyond ovulation: What your cycle is trying to tell you, Brainz Magazine . 3. Soul: Heal to restore emotional safety and joy Why it matters: Past experiences of loss, fear, or trauma, including miscarriages, health challenges, or difficult fertility journeys, can leave emotional imprints that live quietly in the body. When these memories stay unprocessed, the nervous system can remain on high alert, replaying old stress patterns even when you are safe in the present. Try this: Ten to fifteen minutes of inward listening: Write without judgment using these prompts, “What still feels heavy in my body?”, “What does my womb need to feel safe again?”, “What am I ready to forgive or release?” Once you are finished writing, place one hand on your heart and one on your womb and repeat, “I release what I no longer need. My body is safe. My heart is ready.” Each time you pause to connect, you teach your body that it’s safe to let go and open again. Related Brainz feature: I feel safe, seen, and understood: How emotional safety shapes love, the body, and even fertility, Brainz Magazine . 4. Spirit: Strengthen trust and welcome your baby’s timing Why it matters: However you define it, faith, intuition, future self, or “spirit baby,” this pillar helps you soften from control into receiving. The term spirit baby refers to the soul of a baby that has not yet arrived, an energy or presence that many people sense even before conception, pregnancy, or birth. Believe what feels true for you, and let the rest fall away. Spirit baby connection is not about forcing answers, but about remembering that life, in all its forms, often speaks gently. When you stay open, hopeful, and grounded, you may begin to notice reminders of that connection around you, daily signs that your baby’s energy is closer than you think. Try this: Gentle invitation: “When you’re ready, we are ready to receive you.” This moment of surrender invites your body, mind, and spirit into alignment. Asking for specific signs: Invite symbols or signs that bring comfort, such as a butterfly, feather, song, or special colour. This isn’t about searching or forcing meaning. It’s about inviting presence and comfort. Spirit connection work is less about “manifesting a baby” and more about deepening emotional readiness and trust in your body’s timing. It’s an invitation to move from fear into softness, from control into openness. Through this gentle shift, you create energetic space for new life, not by striving or pushing, but by allowing, receiving, and believing that your body and baby will meet when the time is right. When to seek medical evaluation (and why it can coexist with holistic care) Most guidelines recommend evaluation after 12 months if you are under 35, after 6 months if you are 35 or older, and sooner with irregular cycles, known conditions, or recurrent loss. Choose a provider who listens and investigates root factors. There is no such thing as “unexplained infertility.” There is always an explanation. It’s simply a matter of finding it. Sometimes it’s physical, sometimes it’s emotional, energetic, or spiritual. Every woman’s body carries wisdom and communication. When we take the time to listen to those messages rather than silence them, healing and conception often follow. Holistic and medical care can, and should, complement one another. The most effective path is one that honours both, for balance, safety, and connection to your body’s natural rhythm. Conclusion Trying to conceive is not just a physical experience. It can transform your identity, your relationship with your body, your emotions, and your beliefs about yourself and life. It can even change the relationship you have with your partner. If conceiving hasn’t happened yet, it does not mean you are broken or behind. It means your body is communicating, protecting, and inviting deeper support. Trust that your body will tell you what it needs to improve your natural fertility. When you honour your nervous system, nourish your hormones, tend to your emotional landscape, and create space for hope and possibility, you shift from fear into readiness, from pressure into peace, and from waiting into welcoming. Want more support? Download my free Find Your Fertility Blocks Workbook and schedule a complimentary Fertility Evaluation Call so we can explore what may be holding your body back and create a personal plan for your natural conception journey, with compassion, clarity, and confidence. Follow me on Instagram , and visit my website for more information! Read more from Constance Lewis Constance Lewis, Children's Book Author, Fertility Coach Constance Lewis is a leader in women’s health, fertility, and children's emotional wellness. After a six-year infertility journey marked by miscarriages and IVF, she developed a holistic method to help women heal their bodies, regulate their hormones, and restore self-trust. She is the founder of the Empowered Women’s Health & Fertility Coaching programs and a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant. Constance is also the co-author of Miles and the Colorful Capes of Feelings, inspired by her son’s seizure disorder and brain surgery at age six. Her mission: to empower women and families to heal, connect, and thrive—from fertility to parenthood and beyond.

Written by Donna Kirsten Reynolds, Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist Donna Reynolds empowers clients to build confidence, understanding it as the foundation for achieving personal goals. With experience working with people of all ages, her Confidence is Key approach helps foster a positive mindset, enabling individuals to move forward with clarity, self-assurance, and resilience. If someone were standing in front of you right now and asked, “What would you like your future to be like?” How would you answer? Would your response be positive or negative? Hopeful or hesitant? What would that future actually look like for you? And do you truly feel you have control over it? These are all valid questions. Important questions. And they are ones we should really sit up and take notice of. Because the truth is, we do have a say in what our future looks like. But when we answer that question, we need to be honest with ourselves. Are we responding from a place of possibility, or from wounds carried over from our past? Have previous experiences shaped a belief that we cannot have the future we want? Are we still carrying beliefs that were never ours to begin with, beliefs handed down by someone else who may have been carrying their own negative story? At some point, that cycle has to stop. Isn’t it time to say enough? Enough doubting. Enough shrinking. Enough believing we are less than we are. You are good enough. You can do this for yourself. You can create an amazing future. There is no reason why any of us cannot have the future we dream about. And if that starts with rebuilding your confidence, then you are in the right place. Because that is what I do. I help people rebuild confidence and resilience, especially those who had it taken away from them. More often than not, the person responsible is no longer even in their lives. So let us move forward with new beliefs about who you are and what is possible for your future. Give it a go and see what happens. Give yourself permission to believe you are worth it. Take it day by day. And start creating the future you deserve. Discovering cognitive behaviour When I first started this journey, I had no idea what Cognitive Behaviour actually was. People would say, “Yeah, I’ve had CBT,” and I would reply, “Really? Nice!” without truly knowing what it meant. But once I got into the bones of it, something clicked. It just felt right. It aligned with who I am as a person. What followed genuinely blew my mind. The twists and turns that showed up in my life started teaching me more and more. Sometimes it was a book someone recommended. Sometimes a quote someone sent. Other times, I was introduced to an idea or experience I had never considered before. And when I stayed open, really open, my experience has been that it helped far more than it ever hindered me. Growing into this mindset has literally changed my life. It has changed me as a parent, a friend, an entrepreneur, and simply as a person. My life shifted because I allowed myself to change the way I think. Now, when I find myself in a situation that does not feel quite right, or when I notice I am getting stuck and starting to spiral in my thoughts, I pause. I stop and look at things differently. People often say, “That cannot be done.” My response is simple. If you can have one thought, you can have another. It really is that simple. It starts with giving yourself permission to believe that change is possible. That is the foundation of a new way of thinking. Thoughts lead to feelings. Feelings lead to behaviours. Behaviours shape outcomes. Change the thought, and everything else can follow. A real-life shift in thinking I was recently in a meeting. Before I arrived, I had everything typed up and thought I knew exactly what I was going to say because I was prepared. I sat around the table listening to what everyone else was sharing, and I noticed something important. There was a time when my thoughts would have sounded like this. They are amazing. They are doing so much better than me. I cannot follow that. I am embarrassed. What if they think I am an idiot? What if I mess this up? But none of that went through my head. Instead, I looked at my paper and thought, that is only a fraction of what I have achieved. So I made a decision in that moment. I was not just going to talk about one small part of the year. I was going to go back to the root of where the year began and share how far I had actually come. And do you know what happened? No one reacted negatively. Because where I am now, I understand something I did not before. When someone is mean or negative, it says far more about how they feel about themselves than it ever does about you. That shift in thinking has changed everything. The message behind the quotes This is Cognitive Behaviour in action. Changing your thoughts can literally change your life. You have probably heard phrases like these before. Think positively. When you change your thoughts, you can change your life. You have the power to change your life. What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. Your thoughts create your outcome. We do not control others, but we do control our reactions. Every one of these is really asking the same question. What do you want your future to look like? Because when you change the way you think, you change how you feel. When you change how you feel, you change how you behave. And when you change your behaviour, you change your life. Looking back and moving forward That meeting took me back to this time last year. I was initially ready to say I was proud of finishing my book and proud that I had the confidence to share it with others and allow them to proofread it. And I am proud of that. But then I realised something important. The book is the final chapter of this year. Around this time last year, I became an Executive Contributor for Brainz Magazine. I know this because my family arrived shortly afterwards for Christmas, and yes, they have reminded me. Instead of focusing on what I had achieved in the last month, I reflected on how far I had come. Writing articles led me to create three CPD approved courses on mental health. And now, I have finished my book. If someone had told me years ago that I would do any of this, I know exactly what would have happened. I would have heard other people’s voices in my head. What are you thinking? Who do you think you are? Do not embarrass yourself. You are dyslexic. No one would read it. Back then, I would have believed every single one of those sentences. But this time last year, those thoughts were not there. Instead, my mindset was simple. Why not? What is the worst that can happen? So I became an Executive Contributor. I discovered that I love writing. I find it therapeutic. And the response from others has been incredible. No one said the things I had been told in the past. They said my writing was amazing. They said it was relatable and easy to read. And here is the truth. Had I continued listening to those old voices, I would not be a therapist. I would not be a writer. I would not be sharing my work. I would not be doing what I love today. Changing my thoughts has quite literally changed my life. So this is my final thought. I am beyond proud of what I have achieved so far, and I cannot wait to see what opportunities unfold next. And when they do, I will grab them with both hands. Because instead of feeling dread when I am asked to do something new, I now genuinely feel excited. That is how you change your thoughts and change your life. That is Cognitive Behaviour. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Donna Kirsten Reynolds Donna Kirsten Reynolds, Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist Donna Reynolds discovered her passion for mental health and personal growth while living abroad and navigating her own challenges. After experiencing a sudden divorce that mirrored the struggles of many women around her, Donna sought to understand why such upheavals were so common. This quest led her to study mental health and behavior, ultimately guiding her to Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy. She believes that by changing our thoughts, we can overcome any barriers and create meaningful, lasting change in our lives.

