— "You are everything that is: your thoughts, your life, your dreams come true. You are everything you choose to be. You are as unlimited as the endless universe."
Learning to manage, control, and direct the resources of your own mind is the greatest opportunity you will ever have. Until recently we didn't even know the name of our greatest adversary––that wall which has confined us to the smallest part of what we could have been. The adversary has been us. It is the thoughts which we have thought. It is our own thinking which has created the limited self-portraits of who we believed ourselves to be. Our technology has given us the tools, and science has shown us the way. Our emerging understanding of our own human brain has pointed us in the right direction. We have learned that what we do, and what we do with us, is not an accidental happening. We have learned that who we are and what we are is the result of more than a chance combination of genetic inclinations. We have learned that what happens next––for each of us––is more up to us than we might have thought: it is up to what we think. Talk to yourself. Learn the words––the right words––and use them. Make your self-talk a positive, everyday, self-directing habit. Talk to yourself in a way that is kind, loving, caring, strong, demanding, and determined. Talk to yourself in the right way, every day. When you do, you will give yourself the greatest gift you will ever give. – writes Shad Helmstetter in "What To Say When You Talk To Your Self."
Valeria interviews Megan Barken — She is an experienced Licensed Clinical Social Worker, providing therapy services in her mental health private practice in Saint Louis, Missouri.
She also works part-time at a prison re-entry community program called Concordance Academy, where she works with men and women getting out of prison and re-integrating into the community. Driven by her passion to help and serve others, she takes great pride in utilizing a variety of different therapy interventions to create an individualized therapeutic approach to each client. Megan's primary focus areas in therapy are depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use disorders and addiction, self esteem issues, women's issues, blended families, pre-marital and marital, and relationship issues. Her clientele consists of teens, adults, and couples. Megan graduated with a Bachelor's Degree of Human Services from Fontbonne University, and graduated summa cum laude from Saint Louis University with a Master's Degree of Social Work. Outside of work, she has a beautiful, blended family of 4 children with her husband Peter, with one on the way! In her free time, Megan is extremely passionate about horses, all animals, and all things outdoors. Megan has a certified therapy dog, Louie, who was rescued in 2015 and attends sessions and facilities around St. Louis."
To learn more about Megan Barken and her work, please visit: meganbarkenllc.com
— This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.