Be in control of what you consume via social media

It is a well-known fact that reading the news and repeatedly accessing social media feeds can negatively impact our mental health. 

When you realise how much of what we see is controlled by others, for example when watching the docudrama Social Dilemma, maybe there comes a time when we must take back our control over what we see on the internet and how our data is used illegally or to manipulate us.

I'm been thinking about this for a while just because I have been aware of how much Facebook is blocking natural health solutions from being seen on its platform. I know that there are wild claims out there that 'such-and-such' cures cancer, etc. but even those of us who are ethical in our posts and suggestion are losing our reach or having posts removed for spurious reasons. 

There are various social media sites that are being used to manipulate us and seeing as it doesn't seem to be getting any better maybe now is the time to make better choices for ourselves. 

That is why I have been mentioning in my Facebook 'lives' that I am moving over to MeWe.com. MeWe.com promises no ads, no spyware and was even mentioned by Web Inventor Tim Berners-Lee here Interview: Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee thinks his creation is out of control. Here's his plan to save it - BBC Science Focus Magazine. When the inventor of the internet is worried about how his invention is being used you know that we have a major problem. 

I would rather be in control of censoring my own social media input without someone else deciding for me what I should be consuming about my health, my soul or what the 'facts' are. I am aware of checking my sources and although that seems to be becoming increasingly complicated it is still doable if you are willing to put in the effort. I also want to be able to share my experiences of natural health solutions and soul healing without fear of censorship. And I want you to be able to make your own choices about whether you want to see my content or not.

Join me if you would like

So come and join me if you want and make up your own mind about what I post and share. You don't have to agree with me, I will always respect your rights to have your own opinions and I know that you are an amazing human being even if we disagree on things.

I'm on WeMe.com here so come and connect and/or join me in my group Essentially Together with Viv on WeMe.com where I share tips and tricks about my life and passions. Then if you want to move away from WhatsApp I'm on Telegram as an alternative platform and I also have places on there where I share information about essential oils if you want to join me.

• Essentially Oily Notifications channel where you can comment on the information I send out if you would like https://bit.ly/VivTelegramNotifications
• Essentially Oily Talk where you receive the same notifications that I send out above but you can also join in conversations about any of them with others in the group https://bit.ly/VivTelegramOilyChat

Here are some further recommendations

Forego YouTube recommendations; SUBSCRIBE to the channels you want to see and turn on notifications so you only watch the stuff you want to watch. You can even remove the recommended section using the Google Chrome Extension Unhook or move to a freedom first platform like BitChute.

Move to an AD free social media platform like WeMe.com where your data remains your own.

Move to an open-source messaging service like Telegram which unlike WhatsApp is not affiliated to Facebook. There's an alternative called Signal too

Be aware that you might not be seeing the information on Facebook that you want to so check in on your friends every so often. Favourite those people whose activities you want to see first and maybe move others into friend's lists on FB so that you can check in on people more easily. Maybe even pick up the phone to check on your friends as things are not always what they seem on social media.

Limit how much you read the news or even choose to read the positive stuff Home - Positive News - Positive News.

Bring awareness to what you are seeing online and stop scrolling if you feel it isn't serving your wellbeing.

Watch Social Dilemma - it seems to be free to watch on a fair few sites.

Why autonomy is so important - creativity & diversity

Until I autonomously educated my children I didn't really know what autonomy meant to be fair. When I joined the thousands of people home educating when my DS turned 5 and didn't go to primary school, it became apparent that we were going to be a radical unschooling family, who autonomously educated or unschooled our children. 

Our children lived autonomously - deciding what they wanted to do, eat, when they wanted to sleep, what passions they wanted to pursue, etc. - all within the boundaries of our family unit: they self-governed as the Greek roots of 'auto' (self) and 'nomos' (law) stated.

I never thought that the idea of autonomy would become such an important value or ideal within my business. But it is because I want EVERYONE to be their best, intentional, amazing, unique selves. I want people to regain their power: be their own Emperor, Hero, Boss, Sovereign - as stated in some of the 'tag' lines I am now using in my business.

These 'tag' lines that are in the diagram above I believe come from my neurodiverse, dyslexic mind which I mentioned in my FB 'live' on 4/3/21 - (an exciting date by all accounts for a mathematical geek like me!) You can watch that on FB here or on YouTube here. To help my short-term memory issue I often help myself using alliteration, wordplay, acronyms and symmetry to help me.

These are some of my quirks along with my fascination with symmetry, palindromes, as well as my linking of interests in elemental work, the chakras, the directions (above) and puzzles. I also enjoy poetry, lyrics, harmonizing music and none of these things I do particularly well but that isn't the point.  

These are all important aspects of me and things that I often bring into my spiritual, healing work. By acknowledging and honouring these things in me and trusting that it is important for me to be truly me I feel that that allows me to honour you and those parts of you that are truly part of you when I do any healing work.

Owning your individuality or even our idiosyncrasies isn't always an easy thing to do, I don't think. But I think it is important. As Ken Robinson mentioned in his TED talk Schools Kill Creativity (or it might have been one of his other talks), creativity is one of humanity's natural resources and that as a species we are destroying it via our school system. 

Creativity is the way we all see the same thing but view it differently

Creativity is the way we can hear the same thing but experience it differently

Creativity is feelings arranged with words, sounds, colours, but different people who all experience things differently

Creativity is all our brains firing different neurons in different ways based on our experiences, our culture, our upbringing, our unique take on the world. 

Creativity is autonomy expressed. It is sovereignty expressed. It is diversity expressed. And vice versa!

We have to take back this autonomy/creativity and rediscover these self-governing rights that we have over our bodies, emotions, thoughts and higher power. 

I spent many years via my shamanic training and afterwards, retrieving power that I had lost at school, during my childhood, in unhealthy relationships, etc. That helped me realise my unique place in the world and that my neurodiverse, quirky, non-binary, geeky way of looking at the world was not only ok but was important, valuable and that I had a right to express myself authentically.

Don't get me wrong, I still have more power to reclaim and more things to learn. I also accept that not everyone wants to engage with my quirks. That's ok. You might not totally get what I am trying to explain here. That's ok. 

What isn't ok is people feeling that they can't take up their space in the world or that they have to hide who they are or they don't have anything to contribute.

Take back your sovereignty over your soul. Be the emperor of your emotions. Be the hero of your health and be the boss of your body. And feel free to do all those things your own way.