EP 15: The Power Of Dopamine Detoxing & Fasting

Its time to reset your brain and body! In this episode we will talk about taking back your power through fasting from vices and strongholds! 

Transcript

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Good afternoon, my beautiful soul tribe. Welcome back to the permission activated podcast. And I am your host, Coach Ty, here to empower you and remind you that you don't need nobody's permission but your own because God has already called you to go forth and step out. So today's episode, I'm super excited about it. And if you take these things to heart and apply them, they are going to literally change your life. The title is The Power of a Dopamine Detox in Fasting. Now I'm gonna break this into two episodes. The first episode, the fasting, is gonna be more so from Vices, and then the second episode that is gonna follow this will be more so about spiritual fasting because there are many different types of fasts that you can do. But let's get right into this word because I know a lot of people need it. So listen, you guys ever notice how the moment things get quiet, you start to reach for something the phone, the TV, social media, another episode, another scroll, another distraction. Not because you necessarily need it, but because we've trained our brains to avoid stillness. And the truth is, most people today aren't tired because life is so hard. They're tired because their brains never get a break. Your mind never gets a break. It's constant stimulation, constant noise, constant dopamine hits, constant scrolling, clicking, swiping, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, right? And after hours of it, you're left feeling drained, unfocused, anxious, stressed, nervous, comparing yourself to other people, what other people have, feeling like you're far behind, feeling like you're not doing enough, and wondering why you can't hear yourself think at the end of all of that. Wondering why you can't hear God at the end of all of that. But here's the uncomfortable truth, guys. A lot of the things we call entertainment have quietly become escapes. And I am going to give my own testimony about that in just a second. But you look for an escape from your thoughts, from your purpose, from your feelings, your emotions. You look for escapes from the work that you know you're supposed to be doing, like the purpose-driven work. So if you guys apply this, I want you to see how powerful of a change is going to come when you step back from your computer screen, your TV screen, your phone screen, the scrolling, and the stimulation. I'm telling you, it's life-changing. Let me give you my testimony real quick. This was back when TV switched from analog over to digital. So when analog switched over to digital years ago, back then I used to intentionally and purposely escape through the TV. I literally would just check out, watch, watch a movie, watch a show or whatever, and I would intentionally check out because I did not want to hear what was going on inside. I didn't want to deal with what was going on inside. Not that it was a lot of turmoil or anything like that going on. I just didn't, I wasn't ready to take responsibility for whatever it was if I stopped to listen. And so I intentionally kept myself busy. How many people out there can be honest and say, yep, you're right. This is what I do. I do do this because I don't want to have to deal with it. And listen, that's okay, but you gotta give yourself permission to be open, honest, and transparent, at least with yourself. You gotta live with yourself every day. You gotta lay down and wake up and look at yourself in the mirror every single day. And you wanna feel good about who you're looking at. So, anyway, long story short, way back then, I used to intentionally distract myself and check out by watching TV, right? I absolutely love TV. I'm I'm a movie head. I love watching a good movie with a storyline. I'm an absolute movie head, okay? When it switched over from analog to digital, the Lord said to me, You're not getting another TV, you're not, you're not switching over. What you're gonna do is you're gonna start reading books. You're gonna start sitting with yourself, listening to yourself, learning yourself, and reading books. And so, guys, I have not owned or bought a TV. I have not bought a TV since analog switched over to digital. What I did in substitution after I got to a place of being able to sit with myself, being able to sit in silence with myself and process what's going on inside and listen to God and cultivate my relationship and my intimacy with God and with my spirit. After I balanced myself out with that, my healthy boundary was but the only time I watch movies now is on my laptop or my iPad. I want to encourage you guys to really do a dopamine detox to really go on a fast. Now, there are many different fasts that you can do. I'm talking about a dopamine detox vice fast, fasting from your vices. Now, what are your vices? Everybody's vice is different. For some people, it was Amazon Prime, for some people, it's reality TV shows or certain series or whatever the case may be. For some people, it's smoking, for some people it's