In this section you will find ways to tap into your gut instinct and listen to your gut - aka - your intuition. You'll also be able to explore some of the more 'emotional root causes' of your gut health issues.

Your gut is literally the core of your physical body and is central to your overall health and well-being. Your gut is also responsible for 80% - 90% of your serotonin production and is often referred to as your 'second brain'. One other important, yet often overlooked aspect of gut health, is that your gut is also the epicentre of your intuition. Your gut can impact you physically, mentally/emotionally and metaphysically or spiritually.

Your gut is connected to everything that happens in your body, mind and spirit.

Getting to the core of your health is also about getting to the core of who you are! This means getting in touch with your thoughts, beliefs (which are just thoughts you keep thinking), perceptions, feelings, emotions and your spirit or soul. Taking a deep dive into the self is where true healing and transcendence can finally begin. Often when we heal, we transcend our old selves and therefore our old illnesses. Transcending patterns that helped create illness in your body will bring sustainable health to your life.

Unfortunately, when your gut is out of whack, your intuition can suffer too. Many people with gut health issues can often experience difficulties with making decisions. Aside from 'brain fog', this can also be because their intuition isn't as sharp as it once was. This can feel like you've lost your internal compass or GPS. Without your own inner guidance the world can seem like a confusing and disorientating place! How on Earth can you confidently be your own guide and navigate your way through the often confusing maps of the gut health world without your intuition? With great difficulty... unless you consciously choose to develop and fine tune your intuition while you heal your gut.

We are all intuitive. Intuition is not some special gift bestowed upon a few select people who just happen to have 'psychic abilities'. We all have the capacity to be 'psychic'... and like with anything... it depends on how much we choose to prioritise and practice a skill that determines how good we become at it. Stillness and tuning in to yourself daily can help amp up your intuition. It is often in stillness that our truest epiphanies can be found.

5000 YEARS AGO HUMANS UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF GUT HEALTH AND IT'S IMPACT ON OUR BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT

According to the Tao, the abdomen is our energetic centre or core - the 'Tan Tien' (pronounced dan t'ien) - our 'chi battery' where we store energy. The Tao believe that this area can become blocked with physical and emotional toxins where the centre of the body can then become congested, forming knots and tangles in the abdomen. This blocks the flow of chi or life-force energy through the body.

Chi Nei Tsang (CNT) is a from of therapeutic massage used in classical Chinese and Thai medicine and is a part of the 'Universal Healing Tao'. CNT literally translates as 'the energy and information of the guts'.

The Tao speak of 'sick winds' or trapped wind in the body that can be moved with CNT to let the stagnant wind go and assist in re-establishing a healthy flow of vital energy in the abdomen.

CNT also helps people to become more aware of their emotional life. The Tao believe that all of our unprocessed emotions are stored in our digestive system waiting to be addressed.

Even though CNT is more than a 5000 year old practice, the same can be said to be true today. Belly massage can assist us to release trapped wind, process and release 'blocked' emotions and thus 'charge our batteries' and restore our energy and vitality. The Happy Gut At-Home Program is holistic and as such, Belly Massage videos have been included to help you to reconnect with your gut and get back in touch with the core of who you are. The Happy Belly Series (breathing & self-belly massage) is a beautiful self-loving practice. It is a simple and gentle way to start your day by tuning into you.

The Tao also believe that various aspects of the gut are connected to other organs in the body and these organs can 'hold onto' or 'store' specific negative emotions if they are not consciously released. We can balance our emotions and therefore heal our organs and our gut by releasing the negative emotions and cultivating the positive emotions as listed below:

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORGANS ACCORDING TO THE TAO

Heart and Small Intestine:

• Negative emotions = hate, cruelty, impatience, arrogance, hastiness, violence.
• Positive emotions = love, joy, happiness, honour, sincerity, enthusiasm.

Lungs and Large Intestine:

• Negative emotions = sadness, sorrow, grief, depression.
• Positive emotions = courage, righteousness, surrender, letting go.

Liver and Gallbladder:

• Negative emotions = anger, aggression, frustration, jealousy, envy.
• Positive emotions = kindness, generosity, self-expansion.

Spleen, Pancreas and Stomach:

• Negative emotions = worry, anxiety, mistrust.
• Positive emotions = fairness, compassion, sympathy, openness, trust.

Kidneys and Bladder:

• Negative emotions = fear.
• Positive emotions = gentleness, calmness, silence, stillness.

Being aware of the emotions above and how they may be associated with your digestive organs may help you to detoxify... mentally, emotionally and spiritually... and therefore physically. You can consciously choose to process and let go of any of the negative emotions listed above and then focus your attention on the positive opposites for each organ. The Tao have a meditation practice called 'The Inner Smile' and the 'Six Healing Sounds' that facilitates this process. For more information, click here.

