One man’s personal account of his struggle with depression, the extraordinary way he overcame it and his advice on how to deal with mental illness – from the Spirit world – whether you want to believe it or not…
Unbelievable. This is my one word summation of this year, so far, and we’re only a little over half way through. The year began with the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and their seven friends on board his private helicopter, followed by the pandemic no-one saw coming and its’ second phase which has claimed more lives than anyone could have ever imagined and then the largest worldwide protests against racism ever seen in the history of the human race. If you agree that this is indeed the year of the unbelievable — read on. This is not just another article on mental health, illness, depression and anxiety but a truly unbelievable story, my story, which has already provided a solution for people in similar situations. As a middle-aged man who no longer suffers from depression and anxiety, this new “treatment” dare I say, is a possible cure.
My battle didn’t come as a shock. I knew a few school friends who suffered from depression and anxiety, and in the late ’80s — the years that followed school — some even took their own lives. In the ’90s no-one talked about mental illness but with every school reunion more of my friends would privately disclose their battles. In the early 2000s professional sports stars and Hollywood celebrities went public, many others kept it private, and suddenly mental illness had a name and was recognised for what it is — an illness of the mind. Before long, I experienced a close friend’s demise as well as work colleagues and other professionals in my network facing the same issues. Some used social media to help them make people understand their battle.
I also experienced the medical approach with psychiatrists and psychologists, the medications available and the process of getting patients to challenge their thoughts. I’ve been there and it helped to some extent. I even have a close friend who has tried everything, ending up in Tallahassee, Florida for Ketamine infusion treatment. He feels better but his battle continues. My story ends in happiness but like so many others, it very nearly didn’t.
I will never forget that early morning on a Perth beach where I planned to place my clothes and shoes in a neat pile and just walk into the Indian Ocean as far from shore as possible until I could no longer breathe. Yes, I have been there, too. So how am I still here? Living a life filled with fun and happiness? How did I see through the darkness that consumed my life and almost took it? Why did my friends and others get off the ride of life entirely and not just try another ride or rides? Why was their time so final and my time the complete antithesis of theirs? In a year where we now believe so many unbelievable events, perhaps it’s time to believe in one more.
Following the episode on that Perth beach in 2012 my mental health continued to cause chaos in my life. Re-emerging when things weren’t going right. I left the beach because I couldn’t leave my two sons behind in this world, yet as they got older this reason seemed to fade as over and over again my mind would recall that dark file stored in my head. In 2018, a good friend named Sam disclosed recent events in her life and within days my life began to change. Sam is not a medical professional, she is not religious, she does not practice spiritual healing techniques such as Reiki nor does she dwell in the realms of mediums, clairvoyants, shaman or witch doctors.
Sam is just like you and me other than she is a channeler — she receives messages from Spirit. That’s right, I said Spirit. The Spirit world. It’s these messages or “lessons” that Sam passed on and that I implemented to improve my mental health beyond belief to the point where I suffer no more and that dark file has well and truly been deleted.
The first lesson provided by Spirit was to change my battlefield. Remember the scene in the movie Braveheart where the Scots visited a field the day before battle and poured oil or something flammable behind what was to become the English line the very next day? They changed the battlefield and in fact won the battle. Well, this is the first step — change your battlefield.
Mental illness, depression and anxiety are all illnesses of the mind. The mind thinks, it overthinks and overanalyses. It’s where your ego and self-serving behaviour thrive. Your heart, however, doesn’t think — it feels and is where sympathy, compassion and serving others come from. If you are looking to improve your mental health change the battlefield use your heart first, then your mind.
The message from Spirit was precise and so correct, “Avoid solving the problem with your mind. The solution you will find in your heart.” Feel your way, listen and hear your heart. For me this was easy as I changed my approach to many things including my kids. At first, I noticed I didn’t get angry about small things it just seemed absurd. Letting my kids make mistakes and showing them the right way instead of flying off the handle calling them hopeless. I distinctly recall them at dinner one night telling me that I am more “chilled” these days.
In another message, Sam received from Spirit, clarification was provided regarding the use of one’s mind. “We think that we cannot keep our existing ways of mind but mind has its place. It is just how we use the mind that needs to change.” What is your mind prepared to do AFTER your heart evaluates the situation? This, again, was easy for me. I couldn’t accept certain behaviour in business specifically greed, dishonesty, unethical practices and the biggest turn off — profit at ALL cost.
As an executive and shareholder back then, I enjoyed profit sharing but not at the expense of staff and especially customers. I resigned not long after I experienced a few fellow shareholders views were vastly different to mine. I stood firm in my compassion towards the needs of staff and customers alongside the need for profit. Sadly, many business leaders fail the heart-first-before-mind test. Interestingly, the Mel Gibson movie is called Braveheart, not Bravemind, for a reason. So, remember — heart first.
The next lesson is centred around love. As soon as that test or ultrasound confirmed you were arriving in nine months there was love in your life. Your mother or father, or both, maybe your grandparents, brothers and sisters loved you before you even arrived as a being on this planet. When you were born and without you even knowing, you knew how to love. You felt safe and comfortable with family rather than others and that was love, too. But somewhere along the way the love may have stopped and sadly, for others it may not have existed at all.
I just stopped loving one day. For some reason I allowed my mind to take over my heart. Sam’s message from Spirit reminded me of those days as they reiterated, “You shall know the true value of what you carry, which is love.” I began taking this lesson on board by openly telling my two boys that I loved them. That seems easy but it meant so much to them. Then my Mum, brothers and sisters and mates. What’s the big deal here? I did love them and enough to not be afraid of letting them know. That’s love.
