Fountain of Youth
Introduction
For centuries, humans have been recounting the legend of the Fountain of Youth. While it has never been found physically, we can further its lore with the knowledge that we will psychologically offer here. What we offer is really a reminder of how awesome our biology is and the lengths that people will go to help others, survive, and heal themselves or others. We want to highlight the fact that the unconscious is our educator (HERE). We offer a new psychedelic quest to find what has been thought to have been lost to the ages, your own fountain of youth. The creator of the source of seeds and eggs. We believe that this knowledge can be obtained in our Meeting Area Screening and Assessment (MASA) and through a trauma healing process that is as organic as digesting what you eat (O’Brien, 2023a). We believe this last statement because we have seen and have lived it; but please be forewarned, this quest to Eldorado to find your Fountain of Youth is marred with leaps of faith that the reader may want to be better prepared for (HERE). This path is for those who seek to know what they cannot know (HERE). We think that America should get more addicted than it already is because that is how and why people wake up (HERE).
Orientation
Along with finding “God” again in our doctoral research, identifying an operational definition for addiction and the unconscious, and naming the line between pathology and normality, it has been our honor these past years is to work with such courageous human beings who know more than they believe. What we have learned from our clients is that they can survive, but they have difficulty with thriving because surviving is their norm, systems are ignorance of addiction and dissociation, and the systems already know this and are simply trying to cash out before they depart. To encourage this line of thinking along, we offer our research findings, psychedelic integration, and trauma healing services to support continued growth and healing. However, for simplicity’s sake, what we are discussing here is that when we are healing memories, what we people tap into their personal “fountain of youth”. We will argue that by navigating healing states of conscious with meditation (states of dual attention), psychedelics (O’Brien, 2023b; HERE), and memory healing (HERE) that people can renew themselves and be born again. Our programming teaches people how to utilize memory reconsolidation (meditation, Brainspotting, EMDR, and psychedelic care) to learn to self-heal and to maintain a regulated state. Furthermore, we recognize that the absence of the Healer as a profession is a main reasons why; therefore, we are re-educating Healers on the art of healing and Healing the art of healing by educating people to heal and training professionals to teach them what healing is and how to heal themselves.
Data
There are reports that people who have dissociative disorders have had issues with their blood work coming back abnormal. We have had similar clinical cases where the blood work (lab tests ordered by a Medical Doctor) of a person who experience dissociative features can be the age of the part that is present (Howell, 2011). What this means from our emerging dissociative perspective, is that one’s blood is the age they are currently residing in, which could be the fountain of youth. The fact that blood can change its state of permanency, reduce medical conditions (e.g., show the absence of illness), and be a source of renewal, gives hope to those looking to heal in new ways. The fact that we can reverse some heart diseases with diet (Forks over Knifes) and stress reduction, heal intergenerational trauma, and change genetic expression (with psychedelics), suggests that time travel, healing ourselves, growing with the changes, and healing from within is possible, even if it was not considered possible before.
Discussion
We would argue that doing the healing work is the fountain of youth and would be better served if done in conjunction with professional Healer (HERE) because they know the territory more than the field of psychology does (HERE). In the face of poorly conceptualized approaches to therapy (O’Brien, 2023b), we would support traditions that hold that mindfulness is evidence-based enough to know that it could have never not been (O’Brien, 2023b). Mindfulness may be more of a business model at this point instead of an approach to care, but no one is willing to talk about (HERE).
We can see in mindfulness and trauma healing as a fountain of youth if we look at the psychological experiment that found that rats can live up to 60 hours after being saved from drowning (HERE). This means that dissociative experiences are how we rise above the presenting stress, conditions, or situation (O’Brien, 2024c). A lot of our emerging dissociation-informed perspective comes from learning from our clients but also the stories that they are not able tell. Once one figures out who is telling the story, one is better able to discern if this is clinically-informed or a reenactment process that deserve unconscious attention (HERE).
Implications
As a result of our understandings, we present a series of meditations that we recorded over the last few years to help people learn what we are reeducating the public on and to developmentally help people spiritually and become morally mature adults. With the Wounded Healers Institute, people will find a blend of meditative and educational experiences that they can use as a way of obtaining a health mindset, learning about psychology, and healing, psychedelic integration program “Path of the Wounded Healer,” which is based on our Addiction as Dissociation Model research (O’Brien, 2023a)). The Posttraumatic Gym and Spa and Path of the Wounded Healer is creating community around self-care, accurate recovery knowledge, and wellness programing to support ongoing healing from traumas that are not commonly discussed, like community, developmental, attachment, educational, betrayal, systemic trauma, medical and psychological, spiritual, existential, and religious adverse experiences. While we recognize the importance of taking any path, when how we learn is not really understood, then we have to question who knows what to understand the gravity of the implications (HERE; HERE).
Conclusions
When it comes to unconscious health, we have to put the body in front of the mind (HERE). Therefore, identifying that the physical body is the psychological unconscious removes the power struggle between what is physical and what is psychological (O’Brien, 2024c). If the physical body is the psychological unconscious, then neither is right or wrong in how they experience the other, but both need to know what the exist with and for them. What this means for those who don’t already know, is that one is suspect if one questions the validity of any science (e.g., qualitative)(O’Brien, 2024c; HERE). If those who depend on proven outcomes only are not able to see the fallacies produced by quantitative reasoning (O’Brien, 2024c), then applying its moral wisdom can be even that much more challenging (O’Brien, 2024b; O’Brien, 2024d). We conclude that most people are ready to grow into their full adult brain, but that they are not ready for what that future will bring. Because of this, all must start to get ready or be the ones left holding onto what was considered a dream that was really a vision to be fulfilled.
Future Directions
Through meditation and dissociative exercises, trauma healing, neuroscience, and psychedelic care, we work with people to get regulated. From our standards of neuroregulation and care, people are better able to understand what has been occurring in their psyche and if they are mentally healthy. Our ADM is an evidence-based recovery model of care that is dissociative and addiction-informed. We offer trainings to professionals in our model and research findings. We suggest reading our blogs, newsletter, and signing up for our Orientation Class before contacting us. We are offering our monthly cannabis tests, musical healing events, and healing retreats in the new year. Our admissions process can be found at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
References
O’Brien, A. (2023a). Addiction as Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Addictive State. International University of Graduate Studies. (Dissertation). Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023b). Memory Reconsolidation in Psychedelics Therapy. In Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023c). Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024a). Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and healing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024b). Diagnostic Privilege: Meta-Critical Analysis. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and the healing profession as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Appendix 2. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2024c). Meta-Critical Analysis: The “Science” of Pseudoscience. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and the healing profession as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Appendix 3. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2024d). Moral-Ethics. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer andhealing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Chapter 14. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024e). Path of the Wounded Healers for Thrivers: Perfectionism, Altruism, and Ambition Addictions; Re-education and training manual for Abusers, Activists, Batterers, Bullies, Enablers, Killers, Narcissists, Offenders, Parents, Perpetrators, and Warriors. Re-Education and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