Written by Dr. Dain Heer, Speaker and Author Dr. Dain Heer is an avid explorer of possibilities and an internationally recognized author and speaker. As the founder of the annual  International Being You Day  and Co-creator of  Access Consciousness,  one of the largest personal development movements practiced in 176 countries, Dain serves as a catalyst for empowering individuals to realize they can change anything in their lives. For over 30 years, he has encouraged people to view their differences as strengths, amplify their uniqueness, and fully embrace their greatness! Buckle up, buttercup! We are approaching that time of year again. Depending on where you are in the world, the signals might look different. Maybe it’s the twinkling lights and looping carols, or perhaps it’s the frenetic energy of year-end deadlines, the chaotic rush of travel, or the impending gathering of extended families. Regardless of what you celebrate, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, or simply the closing of a calendar year, there is a collective global expectation that we should all be wrapped in a warm, fuzzy blanket of joy. But let’s be honest. For many of us, this season often feels less like a fairy tale and more like an energetic obstacle course. Have you ever walked into a family gathering or a busy airport feeling ridiculously happy, vibrating at a high frequency, excited for what’s to come? And then BAM, you cross the threshold. Your father makes a comment about politics, your partner stresses about money, or you simply step into a crowded room, and poof, your happiness vanishes. You feel it being yanked, sucked out, vibrated right out of you. Suddenly, you’re cranky, heavy, exhausted, and wondering why you even bothered. You probably blame yourself. You think, “Why am I so stressed? Why can’t I just relax? I should be grateful. What is wrong with me?” I have some news that might just be the best gift you receive this year. There is nothing wrong with you. Actually, what you are calling “stress,” “anxiety,” or “heaviness” is a sign of your superpower. You are a psychic radio receiver, and it is time to learn how to change the station. The science of the tuning fork Here is the science of the energetic world. Every thought, feeling, and emotion has a specific energetic vibration. Sadness vibrates differently than joy. Loneliness vibrates differently than exhilaration. We are like human tuning forks. We go along, happily vibrating at our own lightness, and then we tap into another frequency. It might be your brother’s anger, your spouse’s anxiety, or the collective panic of millions of people worrying about the future of the world. And because you are far more aware than you think, you pick up on all those frequencies. But here is the trap. Because we haven’t been taught how this works, we instinctively match that vibration. We entrain to it. We make it ours. It doesn’t matter if you are a man conditioned to “fix” problems or a woman conditioned to “nurture” everyone. The result is the same. We have been taught that the heavy energies, the drama, the trauma, the seriousness, are more “real” than the lightness. So, we tune into the density of the world around us. We put on the heavy coat of our family’s dysfunction or society’s expectations, and we wear it as if it were our own skin. It can feel extremely suffocating. I know that firsthand. It is essentially what made me want to leave this planet many years ago. But what if the heaviness you feel this season isn’t yours? What if the fatigue you feel walking through a shopping district isn’t yours? What if the anger you feel watching the news isn’t yours? What if the loneliness that creeps up on you when you finally get some time to yourself isn’t yours either? Let that really sink in. This is like a law of the universe. Ninety-nine percent of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions do not belong to you. You, my friend, are a psychic sponge. You have tuned into lifetimes of stuff you don’t need. You have accumulated so many ideas, judgments, and expectations from others that you haven’t seen a clear sky in ages. If you don’t acknowledge this, you turn into a pressure cooker. But if you acknowledge it, you become free. The game-changing tool: “Who does this belong to?” I’d like to share one of the simplest and most effective tools for navigating the intensity of family, travel, and global expectations during this holiday. Want to try it? What do you have to lose? It’s a simple question that acts like a vacuum cleaner for your psyche. Next time you’re stuck in a long line and feel frustrated, or sitting at the dinner table and feel a wave of sadness, pause. Don’t judge yourself. Don’t try to figure out why you feel this way. Don’t use your logical mind to find the source. Just ask, “Who does this belong to?” You don’t need a name. You don’t need to know if it’s your boss, your mother, or the person sitting three rows back on the plane. You just need to ask the question. Here’s the key. Notice what happens to the energy when you ask. Does it get lighter? Does the heaviness lift, even a little? Do the clouds start to part? If it softens, it’s not yours. If it’s not yours, you can’t fix it. You can’t process it. You can’t analyze it away. The only thing you can do is acknowledge it and send it back. So, if it lightens, say, “Return to sender with consciousness attached.” Why consciousness attached? Because whoever it belongs to is the only one who can change it. Sending it back with awareness isn’t throwing garbage. It’s giving them the gift of clarity to handle their own stuff, so you don’t have to carry it for them. The Yellow Sticky Note Technique When I first received this tool, I didn’t really think it could change anything, but I still wrote “Is this mine?” on a yellow sticky note and put it by my bed. What did I have to lose? The next morning, I woke up feeling the heaviness of it all, the world, me, my life. I was about to cry into my pillow. Then my eyes landed on that note, “Is this mine?” A giant no screamed in my head. It was like a huge exhale. My whole morning shifted into a different vibration, an energy congruent with me, waking up to possibility. I challenge you to try this. Put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror, dashboard, or laptop. Or tattoo it on your hand. Remind yourself that you are an aware being. When the overwhelm hits, look at that note. Ask the question. The 3 day energetic cleanse We talk a lot about dietary cleanses or “Dry January” after the festivities, but what about an energetic cleanse during the chaos? Would you be willing to try this for just three days? For three full days, ask “Who does this belong to?” for every single thought, feeling, and emotion that pops up. Even the ones that feel deeply personal. Even the anxiety that feels like “just who I am.” If the energy lightens, return it to sender. And no, this really isn’t easy. You will dip in and out of remembering. You might do it for an hour, forget for three while you’re arguing over board games or stressing about a flight delay, and then pick it up again. That’s okay. It requires presence. But if you commit to this, at the end of that third day, your mind will be the lightest, clearest, most expansive open sky you can imagine. Imagine sitting at a dinner table, totally aware of everyone’s crazy, but not affected by it. You are the lighthouse, not the boat crashing against the rocks. Tuning into the universe (no, not the world!) Once you stop carrying the weight of the thoughts and feelings of everyone around you, you create space. And this is where the real magic happens. This is where we upgrade your software from “Psychic Radio of the World” to “Psychic Radio of the Universe.” Most of us have unknowingly trained ourselves to only tune into this “world,” the limited reality constructed by thoughts, feelings, judgments, and cultural beliefs. We measure everything against what the world says is possible. The world says the holidays are stressful. The world says you have to spend money to show love. The world says family is a must, and you are a failure if your family isn’t picture perfect. The world says the end of the year is a time for judgment about what you didn’t get done this year, so you can judge yourself appropriately in the coming one. It’s like we’re