Wild Becoming Podcast,
The ultimate gateway to ignite your spiritual journey and unlock a life of harmony,
Purpose,
And conscious living.
My name is Amanda Machado.
I'm your guide in this quest for self-discovery.
As an epidemiologist and devoted teacher of consciousness,
I take my inspiration from spirit,
Science,
And nature and make conscious living practical for your everyday life.
In this sanctuary of knowledge,
We will blend the robust foundation of scientific truth with wisdom woven by diverse communities,
Disciplines,
And niches across the globe.
We're not just connecting the dots here.
We're simplifying the intricate patterns of our world in order to fuel your transformation like never before.
Before we embark,
A quick note.
While I'm deeply passionate about well-being,
I'm not a medical expert.
If you're facing psychological or medical challenges,
It's essential to seek the guidance of a qualified professional.
Your health and happiness matter.
To all you seekers,
Dreamers,
And curious souls yearning for growth,
This podcast is your catalyst.
All starts and ends with the spirit.
Your spirit holds the key.
Today,
We unlock its infinite potential together.
Today,
We are embarking on the profound journey into the realms of personal growth,
Habit energy,
Habit forming,
And the concept of discipline,
And what this all has to do with the spiritual cycles of transformation and the delicate dance of inner alignment.
All that happens in life happens in cycles.
We have cycles of the moon,
Our planets orbit around the sun,
Menstrual cycles in females,
Circadian cycles in rhythms of our day and our seasons.
Everything is in a constant state of movement and cycle of death and rebirth is constantly happening in our world.
This is the very wisdom of habit formation,
Habit energy,
And where we can uncover this deeper wisdom through the shedding of old habits to make room for new ones.
This is alchemy.
There is nothing that is really lost,
But we do have energetic shifts that we have to allow in order for new things to take shape,
In order for new things to take form in our lives.
Cycles and patterns are required for our growth.
In Eastern philosophy and spirituality,
This is also known as our karma.
We tend to think of karma as punishment,
But in actuality,
Karma is cycles.
The law of karma is also known to be about cause and effect.
In other words,
Action.
Karmic cycles are the ways that things work,
The direction of the movement,
Just as winter moves to spring,
Summer,
Fall,
And then winter again.
Just like the alignment between the sun and the earth chooses the direction of the seasons,
Where some places are only summer all of the time,
Or only winter,
Or a mix of the seasons.
We choose our karma based on our everyday actions,
And the more we choose a particular action,
The more that action becomes ingrained in us,
Which forms what is known as a habit,
Or creates this momentum of what is known as habit energy,
Or habitual energy within us.
This is what keeps the cycle going.
We can say that some habits are good or bad,
But at the end of the day,
It's all habit energy,
And whether or not it's actually serving you in your life.
And when it's not,
And we have that desire to make a shift,
It's having that awareness and bringing that awareness to ourselves so that we can create what we want to create in our lives.
Discipline is the silent orchestra of our journey,
And yet known by many as one of the most misunderstood concepts.
Discipline requires training of the mind because the spirit already knows the way,
And the body is always ready to be of service to hold what we need to hold,
And to take us to where we need to go.
In Hindu and yogic philosophy,
There is this concept of samskara,
Which refers to the imprints or the impressions that are left on the mind by past experiences,
Past actions,
And thoughts.
You can think of them as ridges and valleys of the mind,
Where the imprints that we act on repeatedly form deeper and deeper grooves within our mind.
These imprints create habitual patterns of thinking and habitual patterns of behavior,
And these behaviors and ways of thinking are the very things that influence our responses to future situations.
Samskaras can be thought of as being positive or negative,
And they play a significant role in shaping our character,
In shaping our personality,
And in shaping our overall life experiences.
And we know that we are actually biologically wired for this.
We know that from science that the brain will take the most energy efficient route in order to conserve glucose.
So we're basically wired to keep walking the same path until we set a conscious intention to shift.
A little more on where the word samskara comes from.
So it's derived from the Sanskrit root samskar,
Which means impression or mental imprint.
These imprints are thought to be stored in the subconscious mind and can influence our actions,
Our emotions,
Our perceptions.
Samskaras are also believed to carry over from one lifetime to the next and contribute to the concept of karma and the cycles of birth and rebirth in yogic philosophy.
