Exhausted, you lie your head down on the nice soft pillow after a hard day. As you feel yourself begin to drift, it hits you… all the accumulated negativity. The problems, the worries.
How to sleep with a racing mind? So tired, but the nagging intrusion of doom and gloom makes it almost impossible.
When you wake up, you can barely make it out of bed. You feel like you could go back to bed and sleep for a month.
This is how exhausting it is the carry around anxiety and depression, until you just succumb to hopeless despair.
It’s hell. A vicious repeating cycle that seems to never end. How do normal people lead normal lives, you wonder. Why does this happen to me? What can I do about it? How can I feel even just a little better?
Hopelessness, Anxiety and Depression (HAD)
Depression:a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason.
Anxiety:a state of apprehension and psychic tension occurring in some forms of mental disorder.
Interestingly the non-psychiatry definition of depression is “a sunken place” and for anxiety is “distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune.”
Hopelessness is of course, without Hope, which is defined as “the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.”
Did you choose this hell? The hidden causes of H.A.D.
You were either raised in a happy, secure, loving environment, or experienced negativity from subtle insinuations of worthlessness to outright violence. Most of us, however, experienced a mixed bag of both.
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My sister and I were raised by a loving wonderful mother and a good-looking, talented, charismatic father with a temper. Misogyny assumed two daughters were to be used as seen fit: one as a mistress (me) and the other as a whore (sis).
Violated against our will until we left home, I was rewarded with gifts, money and special treatment. Though I didn’t escape the occasional beating, sis received no such special treatment and was treated much more violently than I. The illogical twistedness of it all just added to the long-term damage for both of us.
Whatever your upbringing, what you have now is the result of what you endured. The residual effects continue and are either addressed and healed or fester into a crippling emotional handicap.
Is a pattern worth repeating?
Just the names and faces change. From childhood to adulthood, what you were raised with keeps replaying in your life, in all the relationships you have now: family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc.
You CAN take your power, your thoughts and emotions, and your life back.
People have HAD H.A.D., and you can too.
The physical effects include painful headaches, body aches, loss of sleep, and long-term effects can lead to disease.
Mental and emotional effects can lead to suicidal tendencies.
Psychological effects make it unable to cope with everyday situations and prone to breakdowns and acting out.
In relationships it affects your family, spouse and loved ones who no doubt suffer from the fact that you are suffering, and they also suffer from the emotional spillover of the negativity into their lives.
Your friends know, even if you suffer in silence, that something is not right. Your coworkers also live with the dark cloud that hangs over you.
The dark energy radiates out to all in your vicinity.
“Is there really something I haven’t tried?” you ask yourself.
A Multi-Pronged Approach and an Empowering Perspective Can Make All the Difference
“Only by experiencing happiness yourself can you know happiness. And to do that, you need to experience, even if only for a short while, the opposite of happiness, which is sadness. There are some things of which you need firsthand personal experience. And there are some things that you only need to know conceptually. Sometimes, the things you need to know firsthand include things you may call “suffering”. But in essence, they are tools to enable you to enjoy their opposites, the very things that you seek.”
Happy Pocket Full of Money, by David Cameron Gikandi
How can a spiritual concept from ancient Hawaii make a difference in my modern, real-life depression?
The secluded 2,000 year old society that lived in Hawaii in ancient times had a curious way of maintaining peace and harmony for all of those years; a set of principles that worked to bring Balance to any situation.
The one I found the most helpful in overcoming my own entrenched trauma induced baggage was the concept of malu and akua. Names for negative and positive energies.
Hopelessness, anxiety, and depression would be considered “malu”, little energy/spirits who, like a virus in your computer, have a job in the World of Form to produce negativity for the purpose of contrast. “Akua,” on the other end of the spectrum, are the “medicine”. Peace, calm, serenity, joy, balance. To the ancient Hawaiians, these were reflective of our inherent divinity.
“Divinity” in this context is defined as “an inseparable part of God/Life/Love/Source/All-That-Is.” Indeed, even malu are “divine” in the sense that they have specific purpose in the World of Form. That purpose is to create the drama we come here from the World of Spirit to experience. Not unlike the reason you go to a good movie.
Dark energies provide contrast.
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These “energy potentials” do this is by giving us thoughts and feelings that we think are ours (because we hear those thoughts in our heads), so we IDENTIFY with them. “I’m a worthless piece of sh*t” is a negative thought that a “divine being” would never entertain but malu will interject that thought into your mind.
How many times have you had a thought and wondered, “Where did THAT come from?”
Like a computer virus that has your entire history at its disposal, it can bring up, repeat and elaborate on any negativity you’ve ever heard or experienced.
If you think it’s YOUR thought, it gets to exist through you by expressing the energy it is.