wearing psychic blinders. We’re stuck in this tiny box of stories and conclusions, missing the crazy, infinite possibilities of the universe all around us. The universe is so much bigger than this “world.” And since you are part of the universe, a huge, magnificent part, limiting your psychic abilities to this tiny world is self sabotage on a cosmic scale. When you tune into the world, you get drama. When you tune into the universe, you get contribution. What if you could disconnect your psychic antenna from the “Global Drama” channel and tune it to the “Universe of Possibility” channel? Asking for miracles We tend to define miracles as grand, dramatic events, winning the lottery or a sudden, massive change. When we define miracles through the lens of this world, we miss the daily miracles happening in our lives. Living a miraculous life is about awareness and acknowledgment. It’s about seeing the magic in the mundane. What if, this holiday, you started every morning by asking this: “Hey Universe, if I were truly being me today, what would I choose? What can I create? What miracles can I receive today?” Notice I didn’t say, “What can I fix?” or “How can I survive this family visit?” When you ask the universe for miracles, you might find that the traffic clears just when you need it to. You might find that the difficult conversation you were dreading dissolves into laughter. You might find a moment of stillness amidst the chaos that brings you to tears of gratitude. These are the whispers of the universe. When you lower your barriers, when you stop resisting the crazy and start including everything without judgment, you tap into Oneness. Oneness isn’t about everyone agreeing on politics or religion. It’s not about everyone holding hands and singing in perfect harmony. Oneness is the ability to receive everything and judge nothing. It includes the burnt food, the grumpy uncle, the crying toddler, the delay on the tarmac, and the joy, all simultaneously. When you are in Oneness, you don’t have to fight against the reality of the situation. You flow through it. You become a walking, talking breath of fresh air. Your invitation Give these tools a real go this season. Use them in the chaos, in the quiet moments, and everywhere in between. You may be surprised by how quickly the heaviness lifts when you stop owning what was never yours. And who knows, you might just discover that the miracle you were waiting for was actually you, all along. Your energetic survival kit for the holidays Feeling the pressure? Clip this out and keep it handy for when the festive chaos tries to knock you off balance. The golden rule of energy: Remember, 99% of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions do not belong to you. You are a psychic radio receiver picking up on the world around you. If you feel heavy, it’s a lie. If you feel light, it’s the truth for you. The “Is this mine?” question: Whenever you feel a sudden shift in mood, anger, sadness, stress, or fatigue, stop and ask, “Who does this belong to?” Don’t look for an answer. Just notice the energy. If you feel even a tiny bit lighter, it isn’t yours. Return to sender: Once you realize it’s not yours, don’t analyze it. Just say, in your head or out loud, “Return to sender with consciousness attached.” Visualize that heavy energy leaving your body and going back to where it came from. The morning miracle tune in: Before you get out of bed and check your phone, tune your radio dial to the universe. Ask, “Hey Universe, if I were truly being me today, what would I choose? What can I create? What miracles can I receive today?” Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more information! Read more from Dr. Dain Heer Dr. Dain Heer, Speaker and Author Having grown up in a challenging environment in Los Angeles, Dain faced constant adversity but chose resilience over victimhood. His determination to create positive change has fueled every aspect of his work, from facilitating global classes to authoring books and developing business ventures embodying benevolent capitalism principles. Dain draws from his personal experience to inspire individuals from all walks of life to create the money, happiness, and life they truly desire. In his talks and workshops, he offers a set of tools and step-by-step energetic processes that help people break free from limiting conclusions and judgments, guiding them toward a place of choice and transformative change. As a conscious and innovative business leader, Dain’s passion for possibilities and creating a better planet fuels all of his projects, including Castello di Casalborgone, a luxurious castle in Italy restored to its former glory, a thriving ranch in Houston, and EL Lugar, a fully sustainable eco-retreat in Costa Rica, designed in harmony with the earth.

Written by Kristi McLeod, SubSoma Practitioner and Speaker Kristi McLeod is a Master of nervous system capacity and subconscious imprinting. She trains practitioners, entrepreneurs, and executives to not just survive business but thrive through it. Most organizations want the same things, better communication, stronger performance, fewer mistakes, and teams that actually work well together. The irony? All of those goals depend on something most workplaces never talk about, nervous system safety. Not the kind of safety that gets written into policy manuals or compliance binders. Not physical safety or cybersecurity protocols. I’m talking about felt safety, the internal experience that allows someone to think clearly, communicate honestly, and stay grounded under pressure. Because without it, people aren’t thinking. They’re surviving. And survival mode is expensive. The myth: “We just need better communication” Most communication issues are not communication issues at all. They are capacity issues. When the body is bracing, overloaded, or in a constant state of pressure, people will: misinterpret neutral information overreact to small problems avoid difficult conversations shut down when stakes are high detach emotionally from their teams This has nothing to do with their intentions. It has everything to do with nervous system state. A dysregulated body cannot create regulated communication. No workshop, memo, or meeting can bypass physiology. The truth: Safety turns on the part of the brain that solves problems When people feel safe, their physiology shifts. Their brains move out of survival mode and into functionality. Suddenly, you get: higher-level thinking creativity empathy nuance emotional intelligence adaptability These aren’t personality traits. They are nervous system states. Safety unlocks performance. Imagine a workplace where Instead of reacting, people respond. Instead of withdrawing, they engage. Instead of bracing, they think clearly. Instead of protecting themselves, they collaborate. This is not unrealistic. It is biological. And it is trainable. When employees learn how to regulate their nervous systems, the entire culture elevates. Not because you added new systems, but because you expanded internal capacity. A final note: Strengthening your workplace and Calgary’s community Through December 31, 2025, any organization that books a wellness workshop or multi-month container, to be delivered anytime in 2026, will have 50 percent of my speaker fee donated directly to stand Against Sexual Assault in Calgary. It is an opportunity to support your people while supporting survivors in our city. If your leadership team is ready to build safety as the foundation of high performance, I would be honoured to guide the process. Find out more here . Follow me on Instagram and visit my LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from Kristi McLeod Kristi McLeod, SubSoma Practitioner and Speaker Kristi is a nervous system coach and Subconscious practitioner specializing in helping entrepreneurs, practitioners, and executives build true capacity from the inside out. She’s the founder of SomaSkye Wellness and creator of The Foundation, a monthly membership rooted in nervous system regulation, Subconscious Imprinting (SIT), and SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol). Known for her grounded, deeply embodied presence, Kristi teaches the kind of safety that can be felt, not just understood. Her work is for the ones ready to stop performing regulation and actually build capacity.

