Maat E's Mental Health Message

Admit you need help!

For so many of us, especially professional helpers, caregivers, people in service professions and activists, acknowledging we need help for ourselves can be challenging to admit.  When you are not use to it receiving support can seem ten times harder than giving it. As hard as it may be to admit, the best helpers are people who recognize they can not do everything themselves and know that two heads are better than one or there is great power in the efforts of a group. Saying you need help no matter how big or small the issue or task is essential to avoiding burnout and becoming overtaxed. For some one it may mean the difference between life and death. Learn your limits, prioritize your needs and ask for help.

Peace,
Ma'at E. L. Lewis

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Everyone has a spiritual process.

Being in a spiritual process is when we either consciously or unconsciously experience a series of actions or events relating to or affecting our spirit or soul. For most people in society this process goes on unnoticed and we are unaware that our spirit is being affected by the daily events that go on around us. When we are unconscious of our spiritual process we tend to miss the opportunity to witness not only mystical events, but the miraculous changes that come when we are conscious. Being  conscious and aware of our spiritual process means honoring the most sacred essence of who we are and trusting that everything is in divine order, even when we can't explain it.  Trusting divine order does not mean we do not take action to make things change, it means we trust that the actions we take will lead to the change that is necessary. This is very difficult when we don't see life as a spiritual process, yet, holding the trust becomes easier and easier the more we acknowledge we are on a spiritual path.  

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Expect a miracle and it will more likely appear. Deny a miracle and it will never be true. Life has many miracles to offer but if we do not expect them or worse yet if we deny them when they occur we will not be able to reap their benefit. Trust in the wonders of life and live with the expectation that miracles and your dreams can come true.  

You have to believe it to manifest it. 

Dr. Ma'at E. L. Lewis

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Turn worry in to work!

Anxiety and worry can be a natural response to the stress and demands of everyday life. For some of us the worry can become overwhelming and we become stuck or paralyzed so to speak. We may begin to procrastinate, which is essentially worry plus avoidance. To combat what can become a difficult obstacle we must start to turn the worry in to work. Use the anxiety or fear to motivate yourself with activity. Start with small things or what you worry about the least.  Working on what is pressing will get the most important thing done, but you may not be ready yet. So work on what worries you the least. That will keep you productive and feeling a sense accomplishment even though you are afraid to address what is most important.  The negative emotions can be used for good. 

Peace,
Dr. Ma'at E. L. Lewis

Ma'at E's Mental Health Message

Know your limits!  There are no limits.Your current situation may be an influence to your current status, but it does not have to be the determinant of your life. Let your will and talent decide how far you can go and how much you can achieve, not the messages of no you receive. If the ancestors like famous opera singer Marion Anderson, born on this day in 1902, can go from being raised in Philadelphia, PA to traveling the world and being a lead performer in the New York Metropolitan Opera Company, any of us can defy odds and limitations to achieve our dreams. Know that your limit has not limit.
Peace,
Ma'at E. L. Lewis

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Be History!

During Black History month we turn our focus to the legacy and contributions of the people of African Descent that have paved the way to give us a better life. One of the best ways to honor the ancestors and those that have come before us is to be the history that has been made. Carry out the legacy of some recent or ancient ancestor making a contribution in your own unique way. For some that may mean expressing yourself through art, music, poetry or creative expression. For others it may mean being a teacher, activist, scholar or politician. It may mean being a fully committed mother or a father and simply giving love and care to a child each day. Whatever your contribution, think of yourself as being a part of history instead of just remembering it.

Peace,

Dr. Ma'at E. L. Lewis

Ma'at E's Mental Health Message

Learn to listen to your instinct instead of your ego.

When trying to make decisions or choices about what to do in life it is beneficial we learn to listen to instinct and not ego. Our instinct is a natural intuitive and innate inclination we have that gives guidance about which way to move or act. Our ego is the aspect of our self that thinks, feels or wills us to do something, but it is more based on reaction to our experiences of the past or hopes and fears about the future. Ego often drives us to chase a dream or pursue a goal. Instinct gives us guidance moment to about where we are right now which illuminates the best possible choice or option in this moment. When we stick to focusing on the now or this moment we don't have to be worried about future because we can trust our instinct will tell us what to do whenever the future comes.

Next time you are faced with a choice or decision no matter how big or small. Take a deep breath first and then ask yourself what is my instinct telling me. Wait until you get an answer. If nothing comes. Take another breath and ask again. Keep asking until an answer comes.

Peace
Dr. Ma'at E. L. Lewis