

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rikki Thomas.
My mental health journey came to an all-time low after my faith transition at the age of 29. My perception of the “world” and “society” sent me spinning into a deep hole of social anxiety. Growing up my report cards explained my behavior as “S/satisfactory” and “social butterfly”, unexpectedly evolving into an “antisocial butterfly” by the time I was 30. Pain and suffering, both physical and emotional, are linked to some response from the past.
From the womb, each person began their evolution based on their environmental factors and instinctual responses to survive through adolescence. Yay, we made it, we survived…. But how many of us have remained the same as the day we turned 18? We grow, we change, we evolve because that’s what nature is. Naturally, we are striving to attain a more balanced, healthy way of living.
Since each of us has had a unique journey and none of us were given all of the answers, some of our “survival reactions” no longer serve the person we’re wanting to become. These survival aspects are not “wrong” or “bad” they are just “outdated” or immature. Learning to love and nurture these parts of our being, and understanding the reason we respond the way we do in certain situations, allows us to reprocess and redirect our actions to flow more healthily.
For example, I had developed skills to enhance my ability to “survive” by people pleasing, staying quiet, laughing, energy matching, and overthinking… these aspects of myself were essential to my growth and allowed me to feel safe and in control. However, as a grown adult, these immature qualities were interfering with my ability to be my best self. After years of “internal review,” I was able to strengthen these fear-based qualities and build myself into a strong, self-aware, independent, open-minded, engaged, and conscious human.
This journey was hard and emotional. Each of my “immature” qualities were deeply tied to my life experiences. So guess what, to stop people pleasing I had to find my confidence… and that’s not a “fake it till you make it” type of quality you can just inherit… I found an unconscious energy pattern, fear of rejection and punishment instilled from my childhood.
We’ve all heard it, to overcome your fear, you have to face it. To face “people pleasing” I needed to “transmute” my energy pattern into strength by learning to: set boundaries, stand up for myself, appropriately express my thoughts and feelings, “shield” myself from other’s expectations, and love myself no matter what. To heal it, you gotta feel it… and I don’t mean you need to sit in self-pity and wallow in despair, I mean you put your big girl panties on and you own your shit. You look in the mirror and decide to make a change… then you breathe.
Everyone’s journey is unique, we each have an intuitive awareness that helps guide us to where we need to be. My journey started with a prescription for pharmaceuticals, which was exactly what I needed for that time. When the medication stopped offering me the benefits i needed, I tried natural healing modalities.
Once I was grounded in my natural practices I was able to slowly wean off my medication. It’s not a one size fits all journey, there are so many unique tools and techniques to help heal, find balance, and empower. My mental health relied on pills and prayer for years, however, when my faith transition hit I shut down all aspects of spirituality, which perpetuated my problems.
I had to reintegrate and refocus my efforts, reintroducing prayer and spirituality in a way that worked for me, this aspect was an essential part of my healing journey. Whether its prayer, church, yoga, meditation, breath work, energy work, reiki, therapy, cannabis, psychedelics, connection, tarot cards, nature, hugs, movement, work, music, or family (I can go on and on), everyone has a unique healing source.
I love connecting with other people and helping them along their life journey to the best versions of themselves. I am located in Vamp Body Art in Santa Clara, Utah, and have remote sessions available through my website: mysoulfullconnections
Contact Info:
- Website: http://mysoulfullconnections.com
- Instagram: @soul_full_connections