Written by Elizabeth Ballin, Professional Certified Coach In this series, Elizabeth Ballin, PCC, offers reflections from her coaching and mindfulness practice on how people discover insight, meaning, and resilience in the changing landscape of modern life. Her perspective is rooted in years of working with people from many cultures and in a driven curiosity that understands human growth as life in motion. This article explores how the fear of judgment can hold people back, arguing that while judgment from others is inevitable, it does not have to control our choices or self-worth. The author encourages readers to use external judgment as a learning tool but ultimately to rely on their own values and self-trust to guide decisions and actions. Through coaching insights, the piece highlights that true freedom and authenticity come from accepting judgment as part of life, letting go of the need for approval, and living in alignment with one’s own values. We spend so much energy trying not to be judged that we forget something essential. Judgment is unavoidable, yet it does not need to lead us. When you stop seeking approval and start trusting your own voice, everything shifts. This article explores how to move from the fear of judgment to self-trust and grounded choice. Judgment is something we are often afraid of, and as a result, we run from it, avoid it, or deny it. And yes, people do judge you. They talk about you whether you want them to or not. Some do it thoughtfully, some carelessly, and some simply as a sport. Trying to reassure ourselves that no one is judging is often where we get stuck, because the truth is, people are. The full spectrum of judgment and why it exists Judgment is not negative. It is the human capacity to discern, evaluate, and make meaning from our surroundings. It is how we understand others and ourselves. What hurts us is not the existence of judgment but how we understand it and react to it. Sometimes judgment is generous, supportive, or full of appreciation, and we need to stay open to that. Positive judgment can offer something true about our strengths or our impact. It can be motivating, while negative judgment can feel deeply demotivating. The goal is not to cling to praise but to acknowledge it and integrate whatever is meaningful into your intentions and goals. There is always something to learn from external judgment. Each form, positive, negative, or neutral, contains information about how our actions land and how we are perceived. What matters is ensuring it strengthens you rather than diminishes you. Use judgment as a learning tool Listening to judgment can be beneficial, but only when we use it as a learning tool rather than a measure of our worth. Criticism, when taken with intelligence and curiosity, can reveal blind spots, offer useful insight, or show where our communication did not land as intended. In all cases, praise or criticism, it is not the judgment itself that matters but how we respond to it. Do we swallow it whole and let it define us? Do we dismiss it entirely and miss the learning? Do we cling to praise in order to feel worthy? Or do we filter both through our values and ask, What part of this is useful for me? When you listen through the lens of self-trust, external judgment becomes information to consider rather than a verdict to obey. It can inform without imprisoning, guide without steering your life, and teach without telling you who you are. And this leads to the most important shift of all. What matters most is your own judgment The real suffering rarely comes from what someone might think of us. It comes from the meaning we attach to their judgment, the internal story that grows louder than the reality itself. This is the turning point where people reclaim their authority. Instead of chasing approval or fearing criticism, they begin asking more essential questions: Do I like how I am working? Do I feel honest in the way I am showing up? Do I feel aligned with how I dress, speak, parent, lead, and live? Do I respect the direction I am moving toward? Some people appear untouched by criticism. They are not. They simply do not depend on external evaluation to move. Their compass is internal, not borrowed. Their grounding comes from learning what is important to them. Who am I? What matters? What do I stand for? Self-trust may come easily to a few, but building your own grounded self-trust is something you can learn. My perspective as a coach In my coaching practice, fear of judgment shows up everywhere, at work, in relationships, in leadership, and often in parenting. Many clients are so afraid of being judged that they silence themselves, hold back, or shape their choices around imagined criticism. They strive to become the perfect parent or the perfect colleague, someone who finally satisfies everyone else’s expectations. It is an impossible task, and it is exhausting. When a client is stuck in that place, I ask one simple question, "If you relieved yourself of that worry, even briefly, and tapped into what is truly important to you, what would that look like?" They pause. They breathe. And then something shifts. They often turn their thoughts toward something light or humorous or toward something genuinely important that deserves their energy. This shift widens their perspective and allows them to reset their internal balance. They often say, "I would be more present with my child. I would have greater trust in my instincts, experience, and knowledge. I would stop second-guessing myself. I would take the next step I already know I want to take." They stop responding from fear and begin responding with reflection and intention, allowing what is important to emerge. This is the moment when self-protection gives way to self-alignment, when authenticity steps forward, and you regain your power to choose. How acceptance can give you space Acceptance begins not in pretending judgment is not happening but in acknowledging that it is. When you stop trying to control other people’s opinions, something shifts inside you, and you no longer react to every imagined comment or criticism. As the internal commentary softens, you start to see how much of your life has been shaped by trying to avoid judgment, and you begin to see the cost. If you wait for constant approval before moving forward, you will stay frozen. If you wait to be sure no one will criticise you, you may never allow yourself to start. Judgment is like quicksand. The more you struggle to escape it, the deeper you sink. But as your attention steadies and the internal noise settles, you can step out of the struggle. Honesty, focus, and grounded self-trust take the lead, and those are the qualities that lift you up and move you forward. When coaching meets the limits of coaching Some people have been so deeply hurt or traumatised by earlier criticism that shifting away from those belief systems is incredibly difficult. For them, judgment does not feel like feedback. It reinforces the negative beliefs they already carry about themselves and creates a sense of danger. In these cases, therapy may be needed. Coaching helps you see the pattern. The therapy you choose helps you heal what lies beneath it. Conclusion Judgment will always be part of life. Praise will come. Criticism will come. People will think what they think, thoughtfully or carelessly, and sometimes with bad intentions. But none of it defines you unless you allow it to. The turning point is not avoiding judgment or collecting approval. It is not achieving perfection or becoming criticism-proof. When your own voice of wisdom leads, external judgment becomes something you can consider, not something you must obey. You begin to live from the inside out, not the outside in. You begin choosing the life that is genuinely yours. You stop waiting. You stop shrinking inside someone else’s expectations. You stop performing for an invisible audience. Judgment will always be there, but it does not need to lead you. You lead you, with the direction you choose, guided by clarity and your own values. There is always something to be learned, as long as it builds you up and does not tear you down. Before you move forward, here are some practical steps you can use to turn the fear of judgment into personal growth and confidence. These takeaways are designed to help you respond to criticism with clarity and self-trust, so you can lead your life from the inside out. Action steps for a judgment-proof living Accept judgment as part of life. Use feedback as information, not a verdict. Let your values guide your response to criticism. Trust yourself and act with intention. Seek support if past criticism is deeply affecting you. Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Elizabeth Ballin Elizabeth Ballin, Professional Certified Coach Elizabeth Ballin, PCC, is an ICF-accredited professional coach and mindfulness practitioner working globally with people and professionals from many backgrounds. She combines emotional insight, cultural intelligence, and practical structure to support meaningful growth. She brings a lifelong multicultural awareness, deepened by twelve years of coaching across more than twenty cultures, which helps her attune to the emotional and practical realities her clients face. Her writing spans themes such as curiosity, creativity, well-being, communication, judgment, and the inner shifts that support meaningful growth in the complexity of modern life.

