Stress puts us into contact with the faculties we need to survive, creating our human vibe and our addiction to narration or storytelling. This episode puts first things first and follows you on your path in the subconscious, where you employ narration as a survival tool. By equating the subconscious to the siren that makes your storytelling capacity sing, we clarify why it is so important to know how to use storytelling to your advantage and share valuable tips and exercises on how to avoid the pitfalls of the enchanted forest. Is the cognitive neuroscience opening doors for you you didn't know existed? SHOW NOTES:

(01:15) - Stress is a great benefit - Stress teaches you much about who you are. You must be self-aware when a stress episode strikes, so you can recognize its driving factors.

(06:10) - Welcome to the enchanted forest - Your subconscious mind becomes a place of threats and fears that you respond to by being very stressed. That is both good and bad for you.

(12:00) - Your worst nightmare has come true - Your subconscious mind will pick any goal your identity selects and pursue that relentlessly, including then when, obviously, your identity is not one that you consciously choose.

(17:50) - The enchanted forest is the siren that makes your storytelling capacity sing - Telling your story begins with being an actor in your subconscious mind.

(21:00) - Your storytelling mind is addicted - You must tell your story; doing so is the only way through the minefield in your subconscious. Sign up for my mailing list to be notified of my upcoming book on the art of life storytelling!

(26:20) - Awareness is a must - It is obvious to you that without the right kind of awareness, you won't be able to tell your story so that it will be of help to you. Sign up for my mailing list to be notified of my upcoming book on the art of storytelling where these symptoms are discussed.

(35:04) - How to create stories in the subconscious accurately - Something important happens when your storytelling takes a pleasurable, no-way-out turn that seduces you with the promise of illusory control over the uncertainty in your subconscious.

(45:04) - Exercise for breaking large subconscious loops - You will never finish anything you start if all you do is go through the motions. Do this helpful exercise so you can begin to take ownership of who you are.

(47:18) - Exercise to help with gloomy stories you tell yourself - If left unchecked, your storytelling addiction will pass the tipping point of being of true benefit to you and turn towards depression and other mental health disorders. Do this exercise to ensure you will never fall into that trap.

Listen to my audiobook, The Visionary Path, recently a #1 New release in Neuroscience on Audible. Love exploring the subconscious? Pick up The Island, The First in the Cave Sun Series.

Stress, fear, lashing out, pain - We have all had these outbursts. They leave us exhausted and, if we are honest with ourselves, feeling empty-handed and alone. But what do they really mean? Could these destructive experiences teach us something easily overlooked about who we are? Far from being isolated or unwanted, what gets us into this mess has been central to many religions and contemporary systems of psychology. We will unpack the driving forces that make us stress-packed creatures and reveal why being a raging machine that screeches in pain can prove highly valuable to our desire for transformation. SHOW NOTES:

(01:30) - You are a controlled hallucination - We are dreamers who never start. Then why do we chase illusions?

(06:50) - Your are the creator - But the truth is that you are a creation of your own mind. Are you good at patching the different parts of yourself together into a coherent identity?

(08:47) - Something bad will happen to you - Sometimes you experience pain no matter which way you turn. Why is that?

(12:00 - Are you hardwired for failure? - Even the biggest pain you have experienced has not managed to move you from the spot.

(17:00) - Mindfulness as a band aid doesn't work - We have all experienced the temporary relief of meditation. But we must keep in mind that transformation requires energy and power.

(19:45) - What is your choice? - You have a choice in this mess, but you may be far from seeing the efficacy of a choice in the present time.

(25:55) - Immediate pain and stress relief - More often than not, you choose immediate pain and stress relief. That can involve you in significant illusions.

(29:20) - Be an infant - So do you really have a choice? Think of when you were an infant and took your first steps. Did you have a choice?

(33:35) - It's fine to be a machine - We always manage to push through to the next steps, after all. But what you don't know, won't hurt you - until it does.

(44:40) - Exercises on making better choices when you are overwhelmed. Take some time to reflect on how to release these immense cognitive burdens you have been laboring under. They have been placing massive rocks on your soul.

Accompanying voluntary reading:

The Visionary Path, From Stress to Purpose: 9 Steps to a Happy Brain

Depth of The Light: The Third in The Cave Sun Series

Each one of us has the qualities of a visionary; we were born to excel with focus, calm and intention. The problem is that this day and age has not taught us how to use our visionary qualities too well. More often than not, we succumb to stress, fear, and exhaustion. Our lives can quickly resemble safe but anxious cave dwellers'. So how can stress management help you to transform your reality into one of a visionary creator?

Maria Ian emphasizes that we shouldn't want to live without our stress, anxieties, and fears. It is these that contain the gems of brilliance, guiding us from basic A-ha! moments to awareness to a brilliantly awake consciousness, and to focus and creativity. During this introductory episode, Maria will take you on a journey of the podcast's main themes so you can derive maximum benefit from what you will learn in the coming 12 weeks, including from the weekly exercises of self-exploration and the companion cognitive neuroscience book, The Visionary Path, there for you to grab on Amazon. Are you struggling with stress and anxieties and afraid you won't move an inch forward? This episode will show you why that is only a small step on your path with purpose. Join Maria Ian to transform your reality with confidence in the coming 12 weeks! SHOW NOTES:

(02:00) - What we will cover in the coming 12 weeks - Take a sneak preview at the fascinating brain science that will turn your world upside down; who you really are and where you come from will take on unexpected dimensions! Subscribe to my mailing list for insight and support.

(19:30) - A note on the homework exercises - These will be of tremendous help to guide your transformation. All you need is a quiet space to reflect and write about yourself.

(21:05) - Mindfulness and the subconscious - We all think we know what that is. The self help market can be saturated with literature providing meditation assistance. But does that truly help you?

(24:50) - What is a visionary? - There you have it. You are made up of contradictory parts - what you are, in essence, is a visionary with the power to transform your world.

(30:20) - The archer and the Zen master - Can you hold still on unsteady ground? Give it a try with this powerful reflection!

(34:20) - Survivors of the hell of war - Read about why people who have survived the hell of war are visionaries, and what you can learn from that so that you never have to really go to war: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Visionary-Path-from-Stress-to-Purpose-Audiobook/B0DTV48XW1

(37:15) - The Cave Sun Series is where it all comes together. Laugh and cry as you witness humanity tested to its limits and still come out whole in the end. We don't leave a stone unturned to show you how human limitations contain the seeds of what you never thought could make or break your world.

Accompanying voluntary readings:

The Visionary Path: From Stress to Purpose, 9 Steps to a Happy Brain

The Killingfields: The Fourth in The Cave Sun Series