February is mental health awareness month, a month not chosen by random as statistically this is a tough one for many people. In the northern hemisphere we are getting tired of darker days and colder months. Many are just recovering from the stress and financial pressure of Christmas just over a month ago, while moving into the added pressure of Valentine’s Day gift giving and social expectations. Societal norms are showing us that we should be expressing love to our partners, preferably monetarily, and if we aren’t in partnership then we must be lonely or have something wrong with us. (Cue the ads for dating apps.) If we combine that with the energetic transitions and planetary shifts that are happening on this planet, it is no surprise we are feeling the pressure this month.
18 years ago I started my career working with a light therapy manufacturer. I learned a lot about mental health and the effects of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I studied how the effects of the right wavelength of light can help lift a person’s mood, give them energy, reduce jetlag and even support weight loss. At the time, our light therapy company sold it’s bright light devices into lots of health and wellness stores but we also worked with medical doctors and researchers who successfully used light therapy with their patients. Dr. Raymond Lam says in his book The Healing Light: Interface of Physics and Biology, “One of the beauties of light is its capacity to restore human health.” This knowledge of light wavelengths and their effect on the body have always stuck with me.
In the last decade I’ve explored the effects of sound frequency on the body. Once again I’ve learned that different frequencies and tones can have positive and negative effects on the body. I’ve studied healing techniques using precisely tuned instruments on the body and started practicing energy healing arts focused on using specific frequencies to heal myself and others. It’s amazing to me that these modalities are not mainstream, yet I do know, the reason is likely twofold. One, the potential loss to other industries like big pharmaceutical business holds back research and advances on alternative therapies, and two, we’ve bought into mainstream thinking that has fed us to not believe anything we can’t see with our own eyes unless of course ‘they’ tell us it’s ok. For example, we should trust the frequency emissions of 5G towers but yet we shouldn’t trust the shaman’s energetic healing practices? How many times have we been led to believe something is safe and later find out it is causing harm? Remember the smoking advocacy by the medical world happened not so long ago and now we know smoking causes cancer.
Change does take time, and it takes change-makers who are willing to explore new things and share them with the world. I am excited for the headway we have made in normalizing alternative healing techniques but we’ve still got a long way to go. According to the National Mental Health Association, nearly 1/4 of all deaths of adolescence to middle-aged men and women in Canada are due to suicide. 1 in 5 people will suffer from a mental health issue or illness every year and unfortunately these statistics don’t show any signs slowing down.
We need to give people more tools to help them not just cope, but thrive in their lives. The explosive life coaching industry is a sign that people are crying out for this kind of help. Our purpose isn’t to suffer by each day trying to make money to pay our bills, feed our children, and send them to school to learn the same things we did to continue the cycle all over again. I implore you to be brave and follow your gut, follow your heart, be willing to try a new path that isn’t perhaps the mainstream. Do your research. Ask questions. Get curious. Take courses and training. Seek referrals to find reputable doctors, coaches and healers. There is so much more available out there if we just take the time to notice and be open to the possibility of trying something new. Your biggest healing influence might come from something you can’t see with the naked eye, like specific light wavelengths or sound frequencies. As Albert Einstein said “For the rest of my life I will reflect on what light is.” He was amazed by the miracle of light 100 years ago and we still haven’t unraveled all that it can do. I will certainly continue to explore all that the unseen world and alternative modalities can bring to living my best life. Come join the wave of the future. It looks pretty bright and sounds divine.
Written by Robin Harris, Transformational Coach & Workshop Leader