Written by Charles W. Gragg, Healthcare Innovator, Strategist, and Speaker Charles Gragg is a professional speaker and strategist who helps C-suite executives and benefits advisors navigate corporate health insurance solutions into sustainable, cost-effective health plans that attract and retain top talent. With deep industry experience, Charles turns insurance challenges into clear, actionable opportunities for growth. In today’s competitive business environment, employers are realizing that health insurance is more than a benefit, it is a strategic investment. Rising premiums and fragmented care models have long burdened both companies and employees, but forward-thinking organizations are reshaping their plans to reduce costs while delivering better health outcomes for employees and their families. Traditional insurance often rewards the number of procedures performed rather than the quality of results. Employers who adopt value-based care models, where providers are incentivized for keeping people healthy, see measurable improvements. By aligning coverage with outcome-driven metrics, companies can ensure employees receive preventive care, chronic disease management, and coordinated treatment that reduces unnecessary hospital visits. By contrast, self-funded plans recapture control of healthcare spending, allowing an employer to move those healthcare costs to the asset side of the corporate balance sheet, literally speaking. Costs can be lowered without sacrificing quality through smarter plan design. By inserting a concierge healthcare advocate program into the plan design, an employer can support insured employees and their dependents by steering them toward higher-quality, lower-cost providers for services rendered. This approach focuses on better healthcare outcomes, not just increased health plan spending. Direct contracting with providers bypasses middlemen and secures transparent, bundled pricing, ultimately allowing the health plan to build a custom high-performance network of providers. Data analytics help identify high-cost drivers and target interventions for chronic conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. Telehealth and virtual care reduce ER visits and improve access for dependents in remote areas, while wellness and preventive programs keep employees healthier and claims lower over time. Accessibility is equally important. Partnerships with Centers of Excellence and medical tourism guarantee top-tier care for complex procedures. Integrated networks reduce wait times and improve coordination between primary care, specialists, and pharmacies. Cutting-edge digital health tools empower employees to manage their own care, track outcomes, and engage with providers more effectively. When employers take control of their health insurance strategy, the benefits ripple across the organization. These include lower overall healthcare spend, a healthier and more productive workforce, improved employee satisfaction and retention, and stronger alignment between corporate goals and employee well-being. By treating health insurance “like a business unit” as a lever for both financial sustainability and employee wellness, companies can transform a traditional cost center into a competitive advantage. The future of corporate healthcare lies in plans designed around outcomes, accessibility, and affordability, and employers who embrace this shift will lead the way in creating healthier workplaces while transforming their health plan into a sustainable solution. Sidebar: Takeaways for employers Negotiate directly with providers for transparent pricing. Invest in telehealth to expand access and reduce ER visits. Utilize data analytics to target chronic conditions and predictive modeling to identify future risks. Promote preventive care to lower long-term claims. Engage and educate employees by holding them accountable in the process, helping lower costs while improving outcomes. Consider a captive stop-loss entity to sustain control of cost spend beyond day-to-day claims costs. Own your health plan, do not simply rent it. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Charles W. Gragg Charles W. Gragg, Healthcare Innovator, Strategist, and Speaker Charles Gragg is a recognized healthcare strategist with a mission to help organizations break free from the "healthcare hamster wheel". Drawing on years of experience navigating the inefficiencies of today's healthcare economy, Charles reveals why the current model is failing and how companies can achieve better outcomes at lower cost. Known for delivering provocative, eye-opening keynotes, Charles equips executive, HR leaders, and benefits advisors with the tools to reposition healthcare as a sustainable corporate asset. His message challenges conventional thinking and empowers leaders to make bold, outcomes-driven changes.

Written by Stephen Vaughan, Leadership Development Expert Stephen Vaughan is a leadership development expert with over 20 years of experience. He specialises in designing & delivering bespoke programmes & coaching sessions & is due to complete his PhD, Resilience in Leaders, in 2025. We tend to picture adversity as a major event. The big hit, the interruption that demands all of our attention and energy. Sometimes it is exactly that, sharp, heavy, inescapable. But that is only one version. Adversity is not a single, dramatic scene. It is a series of conditions, changing form, changing force. More like the weather than a once-in-a-lifetime disaster. One event, many reactions The fascinating thing about hardship is how differently it impacts us. Take one situation and place it in two lives, you will not get the same outcome. One person may feel stuck, shaken, uncertain. Another might navigate it calmly, almost effortlessly. It is not the event that defines the experience. It is the interpretation. Perspective is the lens, and everyone’s lens is slightly different. Some see danger and freeze. Others see a challenge and step forward. Neither is wrong. Both are human. The unplanned visitor Adversity does not wait for permission. It does not check availability or make sure you are ready. It arrives unannounced, sometimes loud, sometimes subtle, sometimes disguised as inconvenience. And because we cannot predict when it will come, how intense it will be, or how long it will stay, it can feel unmanageable. So we ask the important question, If adversity is unpredictable, how do we live with it rather than fear it? The answer isn’t control, it’s focus We rarely get to choose the hardship. But we do get to choose the attitude we show towards it. Negatives will always exist, they are part of the landscape. Ignoring them is not strength, awareness is. But when we shift focus to what is working, what is possible, what is good, even in small pieces, something moves inside us. Positivity gives movement. It gives momentum. And momentum is what gets us through the harder times, the harder days. Practical ways to stay steady no matter what Think simple. Think practical. Think small steps that add up. Surround yourself with people who bring happiness, comfort, and safety. Talk to friends, family, or someone who listens. Words lighten the weight. Break the problem down. If the whole is too big, solve one part. Then another. Set small goals and celebrate quick wins. Progress builds belief. Do things you enjoy regularly. Fun is not a luxury, it is fuel. We do not need to defeat adversity in one strike. We just need to keep moving through it. Adversity is like the weather The weather changes minute to minute. Sun, rain, wind, calm. We do not control it. We respond to it. If it is raining, we put on a coat. If it is windy, we lean forward a little harder. We adapt, and life continues. Adversity works the very same way. Instead of asking, why is this happening, we can ask, what can I do with this? Not everything is fixable, but something is always adjustable. Each time we adapt, we grow a little stronger, a little more resilient than we were before. And over time, without realising it, we learn we can handle more than we once believed. Whatever form adversity takes next, we meet it with experience rather than fear. Not because the world becomes easier, but because we become more resilient. Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Stephen Vaughan Stephen Vaughan, Leadership Development Expert Stephen Vaughan is a world-class facilitator, executive coach, and MD of Fabric Learning. With a background in professional sports and academics, and now over 20 years of experience in learning and development, he specialises in designing & delivering bespoke development programmes for organisations ranging from small not-for-profits to large multinational organisations all over the world. The majority of his work centres around leadership, whether that be executive boards, high potentials, or first-time leaders, empowering individuals to achieve increased performance & results, deliberately encouraging a sense of fun, which makes effective learning a far more enjoyable experience. He describes himself as a pracademic.

Written by Jessica Lagomarsino, Business Strategist Founder of Cusp of Something, Jessica Lagomarsino, helps women integrate personal growth with strategic clarity to build intentional brands, businesses, and lives. She writes on introspection of purpose, inner work, and entrepreneurship. The future of leadership will not be defined by how much we know, but by how deeply we understand one another. In an increasingly connected world, success depends less on technical expertise and more on the ability to bridge perspectives. This is where cultural intelligence becomes the true differentiator. Cultural intelligence is the skill of recognizing and adapting to diverse ways of thinking, communicating, and collaborating. It allows leaders to navigate complexity with sensitivity rather than assumptions. In a marketplace that moves across borders and time zones, this awareness is not a soft skill, it’s a competitive advantage. Living and working across Europe and the United States taught me that leadership is not about speaking louder, but listening differently. When in Rome, for example, I quickly learned that the best way to do business with Italians was not through email, but by meeting in person, ideally at the bar with a caffè in hand. Connection came before negotiation. Relationships were built through conversation, trust, and a shared sense of humanity. The formality I had once associated with professionalism was replaced by warmth, humor, and presence. That small cultural shift changed how I approached every partnership thereafter. Adaptability became one of the most valuable lessons of my career. It taught me that influence does not come from dominance but from awareness. When we approach global teams with curiosity rather than certainty, we unlock ideas that would otherwise stay hidden. The best leaders today are not translators of language but interpreters of nuance. They understand that tone, timing, and cultural context often carry more weight than the words themselves. Cultural intelligence also expands creativity. When diverse perspectives meet, new solutions emerge. Neuroscience supports this: exposure to varied viewpoints increases cognitive flexibility, which enhances innovation. Teams that feel understood are more likely to share bold ideas and challenge outdated systems. In this sense, empathy is not only moral but measurable in results. This awareness extends beyond geography. It includes generational differences, professional backgrounds, and identity itself. A culturally intelligent organization becomes one that celebrates difference as an asset. Meetings become more dynamic, leadership pipelines more inclusive, and brand communication more authentic. In a world where consumers are increasingly discerning, authenticity built on empathy becomes the ultimate competitive edge. For leaders, developing cultural intelligence begins with humility. It means entering each conversation aware that your way is not the only way. It requires asking questions before offering answers and observing what is unsaid as much as what is spoken. It is a practice of attention and respect. Practical steps can bring this awareness to life. Seek out mentors and colleagues whose backgrounds differ from your own. Learn how decision-making styles shift across cultures and adjust your communication accordingly. Encourage your teams to share not only data but context. And when misunderstandings arise, treat them not as failures but as invitations to learn. Cultural intelligence allows organizations to move gracefully through change, to build trust faster, and to see opportunity where others see difference. It reminds us that leadership is ultimately a human exchange, shaped by how we make others feel seen and valued. The next generation of business success will belong to those who lead with empathy, curiosity, and cultural awareness. Knowledge can be taught, but genuine understanding, the ability to listen across boundaries and connect through difference, will remain the most valuable skill of all. Follow me on Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jessica Lagomarsino Jessica Lagomarsino, Business Strategist Jessica Lagomarsino is a business strategist, guide, and founder of Cusp of Something. After years in corporate strategy and project management, she followed a pull toward more meaningful work. Today, she supports women in building aligned businesses through clarity, intentional action, and deep personal transformation.

