Dec 1

Dec 1 Align, Vibe, Flow Podcast: Pragmatic Alchemy & Pathologizing the Human Experience with Courtney Edwards

Courtney was delighted to chat with Savannah Blake for the Align, Vibe, Flow podcast. Listen here!

Beginning –Pragmatic alchemy and how it integrates the “woo-woo” with the science of spirituality. As a society and culture imbedded in “concrete” physicality, many of us need to understand why and how things work in order to implement properly.

Pathologizing the human experience is the culture of mental health right now. Human nature is to box everything up so that we can categorize and understand everything. We tend to want to label things as a problem and make them go away instead of learning how we can utilize them. They very well could be a super power. Example: ADHD being “omni-directional thinking”.

Normal doesn’t exist. Each and every one of us is completely different and that’s beautiful.

7:35 –We base everything in our lives on external factors. How everyone, everything, culture, media, etc. says we “should” be. No one ever finds satisfaction in that. It’s a “running in place”. Everyone must decide what works best for them specifically and design their own lives.

Standardizing starts in the school systems where everything is measured against a scale and if you don’t measure up, the message is immediately that something’s wrong with you.The system is designed to keep us small because smallness is easy to control. Fully accepting yourself makes you powerful which is terrifying to those in power.

11:05 –We see the issues with the school system but we don’t really know what to do about it. The school system hasn’t been around for very long. We can change things.Social media helps us connect with others who don’t fit the assigned “normal” boxes which has led us to the understanding that things like neurodivergences are not as uncommon as we’ve been led to believe.

16:10 –Our language creates our reality and how we feel about ourselves. Words are spells. The language and words we use around mental health “disorders” is problematic because it can keep us small and self conscious. Some people do fine with these word frames, others hide behind them or completely succumb to them. Believing they “can’t” and refusing to try because they’re “disorderly”.

All we have is the present moment and we get to choose how to interpret the moment. We say we’re “trying” because trying sounds softer than “doing” and we don’t want to be intimidating or whatever.

Just be honest and tell the truth because trying to frame it in a positive manner often causes an inner conflict that makes it feel worse because you want it to be how you’re framing it but it isn’t.

22:45 –The internet is a neutral tool that only becomes “good” or “bad” with how you use it, as is with everything.People get overwhelmed because decision fatigue is a thing and the internet has brought all of the information to the forefront and it’s terrifying to learn that everything we knew and know to be true isn’t.

Now changes have to be made but that’s hard and it’s much easier to relinquish control to someone else in the form of doctors, teachers, the government, etc.We can’t opt out of the uncomfortable emotions without losing them all. Instead of labeling feelings as “good” or “bad”, we need to reframe them as big or small or we can use temperatures to describe them. They’re neutral, they just exist. It’s what we do with them that matters.

30:05 –Being in a female body is hard because we’re the ones that are primarily told to be less and control ourselves. Being taught to be seen, not heard.All of the systems are being broken down because we’re seeing what’s not working and trying to create systems that work for everyone. However, that’s going to look nonstructural and messy for at least a while.

Under the best of circumstances, none of us can do everything that society asks of us. It’s simply too many things for even 2 people to accomplish. It truly takes an entire village just to meet the bear minimum of what’s expected of us.Covid pushed us all further apart there for a bit but it’s springing back to bring us all closer together.

40:25 –Functioning level may just mean resourced level. We should stay in a “beginner’s mindset” at all times when interacting with the world. We don’t know what people are dealing with or where they’ve come form so it’s best to approach everything with a sense of open curiosity and let them tell us.None of us have anything figured out. Just accept it.If you view the world as terrible, it will, in fact, be terrible.
Bio:
Courtney Edwards is a wellness professional, entrepreneur, and podcaster. She holds a master’s degree in Counseling from Pace University and is a Board Certified Coach through the Center for Credentialing and Education. She holds additional certifications as a Relationship Coach (IAP Career College) and as a meditation instructor (Aura Wellness). In 2018 she founded Alchemy Coaching, offering behavioral health, life, and relationship coaching. Courtney is the host of the rapidly growing Pragmatic Alchemy podcast and lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her family, pets, and books.