by Alexa Erickson, Collective Evolution

Depression is a very personal, intense, and confusing feeling. You can feel like the world is out of your control, and there is no person, place, or thing that can bring you back to a place of peace. While we live in a day and age where pharmaceutical pills seem to reign supreme, there is much controversy regarding how this form of medicine works against our bodies in other ways.

Holistic healers continue to break the silence on ways to heal, mentally and physically, by using natural resources over synthetic ones. Many plant materials, for instance, are being researched for their ability to positively impact our mental health.

Here is a list of 15 natural substances that may be able to benefit our biochemistry and neurotransmitters, and amend nutrient deficiencies.

1. Kava

Kava is a root found on the South Pacific islands that is traditionally prepared as a tea. It has been found to be a safe and effective treatment for anxiety disorders and depression.

by Luke Miller Truth Theory 

Zen Flesh Zen Bones is my go to book for decluttering the mind, the first part is a transcription of 101 Zen stories. The second part is called the gateless gate- which is a series of koans, which are short paradoxical statements, stories or questions that can be used to help aid in meditation or to give a student something to intensely focus on, which can help in the attainment of enlightenment.

The last section is called 10 Bulls and is about finding your purpose. Each of the 10 bulls is a metaphor for a step on your journey and can really help you to find where you are on your path and what you need to do to go further or in fact what you should not be doing.

Below are 7 stories which are taken from the 101 zen stories, which will make you stop and think about how you view the world.

A CUP OF TEA

God said:

The life you desire does not come from extreme effort. The world, as it appears, may say that you must work hard for everything. Yet working hard is not enough. As a matter of fact, working hard is often too much, for it wears you down.

Much of the good in life you receive arrives without effort. It happens. It just happens. You may not even have been looking for it. It pops up in front of you.

Clearly, it is not your effort that makes the sun shine and the rains to come. Ideas that come to you do not arise from strain. Straining prevents ideas from arising. When ideas arise, they pop up the way a daisy pops up. Joy often seems to arise as a by-product. You may well not have set up joy as your main objective and have been striving for it. How do you strive for joy? Joy and Strive are not in the same ball-park.

In order to chop wood, you applying yourself, and it is physical effort, yet chopping wood can feel good to you. By the same token, many who exercise in the gym apply themselves, and they sweat, and, yet, they enjoy themselves. It feels good. They may or may not have an object in mind, and yet the exercise of itself gives satisfaction.

Nor is it supreme effort that gets you out of the pit of despair. How much can your will and determination bring joyful treasure to you?

If you find a diamond ring in the street, finding a diamond ring may have been the last thing on your mind until you stumbled upon it.

Thought/word/deed, imagination/creation/action or any other way you want to put it; this all equals a grand manifestation of what you want. Whether positive or negative, you WILL and DO create everything you experience. If you are experiencing a negative, change the initial thought/imagination to a positive. A conscious awareness will always bring exactly what you ask for. ~ Creator

https://thecreatorwritings.wordpress.com/2016/04/10/thought-to-action/

The beauty of fast moving energy is that it gives you a very tangible sense of how far you have come and how quickly you are evolving. It also gives you a true sense of how instantly your thoughts can become your reality, as there is much less of a lag time between what you put out and what you receive. This encourages you to step into more conscious creation.

If you stop for a moment and think back to where you were five years ago, one year ago, six months ago, there will be no mistaking that there is a transformative process going on within you, and around you, that is very real. You are also at a stage in your evolution where what is not working for you will be brought up, time and again, until you resolve it and evolve beyond it, once and for all. There is no escaping what is looking to be healed, and this is a marvellous thing.

How wonderful it is that you are now at the point that you can feel energies so clearly, and get such profound feedback on a daily basis! It is clearer than ever before that you are part of an incredible shift, both inwardly and outwardly, and completely immersed in the grandest process that has ever been experienced on your planet. While we understand that from your human vantage point this can be an uncomfortable process, we wish for you to understand that your participation is considered both an honour and a privilege by your soul, and you are doing such a magnificent job that the entire universe is thanking you. ~Archangel Gabriel

God said:

Beneath it all, you are a beautiful hyacinth appearing in springtime no matter how much snow has fallen.

Beneath it all, you are blossoming. This is the Truth of you, believe it or not. It is better to believe it. If you can't believe it, go by it anyway. Look up. Even at night, starlight provides light. Who could believe in such beauty as stars if they hadn't looked up and seen stars for themselves?

Nevertheless, if you had never seen the stars and you didn’t believe in their existence, stars would still shine.

How loyally you believe in trouble. You look for the corner trouble could be coming from. You look for averse events in the distance and bring them closer to you. You predict disaster. You live with thoughts that may make you ill in one way or another.

You are sure you are right to face all the negative possibilities. You call this realism and consider this shoddy realism as virtuous.

I call it a false belief. I call it your deciding your fate.

I tell you that you are destined to shine in this world, not drag yourself around with thoughts of doom that you would not wish on anyone, yet you hang onto for the sake of realism.

You may well believe in stark realism and say you are smart to look for it. Do you really believe that? Do you think you are clever to house infinite negative possibilities? You may even hang onto these false premises for dear life or like a shroud. You hound yourself with fear as if fear is a hand-me-down that you must wear.