Well, well, well, you've done it. You have completed the entire series here with me this week on the Sweet Spot. I'm Dr. Derek Sweet, I'm your host. I'm a board certified psychiatrist, and uh certainly I've worked in Peak Performance for quite some time, but more than that, I'm your companion. I've been your companion on this journey, learning alongside you how to live with more lightness, more honesty, and more freedom. We've been in a series here called The Seven Releases. Oh man, it's been so great. We find ourselves here in episode seven, release the silence, your voice being the first door to freedom. Yeah, today is slowdown Sunday, the day we breathe a little deeper, we look a little higher, and we let the wisdom of the universe speak to us. So yeah, today we arrive at the seventh and final release. Release the silence. Why is silence heavy? Why can it be heavy? There's certainly good times when silence actually is the right thing to be practicing. But there is a kind of silence, a certain kind of silence that isn't so peaceful. It's protective, it's guarded. It's the silence you carry when you don't want to burden anyone. You don't want to create conflict. That kind of silence. The kind of silence you don't want to speak because you don't want to be judged, you don't want to be dismissed, so you don't say anything, you don't want to be misunderstood, and you certainly don't want to feel weak, so you're quiet. You don't want to reveal how much you're carrying, so you're silent. This kind of silence is not rest, it's compression. And compressed souls don't feel light, they're they're very small. So today's release is not about becoming loud, it's about becoming known by yourself, by God, and by the people who can hold your truth with care. And because every Sunday we dabble in some astrophysics, we see what the universe has for us, not because we're astrophysicists, but because the universe has a lot to say. So let's talk cosmic for a moment. The universe it expands by releasing energy. Every star, every nebula, every supernova, the entire cosmos grows because something lets go. Silence, on the other hand, is like a star collapsing inward, right? It's a star that can no longer release its internal pressure. So instead of exploding, it implodes, it becomes smaller, denser, and darker. But when a star is able to release, it becomes brighter, it becomes larger, it becomes something the universe can see. And my friend, you and I are no different. Your voice, your truth, your story, your needs, your desires, your boundaries, all of it, all of it is the energy that keeps your spirit from collapsing inward. But the expansion that we're looking for and that we need requires expression. Because with no voice, there's no growth. If there's no honesty, there's no healing. No sharing, no connection, no expression, no expansion. The cosmos teaches us a lot because it's expanding every second. And so are we. So are we. And there's a neuroscience that goes along with speaking your truth. When you silence yourself, the brain registers this as a threat. The amygdala, the brain's threat detection center, it lights up, it stress hormones rise and your nervous system tightens up. Your sleep changes, your moods shift. Because sometimes when you suppress yourself and you you shut it down, it's a threat signal to the brain. But when you speak your truth even softly, something miraculous can happen. The CEO of the brain, remember the prefrontal cortex, activates and it calms the fears and it begins to restore clarity. The vagus nerve, remember the relaxing vagus nerve, the tenth cranial nerve, it lowers your stress and grounds the body. When you speak even softly, something miraculous happens, your entire nervous system shifts from survival to connection because your biology, it turns out, was designed for truth. Our biology actually malfunctions in the wrong type of silence and heals with the right kind of expression. In the ancient wisdom in Psalm 107, verse 2 in the message Bible, it says, Let the redeemed tell their story. And King James, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. In both instances, you got to speak up because your story carries spiritual weight, your voice carries a divine permission. There's something you have to say, and you deserve to be heard. Your truth is not a burden, it's a breakthrough waiting to happen. So, what I want you to do today is to begin practicing speaking your truth, however softly you need to do it. And if you can't say it to somebody else, look in the mirror and tell yourself, say it out loud. I'll give you two tools for releasing the silence. Tool one is called the small truth exercise. Say one true thing today to someone who can deal with it, who can hold it, that you can trust. One sentence that's true, one feeling that's true, one need that you have is true, or one boundary, whatever it is that's true, not the whole story, just one truth that you're gonna share with somebody that can hold it, that you can trust, and just practice that. Because expression, my friend, is medicine. There's something powerful about expressing yourself. The second tool is called a written voice. Sometimes speaking can be a bit much, it might be too much. So if you can't do that, write your truth down. Your spirit doesn't care how it comes out, only that it does come out. So writing is releasing, put it on your phone. If you have a journal, just write it down and let it loose, let it into the atmosphere and see what occurs for you. And I want you to finish this sentence today. This is your your little micro challenge for today. Finish this sentence. The truth I'm finally willing to say is the truth I'm finally willing to say is, and whatever that is, let it rise, let it breathe, let it be heard. Yeah, you've been listening to the sweet spot, you've been in a seven-day release. Wow, let's honor this journey that we've walked together this week. You've done a great job. You you released the rush because clarity needed space. You did that on Monday. On Tuesday, you released the lie because your freedom needs truth. Wednesday we released the weight that wasn't ours because our souls needed room. On Thursday, we released the old identity because growth requires shedding. And on Friday, we released the fear of starting over because new beginnings are not punishment, they're promotion. On Saturday, we released the need for control because our peace arrives when we stop gripping and holding on so much. And then Sunday, oh yeah, we released today the silence, where we silence ourselves because our voice is the doorway to our freedom. This is not just emotional work, my friend. This is spiritual work, it's psychological work, it's cosmic work, it's the whole life transformation thing in just me and you just talking like we're talking right now, releasing things. And why does this matter? Why does this why does doing a series like this matter? Why did we do this series? Because when you release the rush, you reclaim your presence. When you release the lie, you reclaim your identity. When you release the weight, you reclaim your energy. And when you release the old versions of you that are not working, you reclaim possibility. Oh yeah. And when you release fear, the fear, you reclaim your movement. You reclaim your peace when you release control, and you reclaim your voice when you release silence. That's the weak. And a person with clarity, truth, lightness, courage, peace, and a liberated voice, oh, that's a dangerous person. That is a person who can face challenges. That is a person who can build joy, pursue purpose, a person who can experience life with a deeper sense of happiness and release and resilience and hope. That's what this whole series was about. The seven releases. It was not just a series we did here, my friend. This is a blueprint for becoming whole. So if this journey touched you, carry it forward. Go forward with some release. Share it with someone who needs light. Revisit any episode when you need it most. It's always gonna be here. I'm happy to talk with you again. And let this final truth settle into your spirit as we close. You were never meant to live a clenched, tight life. You were meant to live free. I'll see you soon, beautiful soul. One breath at a time, one release at a time. All love. This is Dr. Sweet.