Out of necessity, I embarked upon an entire redesign of my lifestyle a few years ago after embracing sobriety.
At the time, it was like learning how to walk again after a difficult injury, because who was I, without my learned behaviors, my go-to coping mechanisms, all of these things which gave me identity, yet were no longer accessible to me? As I began to reorder my life, I also began to recognize how other people, whether they suffered from drug/alcohol addiction or not, were undertaking the same arduous tasks I was. Everyone is in recovery from something, I determined, yet not everyone is aware of it. Just like me, these people would need a model to follow, so little by little, I built a company and products built atop this model. That company is Medicine Box, and no matter what you’re recovering from — alcoholism, a broken marriage, pandemic isolation or the world in general — you are welcome here.
In pursuing self-care, you’ve probably noticed how much work it takes to maintain an anxiety-free lifestyle, but virtually no effort whatsoever to live an anxiety-FULL lifestyle. Much of that, I feel, is tied to a culture which prizes speed and nonstop competition for attention and gratification. Anxiety comes with that territory — a constant future trip built around FEAR. That cycle is awfully hard to break out of once you’ve found yourself trapped in it. To recover from it, you’ll need to embrace Medicine Box’s Seven Pillars of Wellness, which we’ll be discussing today. They’re not just fun hobbies, but exercises that you can use to stay mentally healthy. It’s what I myself use now, every day, to keep myself together. Let me explain.
Illustration by @Nurul Kusumaningrum
The Seven Pillars in Everyday Life
While I use 1CaB and Mind’s Eye products every day, they merely prep my mental mindset for the work I do with the Seven Pillars. In practice, one should integrate each pillar into one’s life every day, just like you would a prescription. Here’s why:
NATURE
The best part about nature is that you don’t have to do anything to get the benefits from it. Just being in it will put you into contact with phytoncides, which cedar trees emit, which can reduce stress hormones and strengthen one’s immunity. Moreover, accessing nature can remind us pesky humans of their point of origin and their obligations to the rest of creation.
FOOD
The right foods can strengthen the body and the mind — the old “food is medicine” adage has been known for a minute now. Knowing your unique needs and how your diet can meet them is the first step towards optimal health.
MUSIC
Music has always been medicine, and if you don’t believe me, ask Dr. John, Dr. Hook or Dr. Dre. Music therapy has been an accredited form of mental health maintenance since World War II, and even a simple tone can affect your entire body and mood. It’s why I play my guitar, every day, even though my playing isn’t going to give Gary Clark, Jr. any sleepless nights.
MINDFULNESS
Practicing it takes time, effort and consistency, which is why it’s so difficult to pull off well, and so easy to abandon. It also challenges our ego, which can be quite threatening. Without a good means of shutting off your ego, you won’t be able to counter its many diseases, which are as contagious in the Information Age as any virus.
COLLABORATION
Building on each other’s ideas, sharing resources, augmenting each other’s skillsets and creativity — it’s what fosters change. And there’s so much in the world we’re going to have to rebuild together. None of us can do it alone.
COMMUNITY
Whether virtual or physical, all of us need a community where we can be accepted for who we are. We at Medicine Box are part of several, and through social media and our own communications hope to foster that amongst those who purchase our products.
RECOVERY
As I mentioned before, we’re all in recovery from something. Acknowledging that every day and taking one’s healing forward one day at a time is a big part of what everyone can do to make better choices, every day.
What Lies Ahead
Just like any medicine, it’s all about the dosages. Sometimes, if you’re suffering from a disease, it’s best to protect your friends from it, which means keeping clear of physical contact from community for a minute. Of course, limiting access to community out of irrational, germaphobic FEAR is hardly appropriate, either, and our society is still attempting to strike that balance, much to the confusion of anybody trying to do the right thing.
That’s why we stress the right mentorship to go with the medicine. At Medicine Box, this means hosting a series of educational webinars, as well as a soon-to-be-announced microdosing course and also building up our microboard of holistic therapists that are pioneering a new way of getting and staying well. It also means supporting our Wellness Muses, who both online and off help guide our customers on their healing journeys.
The key to this all is awareness of self. So we invite you to make that leap towards greater recovery TODAY, first with a 1CaB or Mind’s Eye purchase for greater sleep, gut health, energy, or mental acuity, and then by joining our mailing list and social media channels, where the mentorship takes place. God knows where I’d be without it; one can only find out by starting it where YOU will be with it.
Buy Mind’s Eye TODAY!