Written by Santarvis Brown, Leadership Engineer Dr. Santarvis Brown has spent 15+ years serving as a leader, innovator, and changemaker in education, showcasing in-depth insight as an administrator, educator, and program director. Leadership is, at its core, an act of elevation. It’s the ability to lift people’s eyes from the grind of the present to the glow of the possible. In every organization, there are those who thrive looking through microscopes, carefully examining data, perfecting systems, and managing the intricate details that make today’s work hum. But the leaders who change organizations, industries, and lives are the ones who help those microscope minds pick up a telescope instead. They inspire people to see beyond their current tasks and toward the future they’re helping to create. The difference between the two lenses is not just one of focus, it’s one of faith. Why so many stay stuck at the microscope The microscope feels safe. It gives clarity, control, and certainty. You can measure it, monitor it, and master it. In volatile times, people often cling to microscopes because they offer immediate feedback and tangible results. Yet comfort can quietly become confinement. When a team, department, or leader focuses only on the immediate, they risk optimizing for today at the expense of tomorrow. Innovation withers. Initiative slows. The organization starts protecting its processes rather than pursuing its potential. That’s when true leadership is needed, not to dismiss the microscope, but to complement it. The microscope sharpens, the telescope expands. The former perfects the present, the latter prepares the future. The courage to hand someone a telescope When a leader invites someone to look through a telescope, they’re not just asking for new ideas, they’re inviting a mindset shift. They’re saying, “Trust me enough to look beyond what you can control. Believe in what you can’t yet see.” That takes courage on both sides. For the leader, it means trusting their team with the horizon. For the team, it means embracing ambiguity and adventure. Great leaders make that shift safe. They communicate a clear vision that connects the dots between today’s work and tomorrow’s wins. They remind their people that every spreadsheet, strategy, or service delivered today is building toward something larger, something that will outlast the moment. The telescope doesn’t replace discipline, it redeems it. It gives purpose to performance and meaning to metrics. Vision as a strategic asset In times of disruption, the temptation is to double down on control, more metrics, more oversight, more analysis. But data alone cannot lead. Vision does. The best leaders understand that telescopic vision isn’t about predicting the future, it’s about preparing for it. It’s about scanning the horizon for emerging trends, unspoken needs, and unseen opportunities. It’s about helping people connect their daily precision to the organization’s larger promise. A team that operates with both lenses, detail and direction, doesn’t just perform well. It adapts well. It becomes agile, creative, and mission-driven. It knows where it’s going, even when the map changes. Creating a culture that sees farther Telescope leadership is not a solo act, it’s a culture. It’s built when leaders communicate vision relentlessly, not just in annual meetings or PowerPoint decks, but in conversations, recognition, and everyday decision-making. Ask your people: “What are we building, not just doing?” “How does this action contribute to the future we’ve envisioned?” “What would we attempt if we believed more was possible?” When those questions become routine, vision becomes muscle memory. Your people begin to look up on their own. They start to connect precision with possibility, and that connection is where momentum is born. Leading beyond the horizon The future will belong to leaders who can help others see it before it arrives. Leaders who blend the clarity of the microscope with the conviction of the telescope. Leaders who don’t just manage people’s work but expand their worldview. Every time you hand someone a telescope, you’re making a statement of trust and belief. You’re saying, “I see potential in you big enough to look farther.” And when your people begin to see farther, they begin to lead themselves. That’s when leadership becomes legacy. So look around your organization today. Who’s been buried under details, lost in the immediate, or confined by what they can measure? Hand them a telescope. Invite them to see the horizon because the leaders who teach others to look beyond the lens of the present will be the ones who define the future. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Santarvis Brown Santarvis Brown, Leadership Engineer Dr. Santarvis Brown has spent 15+ years serving as a leader, innovator, and changemaker in education, showcasing in-depth insight as an administrator, educator, and program director. A noted speaker, researcher, and full professor, he has lent his speaking talent to many community and educational forums, serving as a keynote speaker. He has also penned several publications tackling issues in civic service, faith, leadership, and education.

Written by Dragana Favre, Psychiatrist and Jungian Psychotherapist Dr. Dragana Favre is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and seeker of the human psyche's mysteries. With a medical degree and extensive neuroscience education from prestigious institutions like the Max Planck Institute and Instituto de Neurociencias, she's a seasoned expert. Dark (Netflix, 2017-2020) is a German sci-fi drama about a missing child that unfolds into a labyrinth of time travel, interlocked families, and causal loops where the past and future continually create each other. In that world, the strangest “people” are those who only exist because the timeline is broken, paradox-born subjects with no clean origin outside the loop. Instead of treating them as mere sci-fi gimmicks, we can read them as psyche-made entities, figures the story needs in order to carry what ordinary linear life cannot hold, grief that won’t complete, trauma that won’t integrate, guilt that keeps reproducing itself. They are not “real” in an ontological sense, but they are real in the only way symptoms are, they have effects, they organize relationships, they drive repetition, they demand loyalty. That’s why the series’ “darkness” isn’t only literal (forests, bunkers, black matter) but psychological, the loop behaves like a closed grief-circuit. It keeps loss from settling into the past, so the past keeps returning as a living presence. Paradox-people then become embodied grief-solutions, if the system cannot accept absence, it manufactures a form of presence that depends on contradiction. The wound generates its own inhabitants. The equation metaphor in Dark: Why healing needs “nonexistent” terms Think of this like solving a difficult physics or mathematics equation. Sometimes you can’t isolate what matters unless you add terms that look pointless, like adding +x and −x to both sides. They cancel out, so they don’t change the “truth” of the equation, but they change what you can do with it. They create a new structure that makes a hidden relationship solvable. Paradox-born persons function like those neutral terms. They don’t belong to a stable reality (they’re “nonexistent” in origin). Yet they’re instrumental, they allow the system to express what it otherwise can’t resolve. They act as conceptual scaffolding, temporary, strange additions that enable transformation. So the loop doesn’t only trap characters, it calculates with them. These figures are the psyche’s algebra, a way to “think outside the box” when ordinary causality (or ordinary coping) cannot balance the books. In Jungian terms, these paradox-entities resemble autonomous complexes, psychic formations charged with affect that behave as if they have their own agency. When grief, fear, shame, or longing cannot be symbolized and owned by the ego, it doesn’t simply vanish, it becomes figure-like. It appears as someone, something, a voice, a fate. That’s why Dark is so compatible with a Jungian reading, the show externalizes inner structure. The loop is repetition compulsion made architectural, the family tree is trauma transmission made literal, and paradox-people are “dream figures” who have walked out of the unconscious and into the town. Dreams, therapy, and the function of “as-if beings” In analysis, you don’t “solve” grief by deleting it. You relate to it differently. Jungian work often uses images, dream figures, fantasies, inner dialogues, not because they are factually real, but because they are psychically true. The psyche heals through symbolic mediation, it creates an as-if person so the ego can finally encounter what it avoided. Paradox-born subjects in Dark can be understood as exactly that, dream-figures with consequences, carriers of the shadow (what was disowned), and avatars of unmourned loss (what was never finished). They’re the mind’s “temporary variables.” You meet them, learn what they represent, and integrate the meaning they carry. Why resolution feels like erasure When the knot in Dark is untied, paradox-people disappear. Narratively it’s brutal, but symbolically, it matches a Jungian endpoint, once the underlying contradiction is integrated, the psyche no longer needs to personify it. In equation language, once the solution is reached, the +x and −x scaffolding is removed. What mattered wasn’t keeping the extra terms forever, it was what they allowed the system to become. So the show’s final logic can be read as a severe allegory of healing, not “saving every figure,” but ending the structure that required them. In that sense, the “nonexistent” entities are not mistakes, they are the psyche’s necessary additions, the neutral counterterms that let trauma be worked, grief be symbolized, and darkness finally stop repeating as fate.   