Podcast Description: Creating Yourself

Welcome to "Mind Matters by Gordon Bruin," the podcast dedicated to exploring the journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and transformation. In a world that often tries to define us, we believe that the most powerful narrative is the one we create for ourselves. Join us as we delve into the stories, strategies, and insights that empower individuals to take charge of their lives and craft their own identities.

What to Expect

Each episode features inspiring conversations with thought leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, and everyday people who have embarked on their own journeys of self-creation. We discuss:

- Personal Stories: Hear firsthand accounts of triumphs and challenges faced by our guests as they navigate their paths to self-actualization.
- Practical Tips: Gain actionable advice and tools that you can apply in your own life to foster growth and resilience.
- Mindset Shifts: Explore the mental frameworks that can help you break free from limiting beliefs and embrace your true potential.
- Creative Expression: Discover how art, writing, and other forms of creativity can serve as powerful vehicles for self-exploration and identity formation.

Who Should Listen

Whether you’re at a crossroads in your career, seeking to enhance your relationships, or simply looking to understand yourself better, "Mind Matters by Gordon Bruin" is for you. Our diverse range of guests and topics ensures that there’s something for everyone, no matter where you are on your journey.

Join Us

Tune in every week for new episodes that inspire, challenge, and motivate you to take the reins of your life. Subscribe to, "Mind Matters by Gordon Bruin" on your favorite podcast platform and start your journey of self-creation today!

Connect with Us

We love hearing from our listeners! Follow us on social media and join the conversation. Share your own stories of self-creation, and let’s inspire each other to live authentically.

- @gordonbruin

Together, let’s embark on the adventure of creating ourselves!