EPIGENETICS

Epigenetics is a science that shows how your environment, including your thoughts and feelings can affect your DNA. Being mindful of your thoughts and feelings is important if you want to protect your DNA and age well.

Scientist Bruce Lipton sums this up perfectly in the following quote from his book, "The Biology Of Belief":

"Life experiences can stimulate or suppress telomerase activity. For example, stressful prenatal developmental experiences, childhood abuse (both verbal & physical), domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), nutritional deficiencies and lack of love all inhibit telomerase activity. These factors contribute to the onset of disease and shorten lifespan. In contrast, exercise, good nutrition, a positive outlook on life, living in happiness and gratitude, being in services and experiencing love, especially self-love, all enhance telomerase activity and promote a long and healthy life".

Basically, you can influence your DNA and therefore your genomic expression by changing what you eat, what you think, where you live, who you live with, what you read, what you watch, what you put on and into your body etc.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK, EAT AND ABSORB!

Here are some other great quotes from Bruce's book:

• "Environmental influences, including stress and emotions can modify genes."
• "Single cells are capable of learning though environmental experiences and are able to create cellular memories which pass on to future generations."
• "The malignancies in a significant number of cancer patients are derived from environmentally induced epigenetic alterations not defective genes."
• "Orish revealed that by just changing diet and lifestyle for ninety days, prostate cancer patients switched the activity of over 500 genes."

And here's the kicker...

• "While a proper use of consciousness can bring health to an ailing body, inappropriate unconscious emotions can easily make a healthy body diseased."

By choosing to be consciously aware of your thoughts, feelings, emotions etc, you can bring more health and well-being into your life (& even to those around you).

This does not mean 'floating around in happy, fluffy bunny, rainbow land'. As nice as that sounds, it's a fantasy. It's important to have any painful experiences or trauma acknowledged and integrated.

We can bring consciousness to our experiences by lovingly witnessing and processing our pain, bringing compassion and understanding to ourselves and then by choosing nourishing thoughts, feelings, emotions and beliefs that will serve us well and support our recovery.

THE METAPHYSICAL ASPECTS OF MICROBES

Having too many 'bad bugs' lurking in your gut is linked to many health problems including autism, diabetes, allergies, autoimmunity, depression, mood swings, cancer, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, CIRS, eczema and asthma etc. These bad bugs are 'out of control' microbes - aka - parasites, yeasts/fungi, bacteria and viruses.

Parasites:

Parasites can consist of worms (such as tapeworms & roundworm), flukes and even people in your life. Parasites suck you dry and use you for their own benefit at your expense.

Parasites can relay thoughts to you to ensure their own survival as they die off. Parasites transmit feelings of "I'm dying" to the host, which is often how people can feel at certain times while they are healing their gut.

If you feel like other people suck you dry or take advantage of you in any way, then check out Para 2 in 'Clean Up Protocol #2- Bust More Bad Guys'. Developing strong boundaries and associated strategies will also help to avoid parasitic situations in your life (more on boundaries below).

Yeast/Fungi:

Yeast/Fungi project thoughts of "I'll do it later" to the host. If you're struggling with procrastination, then visit the Candida & SIFO section to learn more about balancing Candida. Candida can become a problem if you are too critical or resentful of yourself or others. Understanding that there is no 'right' or 'wrong' can help to limit judgement and therefore allow any unnecessary criticism and/or resentment to be resolved. See more on the emotional aspects on Candida below.

Bacteria:

Bacteria is often associated with guilt. This can be because you are carrying someone else's guilt or because you are judging yourself because of something you have done in the past. The past is in the past and you are here right now. Practicing mindfulness can help cultivate a healthy attachment to the present (this moment in time, right here, right now). Self-forgiveness can come more easily by releasing judgement of the self, others and/or situations. Cultivating deep compassion and unconditional love for yourself, others and/or situations can help to gently release guilt. Remember that everyone truly is doing the very best they can with the experience, knowledge and wisdom they have at the time. If you feel that you may have some issues with guilt or bacteria, then visit the SIBO section.

Viruses:

Viruses are attracted to worthiness issues. You were born worthy. Worthiness has nothing to do with what you did, didn't do, do or don't do. If you believe that you are worthy with every cell of your being, you can avoid attracting viruses into your life. Understand that you worth is not attached to anything outside of your self and definitely has nothing to do with societal expectations. Repeat frequently, "I am worthy, I am worthy of everything I desire and I am worthy of great health and great wealth".

AFFIRMATIONS FOR MICROBES

• I know how and when to say "no".
• I know what it feels like to be listened to and heard.
• I know how to live without letting other people constantly suck me dry.
• I know how to live without letting other people take advantage of me.
• I know how to live without being overwhelmed.