Follow me on LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Dragana Favre Dragana Favre, Psychiatrist and Jungian Psychotherapist Dr. Dragana Favre is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and seeker of the human psyche's mysteries. With a medical degree and extensive neuroscience education from prestigious institutions like the Max Planck Institute and Instituto de Neurociencias, she's a seasoned expert. Her unique approach combines Jungian psychotherapy, EMDR, and dream interpretation, guiding patients towards self-discovery and healing. Beyond her profession, Dr. Favre is passionate about science fiction, nature, and cosmology. Her ex-Yugoslav roots in the small town of Kikinda offer a rich backdrop to her life's journey. She is dedicated to helping people find their true selves, much like an alchemist turning lead into gold. References: Civils, S. M. (2023). Trauma structures in Dark (Master’s thesis, Bowling Green State University). OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. Freud, S. (1955). Beyond the pleasure principle (J. Strachey, Trans.). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1920) Jung, C. G. (1959). Aion: Researches into the phenomenology of the self (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; Vol. 9, Pt. 2). Princeton University Press. Jung, C. G. (1966). Two essays on analytical psychology (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; Vol. 7). Princeton University Press. Jung, C. G. (1968). The archetypes and the collective unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; 2nd ed., Vol. 9, Pt. 1). Princeton University Press. Lacan, J. (2006). Écrits (B. Fink, Trans.). W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1966) Łysak, T. (2023). The future: Missing children, time travel, and post-nuclear apocalypse in the Dark series (Netflix). Arts, 12(6), 235. Netflix. (n.d.).  Dark . Pacifica Graduate Institute Library. (2023).  A guide to Jung’s concept of complexes .  Smith, N. J. J. (2013). Time travel. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Fall 2013 ed.). Stanford University.

Written by Param Singh Sahni, Humanistic Therapist & Coach Param Singh Sahni is a BACP-registered Humanistic Therapist, Trustee at the Metanoia Institute, and founder of The Work. He works privately, supporting people with their mental health needs and specializes in emotional resilience, grief, identity, and trauma-informed care rooted in compassion and social justice. There is a particular sensation that comes with being the only one of your kind in the room. It is not simply that you stand out, it is that your presence subtly disrupts the unspoken mould of who is expected to belong there. Before you speak, your identity has already entered the room for you. This has been my experience in psychotherapy training and practice, a Brown, turbaned Sikh man sitting in classrooms, supervision groups, and professional spaces that are overwhelmingly White and predominantly female. A neurodivergent trainee navigating systems built for neurotypical communication. A younger man in a profession that statistically skews older. Someone whose class background did not align with the quiet financial confidence common in the field. I offer these reflections not to criticise individuals or institutions, but to illuminate the structures that shape so many trainees' experiences. Difference, whether visible or audible or embodied, becomes both a burden and a unique professional resource. The gender paradox at the heart of psychotherapy Psychotherapy is built on the contributions of men, yet today the profession is almost entirely sustained by women. The 2023 UKCP Member Survey reports that 73.5 percent of registered psychotherapists identify as women, 20.2 percent as men, and fewer than 2 percent outside the gender binary. This imbalance begins long before qualification. Across training programmes, including institutions such as Metanoia, far fewer men apply and even fewer complete their studies. When gender intersects with race, class, or age, the numbers narrow even further. Younger men of colour are some of the most underrepresented people in therapy training. Although men conceptualised much of the theory, women now shape the culture and relational norms of the profession. As a man in these spaces, you feel subtle projections gather around you. Will he dominate. Can he attune. Will he understand vulnerability. None of these questions are necessarily hostile, but they influence how you are met and how you must navigate the room. Being a brown body in a predominantly white profession The numbers become more stark when race is introduced. According to the same UKCP survey, 75.3 percent of psychotherapy practitioners identify as White, 3.7 percent as Asian or Asian British, and 2.8 percent as Black or Black British. Relative to population demographics, this reveals significant underrepresentation. Being one of the only brown trainees brings a dual workload. The workload of training and the workload of translation. You quickly learn that some stories land easily, while others require careful explanation. There are also stories that are met with silence, not because they lack meaning, but because they fall outside the frame of shared cultural reference points. The added weight of code-switching You learn to code-switch. This means subtly adjusting your voice, accent, posture, humour, and emotional expression to feel less foreign, less “other”. It is the constant monitoring of how your words will be received through racialised filters. It is realising that your natural accent may be read as unrefined or exotic and adjusting accordingly. It is the quiet decision to soften parts of yourself, so the room feels more at ease. Masking becomes the price you pay for belonging. And the energy required to do this sits on top of the emotional and intellectual intensity of psychotherapy training itself. This is where Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality becomes essential. Identity is not experienced in isolated categories. It is the combination of race, gender, class, age, and faith that creates a specific form of marginality. Ultra-visibility without choice, being a turbaned Sikh man My Sikh identity, marked visibly by my turban, adds another layer. Unlike many identities, mine is not something I can reveal at my own pace. The turban introduces me instantly. It announces a difference long before I speak. It reveals aspects of my faith and culture without any contextual explanation. People read me before they meet me. In psychotherapy training, where self-disclosure is treated as a professional choice, I had no such choice. My identity was already disclosed. My presence carried meaning even before my voice had the chance to enter the conversation. I did not choose this visibility, but I learned how to inhabit it. Over time, it became a source of connection for clients who had never seen a therapist who looked like them. For some, it created immediate safety and recognition. For others, it invited curiosity or challenged assumptions. Visibility became a bridge. Neurodivergence in a neurotypical training culture Psychotherapy training often assumes a particular kind of learner, someone who can think linearly, sustain long periods of focus, engage comfortably in abstract reflection, and produce consistent academic work. Neurodivergent trainees may process, express, and understand internal experiences differently. They may be misread, misunderstood, or prematurely judged. For me, neurodivergence brought strengths, not deficits. A more intuitive emotional radar, a capacity for deep focus on human experience, creative associative thinking, and an ability to perceive patterns rapidly. Yet the training environment was not designed to harness these strengths. The challenge became twofold, learning psychotherapy and learning how to survive the structure of the institution itself. The hidden class barriers to becoming a therapist Therapy training is expensive. Course fees, therapy hours, supervision, academic materials, conferences, and unpaid placements create a financial landscape that quietly excludes people without economic safety nets. Those who enter with financial ease often arrive with confidence and cultural fluency. Those who do not must navigate additional layers of pressure, insecurity, and sacrifice. It is no surprise that the profession is dominated by white, midlife, middle-class women. Access is not about capability, it is about cost. The difficulty, and the opportunity Holding minority identities within psychotherapy demands resilience that extends far beyond academic ability. Yet the very experiences that make the path harder also expand your therapeutic presence. Difference sharpens empathy. The difference widens the room. Difference allows clients to see themselves in a space where they have historically been absent. Different challenges to traditions that have grown comfortable with uniformity. My unchosen visibility became a quiet form of leadership. My code-switching taught me how people contort themselves to be accepted. My neurodivergence deepened my capacity to listen differently. My working-class background grounded me in the realities that many clients live every day. A closing reflection To be a minority in an industry, a country, and a training room is not a single experience. It is a layered negotiation with systems that were not originally designed for you. Yet meaningful change rarely begins with committees or policies. It begins with presence. Every time someone who was never expected to be in the room enters it and stays, the shape of the room shifts. A margin moves. A doorway widens. A new possibility emerges. I did not choose the visibility placed upon me, but I choose what I do with it. And in that choice, the room becomes a little larger for the next person who walks in, whether they are brown, Black, neurodivergent, turbaned, working class, accented, or simply different. Follow me on Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Param Singh Sahni Param Singh Sahni, Humanistic Therapist & Coach Param Singh Sahni is a BACP-registered Humanistic Therapist and Trustee at the Metanoia Institute. He is the founder of The Work, a platform dedicated to supporting the mental health of men of colour through vulnerability, connection, and culturally sensitive care. With nearly a decade of experience, he has supported people through life’s challenges related to addiction, behavioural patterns, and relational difficulties. He also works privately with individuals navigating grief, identity, emotional regulation, and life transitions. His approach is rooted in compassion, justice, and creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and supported.

