How do we begin to trust ourselves when life demands we suppress our emotions? This question is at the heart of my conversation with Mike Sears, a Halifax Fire Captain, peer support advocate, and founder of Fight4Life. A firefighter for over two decades, Mike shares his journey of reconnecting with his body after emotional numbness, offering profound lessons in trust, healing, and transformation.

On Embodied, Mike talks about navigating the intense demands of firefighting, where vulnerability often takes a backseat to survival. After a breaking point left him physically and emotionally drained, he attended the BC Firefighter Resiliency Program, where he processed years of stored trauma and rediscovered what he calls a sense of “body calm.”

In our conversation, we explore:

• How suppressed emotions manifest in the body as physical symptoms.
• The courage it takes to step back and prioritize healing.
• Why vulnerability can be a profound strength, even in high-stakes professions.
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An audio version of this blog post is available. Navigate to the audio player above and select the play button to hear this blog post narrated by Anne Bérubé.

A trait spiritual masters share is their ability to feel emotions deeply. They know that their body is a highly sensitive instrument that permits them to know truths through feeling all of life, moment to moment.

They no longer need to actively establish defensive barriers; these arise naturally from the deep-seated knowledge within them. They no longer perceive threats they need to defend against. All of life is safe when you trust your instrument to lead the way.

The unseen impact of trauma: interrupted feeling and self fragmentation

Fully feeling the depth of each moment without barriers is a gift we all possess.

This capacity changes as we grow to adapt to our environment.

When trauma happens, a part of us shuts down and our subconscious mind doesn't allow us to feel certain aspects of an experience.

The ability to ful...

An audio version of this blog post is available. Navigate to the audio player above and select the play button to hear this blog post narrated by Anne Bérubé. 

The importance of trust in transformation

I've been thinking a lot about trust lately and how it is such an essential element for any true transformation.

For many of us, trust is fragile, so when we are asked to trust ourselves, our body, that life has our back, or in the process of surrendering, it feels like putting our life into something or someone else's hands and it feels impossible. Yet, we need it to move forward, to allow newness to come into our life, and it is a required ingredient to experience authentic fulfillment.

Trust allows us to be vulnerable while feeling connected and safe. It will enable us to go to new places and explore new territories without worrying that we will be interrupted, arrested, or punished for having put our walls down.

The absence of trust shuts down curiosity and doesn't allow for adv...