THE THREE R'S - RESENTMENT, REGRET, REJECTION

Your cells have receptors for emotions. If you have practiced a particular emotional state for long enough, your receptors will become accustomed to that particular emotional state and will then have to have it, just like a drug. If you are used to feeling resentful for example, you could create more reasons to feel this way, unless you practice a new emotional state, such as acceptance and love.

According to Vianna Stibal, the founder of ThetaHealing®️, the Three R's can prevent you from becoming well. She believes that:

• Feelings of resentment often keep people safe.
• Regret keeps people stuck in the same place.
• A fear of rejection can cause someone to fail before they even start.

The 'Metaphysical Aspects of Microbes' and the 'Three R's' sections above are based on personal experience, working with clients and on the work of Viana Stibal, the founder of ThetaHealing®️. For more information on ThetaHealing®️ you can visit the website here.

EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF CANDIDA

Feelings and emotions associated with Candida can be quite deep for some and so we decided to go into a bit more detail here.

Let's start with a question: who or what do you resent? When I, Leisa, first started exploring this question in one of my first ThetaHealing® classes many years ago, I thought, "I don't resent anyone or anything". But as I started to really think about it and go deeper, I ended up with a two page list! And guess what, I was riddled with Candida at the time and didn't even know it!

As you clean up your gut, you may also find that you will be cleaning up your emotions. One of the primary feelings associated with Candida is resentment. You may have feelings of resentment towards others, yourself, a situation, or even a place. It's possible to resent a place if you experienced harm in that location. Resentment is normal and can even be healthy... if it's not harboured (& does not become a grudge). You may harbour resentment in order to protect yourself from experiencing the same situation and accompanying pain again. However, you can learn how to feel safe (& therefore protected) without having to use resentment as a way to prevent bad things from happening to you.

Grab yourself a pen and paper and ask yourself, "who or what do I resent and why?" Allow yourself to write a list without thinking about it too much. Once you have your list, close your eyes and place your hands over your heart and ask yourself, "what's the best way for me to resolve this?", for each item on your list. This can be as simple as having a conversation with someone in your head or 'minds eye' and then choosing to let them or the situation go with love. Say, "I choose to let this go now" and affirm to yourself that it is over and complete and that you are safe.

If you've been harbouring resentment towards yourself, it's important to cultivate compassion and understanding for yourself so that you can forgive yourself fully. We all make 'mistakes'. We are human and we are perfectly imperfect. Affirm to yourself that it's safe for you to trust yourself again and gently start allowing yourself to unconditionally love and trust yourself more. Trusting yourself enables you to make effective decisions.

Finally, write down what you have learnt from each of these situations. This is where you can support your own personal growth and spiritual expansion, which are pivotal to your full recovery.

Fungus also holds the 'vibration' or 'energy' of "I'll do it later". If you have a tendency to procrastinate, especially when it comes to cleaning areas in your home that may get mouldy, then creating a plan of action could help you release the fungus (& therefore the Candida). Also check out the 'Is Your Home Toxic' section.



BOUNDARIES

Your gut is essentially a physically boundary between yourself and the outside world. It's like your skin, but on the inside. ;-)

When you have leaky gut, this boundary has been weakened and the protective physical barrier that you once had becomes permeable, which leaves you open to the outside world entering your body (be it food chemicals, parasites, mould, toxins etc). You may remember reading about this in the Leaky Gut section in Phase 1.

What's happening in your inner world, may also be happening in your outer world.

Your boundaries are meant to protect you and keep you safe - physically, emotionally/mentally and metaphysically/spiritually.

If you find that your boundaries are constantly being tested or violated, then developing your boundaries in your outside world, may even help develop your boundaries in your inner world.

You actually require strong boundaries to embark on a gut health journey. For example, you visit your Mum and she has prepared your favourite 'treat' (after all, her love language is to feed you sweet things, that of course make you happy, which is a guaranteed way to receive love by the way). You gently say, "no thanks Mum, I'm on a special diet to heal my gut". "Go on, a little bit won't hurt", she says in an encouraging tone. "No thanks Mum, that could undo all the good work I've been doing", you kindly reply. "But I made it especially for you" (the classic guilt tactic). You feel yourself caving in. Your old childhood programming of responding to guilt driven 'behaviour management' tactics (aka - manipulation) starts to kick in. "Oh, okay then, I'll just have a little bit". Your Mum plates up a larger than usual 'little bit'. You reluctantly eat it to keep the peace. As you're finishing off your last bite, your Mum is already offering you more. You start to explain again, "no, Mum, I really can't have anymore". She looks at you with disappointed puppy dog eyes. All of this is describing a boundary issue... that is typically established through your relationship with a parent during childhood. Permeable or weak boundaries such as these will sabotage your recovery. While learning how to set intentional and strong boundaries will support your gut health journey.

So how can you strengthen up your boundaries?