Written by Jessica Falcon, Soul Embodiment Guide & Relationship Expert A former lawyer turned mystic, Jessica Falcon is an International Soul Embodiment Guide & Relationship Expert. She guides you to embody your power, reclaim your sovereignty, and experience true freedom. Tune into her Soul Sovereignty & Sexuality Podcast. Many people struggle with deep-seated feelings of resentment, anger, or bitterness in relationships. They have a hard time expressing these feelings or moving past them, which can lead to unhappiness, disconnection, and a lack of intimacy. Let’s dive into how to let go of resentment to improve your relationships and reconnect with your partner. Resentment in relationships is common. Many people hold onto feelings of resentment because they do not know how to process them emotionally or speak about them with their partner. Yet holding in your feelings only creates further tension, disconnection, and separation in relationships. If you want to reconnect with your partner and build intimacy, you have to face the resentment you have buried inside. Resentment often arises in relationships when you feel Unheard Invisible Betrayed Ignored Frustrated No matter what you say or how you say it, you still feel like they do not hear you. They are not listening. They keep making excuses. They do not apologize for their behavior or hold themselves accountable. You feel like you are banging your head against a wall trying to get them to understand you. Resentment often arises most when you express your feelings or boundaries to someone, and they simply ignore them. It is the holding in of the anger. The feeling of being violated or wronged. You feel hurt. Sad. At a loss for words. “I have already told you this a million times.” “No matter what I say, you keep ignoring me.” “Why can’t you stop doing that?” Perhaps you feel like you have no choice. No voice. No way out of the resentment that is eating you alive. Why resentment in relationships is intimately connected with boundaries (or a lack thereof) Resentment has to be acknowledged and faced in order to fully free yourself and move forward. Most people focus on getting the other person to: Understand you Hear you See you Validate you Give you permission This is giving your power away. It is wanting the other person to see what you see instead of acknowledging and validating your own inner experience. Keeping your focus on the other person will keep you in cycles of anger, bitterness, and resentment. You have to bring your awareness inward and deeply acknowledge what you feel, even if, or especially when, the other person does not want to hear it. They might tell you to “just get over it,” or “you’re making too big of a deal about it,” or “it doesn’t really matter.” It does matter if it is rising within you. Feelings matter, not because they are your “truth,” but because your feelings are a guidepost to the deeper truth of your soul. They exist for a reason. Many people who harbor resentment unconsciously minimize or diminish their own feelings. This only adds fuel to the fire of resentment. When my clients tell me they want another person to see or hear them, I encourage them to see and hear themselves more deeply. Spend time in silence listening to the emotions coming up within you. What are they? Write them down. Get clear. Acknowledge their presence. Let them move. Hold the consciousness of an observer as you witness the emotion with pure curiosity. Why are you here? What are you showing me? What do you want me to see? Under every emotion is a thought. Each thought leads to a belief. Each belief is one you inherited from the world, your parents, or others. Is it yours? Is it your truth? Is it a thought or a belief you want to keep? This is especially important for habitual or recurring emotions like resentment. Resentment is usually associated with bitterness, anger, and rage. The anger is there for you. It is saying, “See me.” It alerts you to the need for a boundary. It says, “No more. I will not tolerate this. I deserve better.” The anger is not a problem. Ignoring it is the problem. It wants you to step up and act on your own behalf. To speak the truth of your heart to the person who hurt you. It wants you to stop accepting excuses and actually hold them accountable. It wants you to stop taking care of the other person’s emotional experience at the expense of your own. If you feel resentment toward your partner, it is very likely that you also experience: A fear of conflict A fear of upsetting them A fear of hurting their feelings All three of these signify self-sacrificing patterns rooted in putting people above you rather than next to you as an equal. Their feelings do matter, and so do yours. Neither person’s feelings are more valid or more important. Each of you is worthy of being seen, heard, and honored. The only way to get to the root of the conflict is to talk about it What is coming up for you? What is coming up for me? How do we choose to navigate this together? The keyword here is choice. A boundary is a choice. Resentment in relationships builds when you are not choosing for you. Perhaps you are waiting for the other person to make a choice instead. Sometimes this is necessary. Will they, for example, make the choice to seek help or shift their behavior? In the meantime, you still have to be clear about the choice you are making. Are you choosing to wait until they make a change? Are you choosing to tolerate their behavior? Are you choosing to take care of yourself, your own needs, feelings, and desires? What are you choosing? You let go of resentment in relationships when you Acknowledge the resentment and the underlying emotions Get curious about what the resentment, emotions, and related thoughts are telling you about you and about the relationship Decide what your response is and what, if any, action you need to take so you feel heard, seen, and acknowledged, at least by yourself if not by them I have witnessed many people consistently try to get another person to see them when that person consistently shows how incapable they are of doing so. Another person’s incapacity to love you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. The way out of resentment is: Even if they cannot love me right now, how can I love myself? Even if they are not hearing me, how do I hear my own experience? Even if they are not seeing me, what is it I need to see, do, say, or act on my own behalf? How can I honor myself even when they cannot? The resentment fades when you stop ignoring yourself. When you see what you have been trying to get them to see. The more you see yourself, the more others can actually see you, for who you truly are, not who they want you to be or how you make them feel. If somebody truly loves you, they want to see you. They want to hear you. They want to honor you. Do this for yourself if you love yourself, and let them follow suit. Doing so ends the patterns that created the resentment in the first place. Both of you are set free. To dive deeper into honoring your boundaries, speaking your truth, and reclaiming your sovereignty in relationships so you experience true freedom, you can work with me 1:1 in a Divine Activation Portal or explore the monthly online Temple of Divine Feminine Power . Follow me on  Facebook ,   Instagram , and  LinkedIn  for more info. Read more from Jessica Falcon Jessica Falcon, Soul Embodiment Guide & Relationship Expert A former lawyer turned mystic, Jessica Falcon is an International Soul Embodiment Guide & Relationship Expert. She guides you to embody your power, reclaim your sovereignty, and experience true freedom. Jessica spent years researching religious history, ancient civilizations, and mythology to get to the root of unequal power dynamics in relationships. She has identified the core beliefs and wounds that must be confronted to experience shared power and freedom in relationships. She leads retreats, workshops, and online portals of transformation to help you embody your divinity, activate your sexual life force energy, and revolutionize your relationships. Tune into her Soul Sovereignty & Sexuality Podcast on all major platforms.