Dr Bradley Nelson of Discover Healing On How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Get rid of your “emotional baggage.” The energy of the difficult emotions that you have experienced during the low spots of your life may still be with you. Those emotional energies or “Trapped Emotions” can make it very difficult for you to truly relax and feel joy. The Emotion Code is a simple method that you can learn to do yourself, for yourself as well as for your loved ones. People all over the world have found that this powerful method is easy to learn, yet often is life-changing.
As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Bradley Nelson.
Veteran holistic physician Dr. Bradley Nelson (D.C., ret.) is one of the world’s foremost experts on natural methods of achieving wellness. He is the creator of The Emotion Code and The Body Code system, and is the CEO of Discover Healing, a holistic education platform that provides training and certifies practitioners worldwide. His best-selling book “The Emotion Code” provides step-by-step instructions for working with the body’s energy healing power. A newly revised and expanded edition of “The Emotion Code” is now available (May 2019, St. Martin’s Press). For more information and a free Emotion Code Starter Kit, visit EmotionCodeGift.com.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
When I was 13 years old, I began to suffer from severe pain in my back that would come and go, striking me unexpectedly and taking my breath away. My anxious parents took me to the hospital, where diagnostic tests showed that I was suffering from a form of kidney disease. Many years later, my mother told me that the doctors privately told her and my father that I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival, but that there was no medical treatment available for my condition. Since there was nothing Western medicine had to offer, they were on their own to help me. The doctors had no advice, except to say that I shouldn’t run or play, to avoid jostling my kidneys. I didn’t need to hear this, as it had become more than self-evident. Sometimes the slightest movements would result in excruciating pain.
Our lives were turned upside down. Suddenly my life was in jeopardy. My parents were deeply concerned, and I was walking on eggshells to avoid the sudden, stabbing pains that would shoot through my body.
When I was a young boy, I can recall making many trips to the health-food store with my mother. She was considered by many to be a “health nut.” This was long before it became popular or trendy. Back then, the medical profession seemed to think that anyone who took vitamins was actually a bit crazy and that people who rejected drugs and surgery as their main methods of health care were truly “nuts.”
Our shelves at home were stocked with all kinds of vitamin supplements, which my mother doled out to us regularly. She was very interested in health and was constantly studying natural treatments and remedies. She seemed to know just about everything that was related to health. People would often call her and ask her advice on various health topics, and she was never without an answer or a suggestion.
So when my parents were told that Western medicine had nothing to offer their sick son, my mother was undaunted. She and my father took me to see some alternative doctors. In fact, these doctors seemed to me to be an entirely different breed of doctor than those in the hospital who had not given my parents much hope. They didn’t practice in a hospital. Instead, they practiced out on the edge of town in a trailer house, situated in the middle of a wheat field. I can remember sometimes having to scrape the mud off my shoes when we would go to see them. I can also remember seeing busloads of people who had come from other states to see these alternative doctors, traveling hundreds of miles to get the help that they could not get anywhere else.
These two doctors did not practice Western medicine at all. Instead, they looked at the body as a whole. They began treating me as a whole person, giving me herbal drinks that were bitter tasting, and realigning the bones of my spine.
The result? Immediately, the pain began to be both less frequent and less severe. Within a few weeks I was feeling dramatically better. Before long, I was back to my normal life and had nearly forgotten that I had ever been sick.
Just to be on the safe side, my parents took me back to the clinic to have the same medical doctors run their tests again. As I recall, the tests were run not once more, but twice. They were negative. I was cured, but not by the medical doctors in that big, expensive clinic. I knew that they hadn’t actually done anything to help me.
Instead, those holistic doctors practicing out on the edge of town in an old trailer house in a muddy field had saved my life. I knew in my heart, at the core of my being, that what these people had done was exactly what my body needed. It seemed odd to me that the medical profession did not understand what to do for me. In fact, they had offered me nothing whatsoever. It was at that point in my life that I decided I wanted to grow up to be a doctor that knew how to help people get well.
