We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Melissa Brock a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Melissa , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
The biggest factor for me in gaining confidence in my work has come with experience and age. At a certain point in life you realise that you’ve been doing this work for decades and the only person who is going to give you the validation you are looking for is yourself. This is especially true when you are doing work that isn’t as valued in our culture as it should be, such as healing work, art and teaching. I think self esteem is something you have to cultivate as an ongoing practice. It is part of the required work one must do to be a grounded leader and healer.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I help people remember their connection to their spirits and nature. I am a doctor of oriental (not my chosen word) medicine (DOM) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. However, I am not your average DOM, my objective is to call back the soul of all the healing modalities I employee through a decolonial shamanic/animist framework. My healing tools include acupuncture, moxibustion, spirit work, herbal medicine, sound and bodywork.
I am most excited about the new offerings I am creating. I am teaching an introduction to shamanic journeying from a core shamanism perspective this summer. I am developing my own locally sourced herbal and flower essence line. I will soon have several free introductory offerings on energy hygiene.
Getting on my mailing list is the best way to hear about my upcoming events and products.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Curiosity- “Be curious, not judgemental”, as Ted Lasso suggested, not only encourages me to grow toward by hearts desire and allows me to give myself permission to be more creative, it helps me when I am being judged as you will when you “put yourself out there”. The minute you put your creative work out into the world, the world will judge it. It is important to take constructive criticism but even more important to keep in mind that those who are more judgemental then curious will project their insecurities and wounds onto you. Those are the times to have compassion for the critic and to put their opinions into the right box, the compost box.
Awareness – Been a healing professional starts with self awareness. Self awareness leads to interpersonal, societal, global and environmental awareness. All of which are necessary for healing and reaching maximum human potential.
Courage – Sometimes it requires a trust fall with the universe to be an entrepreneur. You will be required to do things that perhaps no one or few have done before, this takes courage. You can do all the planning and research but eventually you will have to have the courage to leap and trust that it will work out and/or you will learn a great deal in the process of trial and error.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Gardening, spending time with loved ones and teaching people to reconnect with nature and their spirits. This is how I live life, as if the future is not guaranteed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stardustacupuncture.com
- Instagram: stardust.acupuncture
Image Credits
Rocio Rodriguez
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