For some, love turned into pain but again as Spirit says, “Pain is an armour that shields us from love. On the other side of pain is love.” It will come back and the lesson is our patience for its return. What I learnt, and it seems so obvious now, is that I needed to “be love.” When you lead with your heart THAT’S what you are doing. Let me make it clear, I don’t mean being in love or being loved by others — that’s all very nice — but to “be love” is the ultimate lesson that rules over mind.
Now that I was armed with Heart (first) and Love, the third lesson was the perfect accomplice — Faith. This year should have already prepared you to believe the unbelievable so what’s one more for you? When I talk about faith, I mean faith in yourself. Again, to clarify and avoid any confusion — many relate the word “faith” with God and there is nothing wrong with that – I believe in God, too. Many also relate to the relationship between faith and religion. Again, that’s okay, too. What I have come to discover is that all religions were and are manmade. This is not an opinion but a simple fact. Also, God is mentioned in the Christian Bible, the Torah of Judaism and the Koran of Islam — so why the need for religious labels. I just go straight to the source — God.
Faith in yourself is built around trust. For me, I let the darkness in my mind rule my life and ended up accepting there was no way out although things would get better, they always did. But I lacked the faith in knowing and believing that they would get better. Again, in Sam’s message from Spirit, “There comes a time when you need to let go and trust and have faith that things are working towards you.” As on the other side of pain is love – on the other side of sorrow is joy. Things will work towards you. Believe and have faith — don’t stray.
If you have come this far and agree that Heart (first), Love and Faith are essential ingredients to improving your mental health, then this one will more than likely blow your mind, pardon the pun. Lesson four teaches you about your soul — and remember it’s the year to believe the unbelievable. If you actually think there is nothing to life but your body, birth, living then dying and decaying, then go back to lesson one, listen to your heart and feel deeper within yourself.
When it comes to your soul Sam’s message from Spirit clarifies how to connect with your soul and there are no surprises here, “His soul awakens as his mind sleeps.” For me, this lesson was a game changer. You can turn off your mind and just feel. Many people do it through meditation, mindfulness or yoga and its been around for centuries but for some reason people like me forgot how to relax and feel. I just closed my eyes and stared into the back of my eyelids, focused on breathing and my mind turned off. When you believe that there is more to life than just work, money and mind, what you realise is that your body is merely a vehicle that allows you to express your soul and your spirit to others. That’s right, your body and mind, are just vehicles. It’s your soul – spirit in your heart – that drives who you are as a person and lets you express who you really are. It lets you feel, love and empathise. It’s these things you may be missing by leading into situations with your mind rather than your heart first.
If you want some evidence that our world is dominated by mind-led matters just look at racism. An ugly mind and body behaviour. We judge (mind) by colour (eyes) — there is no heart whatsoever when it comes to racism. Leading with your heart first would help the world realise we all have a soul and spirit that knows no colour, no judgement. Another lesson from Spirit. “We are all one and all the same.” Believe it.
If the above ingredients form a recipe then the final lesson is the method of preparation. Believe, Surrender, Allow and Accept. Like me, you are probably contemplating how to implement and begin this journey to heart first. In order to prepare myself step one was I had to believe. If there is an ounce of resistance in you then you need to ask questions or find a way to believe in the lessons and in yourself. For me, what did I have to lose?
Step two was I had to surrender my mind and know that it is secondary to my heart. I have already explained above how you can make this happen.
Step three emphasised that I had to allow the lessons of love and faith into my life and make a concerted effort to own them again. When I did, things began to change as I trusted that things were working towards me and that everything I was going through had a solution when I had faith in myself. Nothing was a big deal anymore, nothing got me down.
Step four of this last lesson was accepting that there is more to life than your body. This in itself is mind blowing, like I said. Stop thinking and overthinking. Start feeling. Look deep inside yourself. This shit is real.
Sam’s message from Spirit encompasses all of the above, “Find peace within as there is no concern you cannot solve; there is no one thing, nothing, that can change your course other than you.” And this is how I feel right now — nothing, not a single thing will let my mind take me to the dark places it went to — for everything, absolutely everything, can be resolved if you lead with your heart and apply the lessons.
Final Thought
You are probably wondering how long this process took me from darkness to light to beyond what I thought was possible. The six years of misery took a little less than six weeks to overcome. There are a couple of tips I have which helped and Sam will have many others so I encourage you to contact her. Think of it this way, if you are in a dark room and you have a box of matches made of the aforementioned lessons, as soon as you light a single match some of the darkness in that room is gone. The more matches you light, the brighter the room becomes until you find a lantern which is your soul and once that lantern is lit, the room is no longer dark. Again, this article purports to tell you my journey and what worked for me to improve my mental health beyond the imaginable. I hope it helps one or some or many of you, to see the light in your life and connect with your soul. Be Love. ■
ABOUT SAM
Samantha Rigg is dedicated to channelling spirit and delivering messages to people who have lost their way in this world. Sam has conducted personal sessions all over Australia and overseas via phone or video conference and has helped many people who saw no way out but to leave this world at their own hands. She can be contacted through www.samantharigg.com.au and has written a book (available through her website) titled Surrender Your Mind which contains the above lessons and more messages from Spirit than this article could mention.
BY JAY PINTADO
For the full article grab the September 2020 issue of MAXIM Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.