If I needed to practice out on the edge of town in a trailer house in a muddy field, that was okay with me. As far as I could tell, that seemed to be the natural habitat of doctors who got results.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Morning sickness affects millions of women worldwide, and there is no effective treatment for it. There are medications that a pregnant woman can take but those are potentially harmful to both the fetus and the mother. When my wife Jean was pregnant with our youngest daughter Elisabeth, she was suffering with morning sickness. We had a family reunion to attend and Jean didn’t know how she could travel being so sick. She asked me to help her. I started thinking of all the things that I knew that were supposed remedies. There’s a long list of things that you can try and some of those things help a little, but none of them really fix the problem. Without any real viable options that I knew of, I decided to turn to the higher power and ask for some help. The answer that came to me was that morning sickness is caused by a disconnection between the mother and the growing fetus. What I found was the brain is sometimes not initially connected with this new life that is growing within. Essentially, the mother has to be connected both energetically and physically with all parts of the fetus.
I’ve seen a good number of morning-sick women over the years since I was led to this knowledge. I haven’t had anyone yet that this has not helped. Often the effect is immediate and quite dramatic. As soon as you create the energetic connections, the morning sickness is usually gone. Typically what women say is, “I feel better; I’m going to go eat something!” They’re hungry because they haven’t been able to eat due to the morning sickness. This is something that you won’t find anywhere else but in The Body Code.
What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?
People want to feel that their work is making a difference, that they have a level of significance in an organization. In our company, Discover Healing, Inc., we have a weekly huddle meeting where anyone can share what has been going on in their life, and where we read some of the latest testimonials that have been received, where people’s lives have been changed. We also have an annual company party, which has become like a family reunion, where our employees bring their children and we all have a great time together.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I’m often asked this question, and my short list of the top five books that have had a big impact on my life is somewhat variable, except for the book at the very top of that list. The book that has had by far the biggest impact on my life is called the Book of Mormon. The spiritual lessons, the stories and ideas in that book have brought me closer to The Higher Power than any other book I have ever read, bar none. One of my favorite stories from the book tells of the visit of Jesus Christ to the ancient inhabitants of America, shortly after he rose from the dead in Jerusalem. Wild stuff. But then, truth is often stranger than fiction!
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?
Mindfulness means you’re fully present and conscious of the moment you’re in. Research has found that people who practice mindfulness can have deeper relationships and enjoy life more! To boost your emotional health you might begin a meditation practice, spend more time in nature, or simply put your phone down while interacting with family or friends. Focus on being truly present and involved in whatever is in front of you right now — and notice how much richer your experience of that situation becomes!
This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?
Amid fear and worry over the pandemic, research shows that practicing mindfulness may alleviate symptoms of anxiety and can guard the immune system from becoming compromised by stress.
Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. The past 5 years have been filled with upheaval and political uncertainty. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. From your experience or research, what are five steps that each of us can take to develop mindfulness during such uncertain times?
- Try going on a media diet. Remember the news media lives by the axiom, “if it bleeds, it leads.” There is a tremendously powerful, built-in media bias to share bad news. And the worse the news, the more the ratings go up. I know people who during the pandemic were listening to news during all their waking hours. They found it very difficult to deal with all this stress. On the other hand, I know people who live without television, who would scarcely have known there was a pandemic going on except for their friends telling them about it. Going on a media diet for a while will help you to realize that the world is still turning, and there are lots of good things happening, in spite of the bad things that are going on in the world. Putting effort into resisting things that are going on around the world that you have absolutely no control over is not only pointless, but very hard on your own energy state.