When we make declarative statements about those thoughts and feelings it further reinforces identification with the energyit is:I am anxious. I am depressed.
You wear its face, you feel its feelings, you think its thoughts. In essence, you give life to an energetic potential so that it can exist in this plain as an expression of what it is, therefore accomplishing its purpose.
Malu barge in, but Akua must be invited. This requires a Conscious Choice.
See how this works.
If you want Peace, then invite Peace into your life. It has just as much power as depression or anxiety. It’s a matter of identity.
If you knew you could choose, wouldn’t you choose Peace over anxiety?
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Abraham-Hicks has a wonderful way of describing what they call the “Emotional Guidance Scale”. It illustrates the vibrational energy of each emotion on a scale from highest to lowest:
Joy/Appreciation/Empowerment/Freedom/Love
Passion
Enthusiasm/Eagerness/Happiness
Positive Expectation/Belief
Optimism
Hopefulness
Contentment
Boredom
Pessimism
Frustration/Irritation/Impatience
Overwhelm
Disappointment
Doubt
Worry
Blame
Discouragement
Anger
Revenge
Hatred/Rage
Jealousy
Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness
Fear/Grief/Desperation/Despair/Powerlessness
H.A.D. are not on the scale but these can be classified as manifestations of fear, so they are on the bottom.
It may seem contradictory but hatred and revenge are actually a higher vibration than fear. Even anger is a step up. If you can make it up to mere frustration, you will have made progress.
Look to your Authentic Self/True Self/Divinity, to create a plan. Do just one thing a day to provide the self-care you deserve. You will begin to feel a little better each day.
Warning: Malu, like computer viruses, seem to have a mind of their own. They have a will to exist and just like all the other negative thoughts they put into your brain, they will provide arguments in their own defense. You are probably hearing them right now…
Prepare yourself for the inevitable resistance that will come with any attempt to rid yourself of the toxic negativity. It will argue. Just let it pass and proceed forward.
Huna: What You Pay Attention To Comes To Life
The Law of Attraction is a powerful tool you can use to turn your life around and create whatever your imagination can envision. From ancient times to modern quantum mechanics, the science behind LOA has been well established and used by many.
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Step #1 Choose how you WANT to feel: happy, peaceful, calm, powerful, relaxed, etc. Use a journal, write it down.
Step #2 Redirect you mind towards the energy you want. When malu barge in, invite the Akua you want, Peace. Acknowledge that it has just as much power.
Step #3 Use tools and techniques every day towards that goal.
Step #4 Take notice of how you are beginning to feel better. Embrace and express Gratitude.
Step #5 Don’t be attached to an outcome. I know this sounds counterintuitive but malu energy will use that attachment against you. Having faith and confidence in the process and ALLOWING it to unfold naturally frees you from cycling right back into anxiety. Embrace the energy of Trust instead of attachment.
Here are some powerful tools you can use:
Books – go online or into a book store, ask for Guidance and see what speaks to you. Reading a book that inspires you will give your mind positive thoughts to contemplate. Alternatively, funny movies and videos will help to raise the vibration. You can’t be depressed while you’re laughing!
Affirmations – you can also find these online, in books and journals, or make up your own. The rules are to keep it positive and in the present tense. “I AM” statements are the optimal format.
Meditation – even just 5 minutes a day of letting your mind shut down by focusing on a sound, word or phrase will work wonders. You can find apps on your phone or computer to aid you.
Yoga – is like a full body meditation. If you have a hard time sitting still, there are apps, classes, groups (online and off) that will help you get to a more peaceful place through movement.
Exercise – any kind of exercise that gets your body moving will do wonders for your mood. It’s been called the motion/emotion connection for good reason. Go for a walk, preferably in nature.
Help others – whether you volunteer at your local soup kitchen or simply help your neighbor bring in groceries, anything that puts someone else’s needs above your own for a short period of time will provide respite from negative thoughts.
Talk to yourself – if you were your friend, how would you counsel yourself? It’s perfectly fine to have a conversation with yourself because it will help you feel better.
Be creative – engaging in any form of creativity is a kind of meditation, bringing you closer to your Authentic Self that is worry free.
The greatest power that exists in the Universe is LOVE. There is nothing that has power over that which Connects you to your Source.
Love is the glue of an Eternal Embrace that keeps you in IT’s Constant Compassionate Awareness. The illusion of loneliness dissipates in the Reality of True Connection. You can never be lost, even if you tried.
With Humility comes Allowing. With Allowing comes Change. With Change comes a new way to be in the world.
Be Brave when change comes. Accept your Worth. Live your Peace. Invite Grace to pave the way for the life you imagine for yourself. (Or a Vision Love has for you).
Now you can replace H.A.D. with H.A.V.E. – Happiness, Appreciation, Vitality and Enthusiasm.
