A Life-Changing Week

"You, The Greatest Adventure" 

I recently returned form a week-long meditation retreat in Dallas, Texas, given by Dr. Joe Dispenza. I have been studying Dr. Joe's work since 2018. After repeated attempts to create change in my life that always started out like gangbusters but then fizzled into me feeling like I was back at square one, I had the uncomfortable realization that perhaps there was a subconscious habit or pattern standing in my way. It felt like I was running on a hamster wheel. I clearly recall the moment of frustration that I implored the universe to please show me a way off the wheel. Three days later, I came across Dispenza's book Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, and my life has been changing for the better ever since.

I decided that 2022 would be the year I would attend one of Dr. Joe's retreats. This is a week filled with instruction and meditation that gets you out of your familiar routine to focus on yourself and change. These retreats are held all over the world, and they sell out like rock concerts. I decided to put into practice what I had been learning. I set a firm intention to go. I meditated on the intention each day and brought it to life with the feeling of attending the event. The timing and finances fell perfectly into place for me to attend the Dallas retreat in October. There were 1,800 people from 41 countries, all there to meditate. The theme was "You, The Greatest Adventure," and it was!

The Power of Community

It's hard to describe the energy of 1,800 people in a room doing the same meditation together. We started at 6:00 most mornings meditating for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Three of those mornings were outside walking meditations where we practiced walking "as if" we were our future selves, getting our heart and brain into coherence and then feeling the feeling of our future as we walked. Powerful. The rest of the day was spent alternating different types of meditations with lectures where we learned about everything from how to get better at creating heart and brain coherence (a key to health and healing) to what the quantum field is and how to utilize it in meditation. We meditated about 35 hours over the course of the week. In between lectures and meditations, a DJ played dance music that got us all moving and raising our energy. 

The most emotional part of the retreat for me came at the end of the week when we learned how to use coherence to direct healing to another person. That was a heart-opener for sure and worthy of its own post. It was hard to leave after spending a week surrounded by such love and energy, but I see it as a snapshot of what is possible for humanity, and it's encouraging to think about the ripple effect all these participants will bring into their communities around the world.

Meditation to Improve Health

Meditation is a powerful tool for relaxation, but one of my passions is how it can be used to create change. Our most valuable asset is our mind, and we are just beginning to realize the implications this has for our life and health. Many attendees at Dr. Joe's retreats volunteer to participate in research studies that he is conducting with scientists from the University of California at San Diego. Data is collected through blood samples, brain scans, surveys, and samples of intestinal bacteria. At this point, they have about two years of data, and there are plans for many other studies in the works. The researchers aren't looking for any particular outcome, but they are documenting any significant changes that take place. They compare people who don't meditate with novice and advanced meditators. The  result is some very compelling data that is in the process of bring prepared for publication. 

They have discovered that meditation helps the body to improve whether the meditator believes it does or not. Novice meditators have the biggest change and start to look more like advanced meditators in only seven days! They also found that the blood of meditators with disease looks more like the blood of healthy meditators in this same time period. Participants who are dealing with a health issue are followed after they leave the retreat, and many report significant positive changes in their scans and lab reports. This includes people battling all different stages of cancer. It would be reasonable to say that meditation can be a form of medicine, and this medicine is being created from within.

What I Learned: 12 Takeaways

These studies are groundbreaking. There is much to recommend the value of meditation becoming a part of our regular healthcare system and practice. The power of our mind is no idle fantasy! One of the questions I am asked most often is, "How do I change?" I would point to Dr. Joe's website  drjoedispenza.com  as great place to start. He has a section on the site dedicated to beginners. His books are available on the website and also on Amazon. Here at Pando Unlimited, I provide a bridge to those people who are doing cutting edge work to evolve our understanding of personal and collective transformation. I am very much a "proof-is-in-the-pudding" type of gal, so what I love about Dispenza's work is his focus on data and connecting scientific understanding with spirituality. He doesn't see them as separate entities. 

Here are my primary "Dr. Joe Gems" from the retreat:

Becoming is a process of overcoming yourself. 

Nothing changes until you change.

When change feels hardest is when it matters most.

Your will must be greater than any subconscious program because your body craves the familiar.

The body will follow the mind.

Heart-brain coherence is key to the process.

There is a potential in the quantum field (the field of infinite possibilities) where your problem doesn't exist. Your goal is to connect with that possibility.

Fear is not the opposite of love. It is separation from love. 

Meditation creates a super-pharmacy of chemicals in the body.

You should get up from your meditation feeling different than when you sat down. Then do your best to maintain that state throughout the day. Walk "as if" you are your future self, staying in the feeling of your future. The feeling is the key ingredient.

Keep evolving your experience each day. You will eventually grow out of your old self and into your new self.

If these ideas intrigue you, you are in the right place! Stay tuned. I will be exploring them further and providing you with more resources in the field of meditation, spiritual wellness, and energy health. 

See you on the path,

Cindye