- Focus on love. At the beginning of the pandemic I found myself grocery shopping with my wife one day. It was the time of the toilet paper shortage that you may recall. The place was crowded. The sense of panic and anxiety was palpable. As I began to resonate with these feelings that were filling the store, I thought to myself, “I don’t want to feel this. I’m going to try something else,” and silently, in my own mind I began telling strangers, “I love you.” I tried to really feel that love in my heart for these people that I didn’t know at all. I believe that when you tell someone that you love them, even if it’s only in your own mind, if it’s coming from your heart they will feel it, it will register in their subconscious mind. In any case, the effect it had on me was magical. Within 60 seconds the anxiety was forgotten, my vibrational state was very high, and I had a smile on my face for the rest of that day. Try it!
- Take a walk. If you’re feeling upset and you’re having a hard time being centered and being in the present moment, simply taking a walk for five or 10 minutes can completely change your state. It’s worked for me many times, and I highly recommend it.
- Connect with someone. What meaning does your life really have without those people in your life that you care about? Is there someone in your life that you’ve lost contact with? Is there someone that you can reach out to and reconnect with? A simple note to let someone know that you still care about them, that you are thinking of them, may not only make their day, but may make yours as well.
- Get rid of your “emotional baggage.” The energy of the difficult emotions that you have experienced during the low spots of your life may still be with you. Those emotional energies or “Trapped Emotions” can make it very difficult for you to truly relax and feel joy. The Emotion Code is a simple method that you can learn to do yourself, for yourself as well as for your loved ones. People all over the world have found that this powerful method is easy to learn, yet often is life-changing.
From your experience or research, what are some steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?
- Encourage them to express their feelings. Talking about how you feel can help you process your emotions, and help you cope when you feel upset. Being honest, open, and vulnerable can help you move through any negative emotions, and allows you to connect more deeply with others.
- Help them Improve their physical health. A healthy body helps support a healthy mind! When you get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, and move your body you are also taking care of your mental and emotional health.
- Deepen your relationship with them. Having people to count on is helpful for emotional health! While being content alone is important too, knowing you can call someone up when you’re having a bad day, or share your successes with someone else, can be beneficial for your mental health.
- Learn the Emotion Code. Releasing “emotional baggage” is so easy, fast, and simple that anyone can do it. Get a copy of the book, read it, and offer to help!
- Recommend they Work with a Therapist. If you need help understanding your emotions, a therapist or counselor can also help. Therapists can also teach communication skills to convey those emotions.
What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?
I think that all of things we have talked about in this article are helpful, and I would add yoga and meditation to the list, as well as prayer and getting out in nature. There are many great books on mindfulness and beginning meditation practice out there, too. Enjoy!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
One of my favorite cartoons has a guru on a mountaintop responding to a truth seeker by saying, “You’d better have a seat — people tend to fall down the mountain when I tell them the meaning of life!”
For some reason, I have been blessed with some profound spiritual experiences. I’ve learned for myself that we truly are all brothers and sisters in a most real sense, because I’ve learned for myself and know that we have a Father in Heaven, the Father of us all. Whether you refer to Him as “the Divine” or “Source Energy” or “Higher Power” or any other name, I think it’s all the same. To call Him Father is more accurate in my view, and feels more personal and familial to me.
I’ve also learned for myself that we are strangers here in this world. In the words of William Wordsworth:
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home.
The best gift you could possibly give to yourself and to God is to consistently choose love, truth, forgiveness, and joy, to live a life filled with service, gratitude, and the highest good you can find, so that when you leave this life you will be comfortable returning home again, back to His presence, to your Father. Life is all about who we are becoming, ultimately. I think if we truly understood how important this is, we would probably “fall down the mountain” ourselves.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I love to inspire people to learn more about how energy healing can potentially remove emotional baggage, which may help reverse all kinds of discomfort — emotional and physical. The Emotion Code doesn’t require expensive therapy or the reexperiencing of trauma. It literally removes the energy of sadness, anxiousness, anger, loneliness, and other negative emotions in just a few minutes. This is something that has been life changing for many.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
DrBradleyNelson.com
facebook.com/DrBradleyNelson/
linkedin.com/in/dr-bradley-nelson-1392022/
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Dr Bradley Nelson of Discover Healing On How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.