Discipline plays a crucial role in shaping one's samskara.
By engaging in disciplined actions and cultivating what we want to create in our lives through high quality intention,
We can create constructive imprints in our mind that set us up for success in life.
And if you think about this,
And this is why a lot of resolutions actually fail,
I think it's a bit over 80%.
So when people make resolutions at New Year's,
For example,
We know that a lot of these resolutions tend to fail.
And I think this is because the focus is on stopping something.
And from this perspective,
The mind doesn't really compute that as good as it computes an intention to create something in our lives.
The mind understands what pathway do you want me to go down?
So it's kind of like when I tell my toddler not to throw food,
He'll throw food because the mind understands what direction do you want me to go in?
This is what computes in our minds,
Not what direction do you not want me to go down?
Because energy needs a direction to flow.
You will be met with resistance when you move in the direction of change,
But you don't need to create resistance within yourself.
We want to cultivate flow.
This is why a disciplined practice of meditation or regular movement can leave positive imprints that contribute to a mental clarity and emotional well-being,
And overall positive behavior that we can take with us in our daily lives.
Discipline can also be a powerful tool in breaking negative samskaras because you're consciously setting the intention with your mind to say,
We're going to walk down this other path from now on,
And I'm going to take aligned action to support this intention.
You can consciously choose to engage in actions that take you down the path of what you want to create,
Even when it feels hard,
Or even when you feel that you are met with resistance because you are carving a new path.
It is your conscious choice that counteracts harmful habits or thought patterns that over time will start to gradually weaken the negative imprints and replace them with more positive ones.
Practices that have spiritual wellness at the core work because they are disciplined practices that help us observe our mind,
Help us observe our samskaras with greater clarity,
And this allows us to follow the direction of our soul who really does know the way and really does know which patterns we don't want to repeat.
This awareness provides the opportunity to consciously choose actions that contribute to positive imprints,
And in doing so,
Counteract patterns that we no longer want to continue.
This is why yogic disciplines like meditation,
Pranayama or breath control,
And asana or physical postures are designed not only to enhance physical well-being,
But also to purify our minds.
These practices aim to break free from the influence of negative samskara,
Leading to greater self-realization and spiritual growth.
Overall this concept of samskara really helps underscore the influence of past experiences on present behavior,
While the concept of discipline provides a pathway that helps us consciously shape and redirect these mental imprints that we want to shift.
It is through discipline and mindful choices that you can really transform negative samskaras or pathways into pathways that lead you down new pathways of fostering personal growth,
Fostering well-being,
And a deeper connection with your true self and your true nature.
But this has to be done in a way that feels consciously chosen,
With non-forcing.
It's definitely a delicate balance,
And it's the reason why sometimes we say,
I don't want to do X anymore,
Or I want to change X,
And we don't do it.
It has sort of this fixing type of energy that feels forceful,
That lacks this heartfelt intention or vision to hold the specific goals or actions that you will take in alignment with the intention or vision that you want to hold.
We really have to align our minds,
Our bodies,
And spirit,
And the spirit does not like force.
It doesn't require force.
The mind requires discipline,
And the body requires deep listening.
The soul requires relation.
When that happens,
You can flow on a positive path without force.
This doesn't mean inaction.
It means conscious action with a strong quality intention behind it.
Train your mind and listen to your body.
Take conscious action,
And you will come into alignment most naturally.
Alignment means that all three are aligned,
Your mind,
Your body,
And your soul.
You are aligned with your highest purpose and timeline,
And this means that you hold a strong vision which allows all that doesn't align with the vision and intention that you're holding to fall away.
So let's get practical.
Where do we even start?
The truth is that being brutally honest with ourselves is our compass to self-discovery.
We cannot have growth without self-reflection.
Nowadays things are getting a bit more complicated because everything in our world feels like it's speeding up,
Where we are consuming more than ever in less time,
With less time to process it or digest it.
We know that with overconsumption in our body,
We tend to bloat,
And with underconsumption of the right kind of medicines of life,
We tend to starve.
Our nervous systems and our body needs to be able to digest our experiences.
It's incredibly hard for our nervous system to process when we are constantly in overdrive.
We have to be able to take the time to slow down and reflect,
Process,
And digest.
To look at the parts of ourselves that we may not want to look at or sit with,
And sit with challenging emotions,
And take full responsibility for our choices that truly align with our authenticity.