 Good morning. In this morning's podcast I want to talk about a conversation I had with the young lady I've been working with off and on for about two years. When she came to me, very very depressed, sad, lonely, zero self-confidence, felt nobody cared about her. And yet if you were to see this young lady, she's absolutely beautiful. Very accomplished. But somehow in her mind, her perception is that she just was not good enough. And as I do with all my clients, one of the very first things that I always teach them is what I call the two-part brain. I have a picture where it shows the difference between what's known as our prefrontal cortex and our deeper regions, more specifically our limbic system, the emotional brain. And I introduce them to the metaphor of an iceberg. If you've seen a picture of an iceberg, there's some amazing pictures out there, or artistic renditions where it shows that about 90-95% of an iceberg is underneath the surface of the water. 5% of an iceberg is underneath the surface of the water. I am convinced through years of working in the field of mental health that the issue really lies with that emotional brain. emotional brain. So many times neurologists just they simply agree that about 90 to 95 percent of the one yesterday Bruce Lipton saying 98 percent of our behavior is driven from this unconscious part of our brains. Support the dreams that speaks in metaphors that we dream crazy dreams and we're going, what in the world does that mean? That doesn't seem to make sense. Well, it does make sense. They're messages. They're trying to, dreams are trying to process things, but it doesn't speak in verbal language. It speaks by emotions, feelings, metaphors. And so through years of experience, as we grow up like this young lady, we experience some negative things. We experience not being good enough, failing at things. We experience not being good enough, failing at things. That's what learning is about. We don't hop on a bike and just ride it perfectly. We crash, we get up again, we crash, we feel frightened, we continue to keep trying and all of a sudden then we ride. And then once we ride, you know, we don't forget. And anyway, that's the limbic part of the brain that drives most of the behavior. So how do we reach this part of the brain and learn its language and connect with it? Kind of like the rider and the horse metaphor. That's the work of mental health. rider and the horse metaphor. That's the work of mental health. I was working with another young lady yesterday, struggles with some addiction issues, some sexual addiction issues. And the compulsive behavior to act out is extremely powerful. And she's embarrassed by it. She doesn't know what to do about it she shames herself because of that she feels just gross and unworthy and i said all right let's talk about these two parts of yourself and and how important it is to understand this limbic part of the brain that when you're acting out on any of those behaviors, your brain is just trying to take care of you. The limbic part of the brain. You're not a bad person. It's finding any way to kind of soothe you when you feel bored, lonely, angry, stressed, or tired. That's what the emotional brain does. This deep brain. It doesn't have morals or values. They don't exist there. It functions on the premise of instant gratification. If something is stressful and feels uncomfortable, it wants to get out of it and it will drive you however it can. Anyway, back to the original person that I began working with a couple of years ago. Today, she is so much better, so much stronger. Succeeding, she's in high school, just getting ready to graduate. And she's participating in clubs and activities and athletic events. And if you were to see her now, you would go, oh, my gosh, this is a person with the most confidence and presence. She loves the concept of presence. What is presence? She says, I'm fascinated by that. And I go, I know, it's how you carry yourself. How you carry yourself is the most important thing. That's the image, the message that the limbic part of the brain reads. If someone is strong, someone is capable, someone can be trusted. And that words, there's been a lot of research on how powerful words are compared to presence, and presence knocks it out of the park all the time. I mean, so, in other words, have you heard this statement before? Who you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear a word you're saying. So, in other words, it doesn't matter so much the words we speak to others, it's how they perceive us in our character, in our presence, how we present ourselves. I think Walt Whitman, the poet said, we convince by our presence. Anyway, so how has she made so much progress? And then it kind of, kind of seems like she's hit this plateau. One of the things that I encourage all my clients to do is after understanding the two-part brain and this unconscious part of the brain that drives most of our behavior and research has also indicated that most of what comes from the limbic part of the brain tends to be negative, focuses on things that can threaten us because its job is to keep us alive. And so it's always scanning for negative, negative things. And so we have to rewire that through positive affirmations. And an affirmation is something said in first person, present tense, and it's positive. What is it that you want to become? So one of the things this one young lady said, you know, I am worthy of love. I am strong. I am capable. I embrace challenge with bravery and courage. Because she felt like she lacked courage and bravery. She felt weak. And so I said, well, let's just keep sending a message down to that part of the brain. You're going to put a new recording down there. Now this may seem really, really simple, but I want you to think back of the story of Moses, the prophet Moses in the Old Testament in the Bible, when there was this experience where there were a lot of fiery serpents, and they were sent to bite people. And they were poisonous serpents, and the people would die. Unless Moses stood there with a staff, and he would simply say to them, put the staff in the ground, because I'm trying to visualize this on my mind, and he simply said, all you have to do is look. Look at this, and you'll be healed. And as the story goes, there were many who refused to look. I can't even wrap my head around that. If I was bit by a poisonous serpent and I was dying and someone said, look, just look over here and be healed. Man, don't you think you'd at least try that? But these people were so hardened and so stubborn that they wouldn't look. And so they perished. All they had to do was look. By small and simple means, great things are brought to pass. I truly believe that. So with the affirmations, working, make a list of the things you truly desire. And then repeat those affirmations throughout the day. You have to create a system. Again, we do not rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems. And so what this young lady, when I checked