My guest this week is Blake D. Bauer, author of the bestselling book, You Were Not Born to Suffer (affiliate link). I was really struck as I read this book by how similar many of Blake’s ideas are to the way that I see human nature. His main focus is on loving ourselves deeply, and what that means in practical terms. We also explored how denying our needs can lead to physical and emotional distress, and why we need to give ourselves permission to be well and happy. I hope you take a lot from our discussion.

Topics we touched on together included:

• How suffering may be necessary for growth
• The self-destructive way we have of relating to ourselves
• How my guest started to recognize the false beliefs that lead to suffering
• Blake’s family experiences that led to self-destructive behavior
• What it means to be “the love you are seeking”
• The practices that led to Blake’s insights and healing, including meditation and qi gong
• How looking for healing and purpose boiled down to looking for love
• How we can direct love toward ourselves, rather than seeking it from others
• The demands we put on ourselves that make life harder than it has to be
• Healing as a process of becoming more intimate with ourselves
• Our social conditioning to keep going even when we’re worn down
• How living out of alignment with ourselves can lead to physical breakdowns
• The deep guilt that many of us carry even about existing
• Giving ourselves permission to be well and happy
• Unhealthy relationships with ourselves as an intergenerational parasite
• Our true nature as love and energy
• Some of the most important steps in Blake’s healing journey
  • Being true to yourself in every situation & relationship, starting now
  • Daily meditation practice – start with 10 minutes in the morning
• Blake’s close relationship with the Shambhala Buddhist community
• What it means to feel at home with ourselves
• Be yourself. And enjoy your life.

Blake D. Bauer has helped thousands of people around the world who could not find lasting solutions from conventional medicine, psychiatry, or religion.

His pioneering work centers on learning how to love yourself practically and unconditionally as the key to healing yourself, fulfilling your life’s purpose, unlocking your capacity to love others, and realizing your full potential personally and professionally.

Blake’s formal education includes traditional Chinese medicine, five-element Chinese medicine, nutritional medicine, herbal healing, psychology, past life regression therapy-hypnosis, and various other forms of alternative medicine.

After years of training with spiritual teachers, healers, and masters from all over the world, Blake also teaches various forms of mindfulness, meditation, qi gong, qi gong energy medicine, and dao yin (a health and longevity yoga). Today he is considered by many to be a modern meditation and qi gong master.

Based on both his personal experience overcoming deep suffering, addiction, and adversity, as well as his professional success with thousands of people worldwide, he shares what he’s found to be the most effective approaches to mental, emotional, and physical health.

Find Blake online at his website.