Not something that's been conditioned into us for us to want it or for us to desire it.
It's not uncommon on your path to feel guilt or shame when you feel like you're slipping up or there's a cycle that you just can't break.
It's not about the fact that you feel it,
It's whether or not you can hold it.
Can you hold it so that you can process and transform that energy into something that's productive for your path?
The self-loathing can feel more harmful for us than eating the thing that we said that we wouldn't eat,
Texting the person that we said we wouldn't text,
Not getting out into the sun.
We really have to stop punishing ourselves.
Each new moment is a moment to begin again.
Someone really special on my path to me,
Who I had the opportunity to work with for a short period of time,
Once reminded me that we have many,
Many meals to eat,
Many,
Many walks on our path,
And many,
Many experiences to experience,
To digest,
To learn from.
All are great,
Simple beauty.
Let it go.
Set the intention to begin again.
Set a deep intention within your heart about the quality of life that you want to lead.
Focus on the quality of your intention and everything else that's on the surface will flow in accordance with that.
Let that intention be planted in the energy of what you want to create rather than what you want to restrict.
The restriction will come naturally as a result of being able to hold a strong vision and intention.
Let discipline be related to what you want to create and your vision and your intention.
Focus on what you want instead of what you don't want.
If you want to stop the routine you're currently in,
Set a specific quality intention to cultivate the routine of your dreams,
For example.
If you want to stop the negative self-talk and lack of self-compassion,
Telling yourself to stop will only perpetuate the lack because,
Again,
Your mind understands this is the direction that you want me to go.
It doesn't necessarily hear the stop very clearly.
It only hears negative self-talk and will keep that negative self-talk going.
So set an intention around fostering a compassionate relationship with yourself,
Recognizing that self-compassion is the vital element of your spiritual journey.
If you want to stop unhealthy coping mechanisms like drinking alcohol or smoking when you're upset,
Set an intention to cultivate a healthy coping strategy and your overall well-being and allow your actions to flow in the direction of the intention you set.
And this should help you naturally restrict the drinking and the smoking,
For example.
The same can be said for exploring how feng shui,
Or in other words,
Our outer environment,
Impact our well-being.
This is a delicate balance between our inner and outer world where we are required to harmonize both our material and spiritual pursuits.
And also it helps us to recognize our interconnectedness with the world around us.
So say you're setting an intention for a healthy coping strategy,
For example,
Which flows naturally by creating a life of deep spiritual wellness.
You will definitely find that you probably won't find yourself in many bars,
But rather perhaps find yourself surrounded by mountains on a hike in nature when you feel ungrounded or you feel the need to come back to your center because your inner world will start to reflect your outer world and vice versa.
You don't need,
As another example,
To ghost everyone out of your life.
The people who are meant for this leg of your journey will be drawn to you and the other relationships will start to fall away as a natural progression of life.
It's the single intention,
It's your single intention of the highest quality that really helps to light the way for carving a new path.
This is what naturally helps us cultivate our outer world feng shui,
Or the environment that we want to create around us,
In other words,
To support our vision and the intentions that we hold.
It's the creating,
For example,
Of an intentional wardrobe that aligns with the energy that we want to put out into the world when we're walking around in the world.
It's the cleaning of our office space because we want tomorrow to feel renewed and refreshed.
It's the decluttering of our homes because we are in the process of decluttering our minds.
So as you move through this,
I want you to remember the medicine of the butterfly.
Your habits will transform as you transform.
You only have to set a strong intention and then take aligned conscious action with least effort,
So non-forcing,
And allowing the delicate balance of just enough effort without overdoing it to flow.
And when I say allow,
I truly mean allow.
And this really allows your transformation to take place without force.
Because it is all part of the natural flow of life,
The flow of nature,
And the cycles of life for transformation to take place,
Whether that's in the butterfly or within you.
The caterpillar,
For example,
Only aligns with nature's intention of transformation.
It's programmed to enter its cocoon as a conscious action on its path and allow the transformation to take place.
So my hope for you is that you find inspiration in the cycles of transformation,
The discipline of inner alignment,
The honesty of self-reflection,
And the wisdom of nature,
And the transformative power of intention to shift your habitual energy.
And with that,
I hope you have the most beautiful,
Beautiful day.