in with her, she's kind of plateauing. She's doing really good, but plateauing. I says, how are you doing? How did you do on your affirmations since we last met? And she goes, I haven't really done them. I kind of stopped doing them, and I don't know why. I go, it's because you do not have a system in place, and this is what happens. And I've seen this over and over again. When someone's really struggling, they start. So she was doing her affirmations on a regular basis and then she got better and then she's feeling like and kind of drifting a little bit. To become strong, capable, powerful, we become strong by making decisions. That's how we gain confidence, by making decisions to do certain things and creating a system. You know, confidence, you don't wait for confidence to do things. You create confidence by the decisions that you make. And so we set some goals that she's going to be working on. She says, yeah, I really, I resonate with that concept. I've got to figure out a system. So I'll tell you what a system is. A system is, oh, this is just what I do and when I do. It's an implementation intention. When and where am I going to do this? So I said, all right, every night before you go to bed, you have your affirmations. I said, how many affirmations do you have right now that you're that you've created for yourself? And she, you know, pulled up her phone, she has them written on her phone, and I think on her computer screen, I have eight. And I go, all right, what's a system where you can make sure that you read those, and I would suggest multiple times a day. And then this is what she said, what she's dealing with. I have the thought to do it, but right when I think, oh, I need to do my affirmations, then another thought comes in and distracts her from doing that. And I said, there just is that force in the universe. I don't know where it comes from or why, but when you discipline yourself to do the small and simple things, when you don't really want to do them, that's the key right there. That's the key. doing them keep that process over and over again and then you become that we become what we repeatedly do and so anyway i just i think that was it and it really, it's really important, this concept. Because certain things are so small and simple that we don't do them. Because we don't think they're going to make a difference. And I'm saying every little single drop of water in the bucket, eventually it's going to fill it up. By small and simple means, great things are brought to pass. So I would encourage you to create affirmations for yourself. Do not minimize the power of them. Back to the definition of the magic word abracadabra, what I speak is what I create. There's something within us that we can think for ourselves. You know, so one thing I've always remembered this statement, I think by Virgil, I think therefore I am. One of the mysteries of existence is that we think we exist as conscious beings. What do we want to be? What do we want to be and do we have choice in helping create that? I absolutely believe that we do. I know we do because I've seen it. I've seen it transform lives. But when we're caught in our limiting beliefs and our negativity, that record just continues to run over and over again. And then we get stuck in this trap. And then we get stuck in this trap. The trap can be broken by small and simple things done on a consistent basis. And positive affirmations, I am strong, I am capable, I am beautiful, I am worthy. My immune system is powerful and strong. I am healthy. I'm in the best shape of my life. And when you keep repeating those things to yourself, I eat healthy. I eat healthy amounts. And you keep saying those things over and over to yourself, even if there's a little negative voice saying, oh, that's a bunch of baloney. No, you're not. You know you're not. Well, when you're doing those things, you are in the process of becoming. So, again, by small and simple means, great things are brought to pass. Daily affirmations, the system, like this one lady okay young gal just an amazing person every night before I go to bed I'm going to read my my eight affirmations and then once a month or once a week I'm going to create one new affirmation as I continue to grow and develop I'm smart I create one new affirmation as I continue to grow and develop. I'm smart. I am brilliant. I learn quickly. I attract into my life positive people. I'm always protected and defended from negative influences and sources that I know how to deal with them. and sources that I know how to deal with them. And that's, but that's where it's gotten her to where she is. And there's a number of individuals that I'm working with that I'm also thinking of right now, that that is the process that has helped them, but it can't stop. That's the thing. Life is ongoing. Movement is change. Right? No man ever steps into the same river twice because it is not the same river and he's not the same man. Today is the most important day of your life. Are you doing it now? Are you doing it today? So, just want to leave you with those thoughts. Take charge of your life. Create a system for yourself where you're doing small and simple positive things on a regular basis. There's some who use what's called the doorway approach. They memorize their affirmations and their system is every time I walk through a door doorway, I just stop and say one of my positive affirmations. I am healthy and strong. It's just like me to say my positive affirmations. So they're in the process of creating themselves, who they want to become, rather than simply responding to negative sources. They're acting rather than being acted upon. There is great power in this because within each one of us, we have the power to do that, but most are completely unaware that they have the power to do it because their process has been overridden by all of the negative things and marketing techniques in our society. And the powerful people who want to control other people by the information that they keep throwing at them over and over again. Think for yourself. Ponder deep inside your soul what feels right, what doesn't feel right. And then so order your life and just continue to move forward. It's going to be a process. There's supposed to be opposition. The obstacle is the way. What stands in the way becomes the way. But powerful, powerful things happen when you consistently do small and simple things. And daily affirmations are critical in the process of rewiring this unconscious part of the brain. And it does take work until all of a sudden it starts to change. And all of a sudden you start to do those things. All of a sudden it starts to become you because you are the one that actively took part in your creation. I love this statement. One of my favorite statements by the playwright George Bernard Shaw, who said, Life is not about finding yourself. It is about creating yourself. Anyway, you have an amazing day. And make the most of today. And today is the most important day you will ever have.