Episode 160 ENCORE The Best Of HCP | The Inward Facing Journey: Interview With Joe Gilbert

The Holistic Counseling Podcast

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Why do some people embark on spiritual journeys? How is the mind like a puppy when it comes to meditation? What can you do to make yourself “lighter”?

MEET Joe Gilbert

Joe Gilbert is a clinical mental health counselor and meditation teacher. His primary office is at the Cedar Walk Wellness Center in Hillsborough, NC. He lives with his wife in Hillsborough, and enjoys hiking and backpacking, listening to the birds, and cuddling with his animal companions.

Find out more at Gilbert Meditation

FREE meditation group hosted by Joe Gilbert

IN THIS PODCAST:

• Why would you want to embark on an inward-facing journey?
• Stilling your mind
• Travel lighter

Why Would You Want To Embark On An Inward Facing Journey?

We hear people say “I want to be more present. I want to be in the present moment” and the reality is that you are never out of the present moment, it’s just for a lot of us – a lot of the time – we don’t like it and so we think there’s something wrong, that I need to go out of my soul to find something to fix it. (Joe Gilbert)

Many people live on autopilot, unaware or dissociating from their current reality, and think that they need to achieve something other than themselves in order to find peace, or presence, in their current lived experience.

Going on an inward-facing journey means meeting your own needs so that you can be present in your reality without running away from it. You meet your needs, put your ego to rest and simply be, without worrying continually.

I knew I could not keep living my life the way I was living it … I always had existential questions … a lot of the times I would get the response “just don’t think about it, no big deal” …there was this continual pull from me to question everything … self-inquiry to me is continuing to ask “what’s true here?” And we find out what’s true by stripping away what’s false. (Joe Gilbert)

Surrendering helps you to let go of the structures that you hold onto that remain the perception of what you think your reality is. Surrender, and open yourself up.

Stilling Your Mind

Find what works for you, because some people need:

More movement:

People who find stillness in mind and spirit could try a form of yoga, tai chi, or a gentle hike to move the body without becoming over-excited.

To get rid of the script:

Get rid of the idea of what you think meditation and stillness look like because it is different for everyone.

To stop running:

Stop running from something, because yoga works well when you settle into the unknown and say “yes” to what comes up if it resonates with you and your Higher-self.

To trust your intuition:

This may take a little while, but use meditation as a way to get back in touch with your intuition, and you can even use your intuition to get in touch with meditation.

Treat your mind like an excited puppy. It will run off and get distracted and want to play and collide into a million things at once, but you accept it for where it is and you do not yell at it because you understand that it is new to the world, just as your mind is new to meditation.

Travel Lighter

We just travel lighter [so] we don’t take ourselves so seriously, and when I’m not taking myself so seriously, I don’t have much to defend, I don’t get so defensive … I don’t get addicted looking for something that is going to somehow save me. (Joe Gilbert)

Through embarking on an inward journey you can travel lighter through life. By completing a spiritual journey and figuring out who you really are, what is really important, and what you really want to focus your energy and attention on, you become lighter.

When you know what is important to you, you can release all the rest that is weighing you down and keeping you stuck in the past and stuck in old habits that no longer serve you.

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Resources Mentioned And Useful Links:

Find out more at Gilbert Meditation

FREE meditation group hosted by Joe Gilbert