• Learn how to say 'no' assertively and with respect and without feeling guilty, changing your mind or moving the goal posts. Do you know how and when to say 'no'?
• Make a list of your needs and then the boundaries you need to put in place to protect them. For example, one of your needs might be to sit quietly for 20 minutes on your own in your home to meditate. Some boundaries associated with this might be: creating a sacred space to support your meditation experience (a cushion, candle etc); asking your family members not to interrupt you during this time; turning your phone off; blocking this time out in a shared calendar; asking someone else to do something that you might have done during this time in the past etc.
• Make clear assertive requests - not demands. Boundaries are more likely to be respected when we invite another person to help us with them. Asking as apposed to demanding can open others to working with us instead of against us.
• Write your boundaries down and create a boundary agreement with others. A boundary agreement can be very helpful in family situations, where once boundary agreements are made, they are documented and can then be referred to in the future if any of the boundaries are violated in any way. A boundary agreement serves as a good reminder as to what was agreed upon... and they can easily be reworked if things need to be changed.

Often poor boundary setting can create unnecessary arguments. Consider this:

If you want to create a commensal inner world, you will need to create a commensal outer world and vice-versa.

Metaphysically speaking, this is also why socialising is important while healing your gut. Have you ever wondered if your gut bugs can communicate with the gut bugs of another?

SICK BELIEFS

What do you believe about illness or dis-ease?

Do you believe that cancer is worse than the chicken pox? Do you believe that diabetes is incurable? Looking at the way you perceive illnesses or dis-eases and what you believe about them will help you to ascertain what you believe about your own health. What if cancer is not worse than the chicken pox? What if any illness or dis-ease could be cured? What if a diagnosis is irrelevant? What if we can age well without illness or disease? What if we already have the answers we seek within? What you choose to believe about illnesses or dis-eases, the group consciousness thoughts and feelings about them, the time it takes to heal or recover from them and the ageing process of the human body can impact your own recovery.

Challenging your own limited thinking and beliefs about illness or dis-ease can help you heal faster.

BRAIN CANDY

While the need for brain candy can satisfy the human ego, it doesn't necessarily help us get well.

Sometimes our subconscious mind can play tricks on us and send us off on a 'wild goose chase' delving into countless hours of research instead of focusing on the simple and real lifestyle changes that will help us the most.

It's important to know how to maintain balance when it comes to making the simple changes that will make the biggest difference to your health and endlessly searching for answers that may not even exist. We learnt this the hard way and can still get caught in this 'ego trap'. Insert eye roll! Looking for the next shiny new thing - or magic pill - can sometimes slow your healing efforts down. This is another reason why we created this program for you... we've done all the hard work... and have saved you from having to make health research your full-time job just so you can get well. We've included everything in this program so you can focus on what matters most - YOU.

THE MASCULINE, THE FEMININE AND FEAR

One of the things that Gen and I both experienced and that we see a lot of our clients struggle with, is the 'mistake' of trying to push yourself to heal too fast... pushing yourself too hard in any way or trying to force your body to heal too quickly simply doesn't work.

Let's take a look at why from a spiritual perspective:

Most of you would have heard of 'yang and yin' or 'masculine and feminine' energies and the idea of creating balance between these two.

1- The Masculine Approach: What can often happen when you've been sick for a really long time, is that from a place of desperation, you try to fix things (or patch things up) too quickly or try force yourself to do things that you're not ready for, in order to get better fast. This 'out of balanced masculine energy' uses force to try to get instant results... but these 'quick fixes' don't stick!

2- The Feminine Approach: Whereas the feminine is more about surrender and allowing things to work out for the highest and best of all concerned. The feminine does not look to' fix' things, but to change things holistically. The out of balanced feminine can however 'float around' for months waiting for 'something magical' to happen, or even worse to 'be rescued', without taking any action at all.

You need a balance between these two energies so that you don't get...

3- Stuck In Fear: This is where you can become so terrified of taking any action, because each time you've tried, you've made yourself worse (or seemingly sicker).. so you decide to just do nothing at all and put up with being sick.

Restricting your diet too much, taking too many supplements at once, not resting enough and trying to 'do too much' (too many activities that your body isn't ready for) or forcing your body to detoxify too soon or too quickly... will all result in a 'crash' or 'set back'.

As we've said before, healing is often not a linear process... and the path can be windy and long... but you will get there in the end if you just take your time and pace yourself. This is why this program is designed the way it is... with one phase building on the next, so that you don't sink into overwhelm and 'overdo it'.

Learning how to pace yourself and allow yourself to heal one layer at a time, while taking just the right amount action, is key to your recovery.

Acknowledging that all 3 of these things may go on at different times during your health journey can be very helpful and allow you to be proactive about finding your balance moving forward.

Stillness and mindfulness can help you to listen to your body more so you can find this balance and adjust your behaviour accordingly.