sex, for some people it is drinking, it's partying, it's social media, it's porn. Everybody has different vices. So, whatever that vice is for you, whatever that stronghold is for you, how do you know it's a stronghold? Because you can't stop doing it. That means you're in spiritual bondage and captivity. Now that's where spiritual fast would also come in, but you want to start with the practical things as well, okay? We'll talk about that in the next episode. But this is how you know you can tell if something is a vice or not. Take a break from it for 30 days, take a break from it. And if you feel like you can't take a break from it, like it's the end of the world, then yes, it's a vice, it's a stronghold, it's bondage and captivity. That's how you know. There's a great book called The Compound Effect, which I absolutely love. I've read it several times, but I don't remember what chapter it's in. But there's a chapter where Darren Hardy talks about finding out if something is like a vice or not by taking a break from it for 30 days. And if you could take a break from it for 30 days without any problem, then it does not have control over you. It does not have a hold over you. So I love, I love that thought, that idea, and that principle. Whatever you feel like you may be addicted to, you're not sure, you're on a fence, you're borderline. See if you can take a break from it for 30 days with it not being a problem. Now, back to this fast. Now, here's the deal with the fast, okay? Pray about it, figure out how many days you need to do it for. You can do a fast for a day, for two days, for three days, for five days, for seven days, for a month, depending on what you're fasting from. Now, I understand if you're a business owner, you have, you know, your business is online. Try 24 to 48 hours. You can automate a lot of your stuff. You can schedule your videos out to post. There are ways to get around being a business owner and still taking a break for at least 24 to 48 hours from social media and from your phone, right? Figure it out. Figure out how many days would be good enough for you to break that cycle to reset your brain, to reset your health, to realign your spirit. And then that's how many days you do. And I really want to hear your thoughts about this in the comments. So please drop some comments down there. Let me know how you guys feel about it, what you think about it. Do you agree with it? Are you gonna try it? Are you gonna do it? And let me know how many days you're gonna go for too. Because when other people see it and read it, they'll be encouraged, they'll be inspired, and they'll be motivated to join the movement as well. I'm actually on a fast right now. That's why I'm talking about this because I know how powerful fasting is. I am a faster. I I more so do spiritual fasting though, for spiritual reasons, which I'll talk about in the next episode. But I'm actually on a fast right now, so that's why I'm telling you, I immediately always see results as soon as I start fasting because sacrifice is everything. When you can put your flesh down and balance that flesh and that spirit and that mind out, it's everything. So let me jump into 10 reasons why fasting is going to be super powerful for you. 10 key points. You can get a pen and paper or just download this and save it so you can go back and listen to it later. All right, number one, fasting is going to reveal what was controlling you. I just talked about that a little while ago. The moment you remove the vice, whether it's your cell phone, TV, sugar, social media, you'll immediately see how often you reach for it for comfort to soothe you for satisfaction. Fasting is definitely always going to expose the attachments you didn't even realize were running your day and controlling your life. Come on, baby, who am I talking to out there? Number two, silence is where clarity lives. When the noise stops, your mind finally gets a break and breathes. No constant stimulation means your thoughts slow down, your body balances out, your intuition kicks in and gets stronger, and you give your spirit and God a microphone to speak. Number three, your brain starts resetting. Constant stimulation floods the brain with dopamine. When you fast from it, the brain is going to recalibrate itself. Your body is very intelligent, but you got to give it the right atmosphere and the right things so that it can do what it needs to do. Suddenly, when you give your brain a break and a reset, suddenly the simple things of life, such as reading, walking, prayer, meditation, conversation, it starts feeling fulfilling again. Number four, discipline becomes your superpower. Every time you resist the urge to check the phone or binge something or eat the sweets or not make the booty call to that person you know you shouldn't be talking to anyway, you're strengthening your mental muscles. Discipline is always going to grow through small daily victories. Number five, you reclaim your attention. Attention is currency, baby. Wherever your attention goes, that's where you're investing. Social media and the entertainment industries, they compete for it every second of every minute of every day. So when you can fast from those things, your power is going to come back to you. Number six, creativity comes back online. When you're not constantly consuming content, your brain begins to actually produce it and take action. Ideas return, solutions appear, inspiration shows up like an old friend knocking at the door again. Like, where the heck you been? Number seven, emotional healing surfaces. Distractions often cover emotions. When the distractions go quiet, feelings rise to the surface, which is a good thing because the only way you're going to be able to deal with the problem is to acknowledge there's one in the first place. Number eight, time freaking multiplies. Okay, people are shocked how much time exists when they stop scrolling, stop binge watching, stop just wasting time with social media and things of that nature. Now, I'm not talking about those of you who are actually running a business, creating content, and making a difference. I'm talking about the scrollers, okay? No shade to y'all, but this is your wake-up call to take action. But when you stop scrolling so much and stop getting distracted so much, hours come back into your life. And the time to learn, build, rest, and connect with other people in real life multiplies and increases. It's a beautiful thing. Number nine, oh my gosh, baby, your nervous system calms down. Endless notifications keep the body in a mild stress loop. Removing them gives the nervous system space to settle, breathe, and return to balance. Number 10, you remember who you are without the noise. The greatest power of fasting from vices is identity. Without constant input telling you who you are, what you need to be, what you need to do, what you need to buy, what you need to think. When you eliminate all of that, you reconnect with your own essence, your creativity, with your authenticity. And you shut out all the noise so you can only hear your voice and God's voice. And another thing, guys, when you go on your walks, like me personally, like another thing you can add to your schedule and your regimen. When I go on my walks, I do not ever take my phone with me. I never take my phone with me on my walks. Unless I'm like talking to a client and I just decide I want to talk outside because I just want to be out in nature while I'm talking to that client, something like that. But my own personal walks, I don't take my phone. I don't like any electronics or devices with me when I'm in nature because that is my intentional time with God. That is my intentional time with myself, balancing myself out, just allowing the sun in the trees and the grass and everything to just fill me up without any distractions. I I want to be fully present with myself, fully present with God, and fully present with nature. So if you're a person who takes walks, start leaving your phone. I know a lot of you guys like to listen to podcasts and stuff like that, but I even want to challenge and encourage you to do every other walk without a podcast. Just silence, silence on your walks. Just try it, just try it. Let me know how it goes. Okay, guys. So listen, I'm gonna wrap this up. I love you guys so much, and I want you to be balanced. I want you to be clear, I want you to have peace. I freaking love you so much. Thank you guys for hanging out with me. Please let me know how it goes in the comments. And if you have any questions or you want to reach out to me, you can reach me at you can reach me at workwithtie at yahoo.com or workwithai at iCloud.com. Listen, so give yourself permission to have peace, to have joy, to have silence, to get to know yourself, to come into relationship with yourself again, to go deeper in intimacy with yourself. Because guys, I tell you, there's nothing like being in relationship with yourself. There is nothing like being in total and complete relationship with yourself and loving everything about yourself, embracing everything about yourself and liking everything about yourself. Do you have to be perfect? No, I love my imperfections, I love my flaws, I love the mistakes that I've made, I love how I've had to stumble forward, I love the potholes that I may have fallen in. You know what I'm saying? I love everything about my journey because every scrape, every bruise, every spiritual, mental, emotional cut, whatever it was, it made me who I am today. And I would not trade that for the world because I love who God has cultivated me to be. So I want to encourage you guys to get back in alignment with your authenticity, with loving yourself, with liking yourself. And if you're already there, just take it to the next level because it's a beautiful journey. It's never about the destination, guys, it's about the journey. You gotta fall in love with the journey because when you get to the destination, you're gonna be like, Oh, that's it. Well, what's next? I'm bored now. Yeah, because you were supposed to enjoy the journey. So listen, if you're feeling the vibe, join the tribe, save it, download it, and share it with a friend because sharing is caring. God bless each and every one of you and give yourself permission to be free, to change, to elevate, to evolve, and to come into deeper relationship and communion with yourself and with God. Bye.