Dr. Nelson Valeña: Medical Doctor Turned to Holistic Healing Following a Stroke

Dr. Nelson Valeña: Medical Doctor Turned to Holistic Healing Following a Stroke

About Dr. Nelson Valeña

Meet Nelson Valeña, MD, a rehab physician turned holistic healer. After surviving a stroke, he embraced integrative medicine, energy healing & spirituality to empower others on their path to wellness at his Golden Hill Retreat Center in Coldspring, TX 77331.

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Introduction

Good, beautiful day, beautiful, beautiful souls! This is Charla Anderson, host of the Charla Anderson Show~Collector & Connector of Fascinating People (& EVERYONE is Fascinating!), especially you.

You know, I love it when medical professionals realize that integrating holistic modalities can accelerate healing. Today’s guest, Dr. Nelson Valena of Golden Hill Retreat Center, did just that after suffering a stroke. We are going to delve into all that. 

…BUT FIRST…

let’s do our 22 second mini vacation. We’re going to breathe in some calm for seven seconds. We’re going to hold for four seconds. We’re going to breathe out gratitude for 11 seconds. So let’s get into that and be still and know, take a moment to chill. Here we go. Breathe in some calm. 

Here we go. Hold. Relax, release. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

I love my little mini vacation there. So I cannot wait to have Dr. Nelson Valenya, our guest today. We’ve been having pre-discussion and I’m so excited because I’m all over this, holistic and how we can integrate and get more people understanding that our bodies can help heal, you know, have so much healing in them, right? So, Dr. Nelson, tell me about what’s going on with you. Who are you in this world?

Well, first of all, thank you, Charla, for having me on your show. And I love your opening exercise because it definitely illustrates everything that I believe in regards to healing is activating that relaxation response in order for us to support our own healing that’s all within us. So thank you for sharing that with us and your audience. But today, yes, I would love to share my story, and I hope that it will also shed some light on some of the challenges we have in our health care system, and also hope that it inspires others to make some changes in their own lives. 

So I grew up or I was born in the Philippines and my parents were both physicians. And so in the 1970s, there was a lack of physicians in the United States because of the Vietnam War. So my parents actually immigrated here and to help with that problem. And so in the 1970s, we moved to New York and we took the whole family. There’s a family of six children and I’m the fourth out of six. And basically, I grew up in medicine. So one of my first memories was actually when my parents lived in the Philippines, they had a clinic there. And I remember walking into one of the tubs and there was an arm that had been amputated. 

And so I would see different things like that and it was all normal to me to see jars full of breasts that were excised from tumors and all of that. And so I grew up thinking, oh, I’m going to be in the medical field as well. And in fact, when I was five and a half years old, in the Philippines, there’s a tradition when you graduate kindergarten that you tell the town what you’re going to be. And of course, I told the town that when I grew up, I was going to be a doctor. 

So my destiny was basically outlined for me, you know, pretty much early on, we came to the United States, and then I finished high school. And there was always this understanding that one of the six children would go into medicine. We weren’t told that this is what you had to do, but of course, being the oldest son, I felt an obligation that I need to follow in my parents’ footsteps. So I went to the University of Michigan for undergrad, then the University of Pittsburgh for medical school, and then came down to Houston for my residency program in physical medicine rehabilitation. And so that’s a specialty that looks or helps those with disabilities to overcome their functional impairments. 

So, I specialize in brain injury medicine, meaning people who have undergone strokes, traumatic brain injuries and also other neurological disorders like spinal cord injury. So I had a very thriving practice in neurological rehabilitation and was even teaching at Baylor College of Medicine in the residency program, and everything seemed to be going fine until around 2011, when I myself had a stroke. So I ended up having some weakness on one side of my face, some difficulty with my speech, difficulty with my balance and my vision. But even though I was a doctor, I experienced the symptoms when I was working at the hospital, actually. And I was rounding on some patients at St. Luke’s Hospital here in Houston. 

But my mind basically ignored it and said, oh, this is nothing. You know, I’m fine, it’s probably from some of my sleeping medications. And I just pushed through my week and I actually had symptoms for about three days before I became very, I couldn’t ignore it any further, that there was something else going on. And about the third day, I realized that I was not able to process information. And at that time, it became apparent that I had to go into the hospital. And as soon as I went into the hospital, they did an MRI and it showed a small stroke. An ischemic stroke, meaning that part of my brain didn’t receive oxygen and that resulted in my symptoms. 

And that was probably one of the most pivotal days of my life because it really started this whole journey of re-evaluating who I was and what I stood for and what my passions were because You know, I think many of us, especially doctors, go into medicine thinking, oh, this is what we want to do. We want to help people. And we go on this path. And we sort of go on automatic pilot, I think, sometimes. Because we know we have to work hard. You know, all of the stress comes with it. 

So it’s just that we go day to day trying to survive. We try to make sure that we do our best and see the patients and whatnot. And oftentimes, that means sacrificing our own health and well-being. Meaning that we’re often conditioned to push and to persevere and to do what we can to take care of the patients and so on. So in terms of getting rest or trying to decrease our own stress, oftentimes that comes you know that’s secondary, that’s something that oh if we have time we’ll do it. But oftentimes we don’t have time and we push it down push it down. We keep pushing pushing until something happens and it’s exactly what happened to me. And you were young in 2011.

That’s a while ago. You’re still young! You know, so young for a stroke. Do you know what caused that or can they come up with a cause? Or is it just, you know, stress-related or

Exactly. So that was the crux of the problem is they did all the studies, and of course, they labelled it as cryptogenic, meaning that they didn’t know what the cause was. So that even made it more frightening for me because if we don’t know the cause, then how can we fix it, right? It’s a typical mindset that, oh, we can fix it by doing something or taking a pill or whatnot. And so it really led me to this exploration of, okay, if it’s not a physiological thing that resulted in me having that stroke, what was it? And I went into this deep, this dark night of the soul of depression, anxiety. I was on multiple antidepressants, and I was at a poin,t probably about six months into it, that I became suicidal.

I was teaching residents at the medical school. school, I was doing my rounds. One day I came out of the hospital, and in Houston, there’s a metro rail right in front of St. Luke’s Hospital. And my thought was, man, if I just stepped in front of that, all of this anxiety and this stress that I’m feeling that’s overwhelming me would be done. But my soul told me, a-ha, this is a message for you, that there needs to be something that needs to change. At that point, I was again at that bottom and I basically surrendered and said okay, soul spirit, tell me what I need to do so that I can just become this different way of living and trying to release and let go.

And a big part of it was trying to decrease the stress or the that what I feel life’s entrapments and what I mean by that is what’s holding me back from doing what I truly want to do. It became apparent to me that financial stress is probably one of the biggest things for all of us and I was at that point where I was living the high life of course when you start earning some money you start buying the bigger house you start you know getting the nicer car and traveling and all of that and then you have a certain lifestyle that you want to continue. Of course that prohibits you from really you know not saying no and decreasing so one of the first things that I did was try to figure out how. 

I get out of that and the biggest thing for me at that point was letting go of my beautiful mansion that I built that was you know this dream house that I had and that allowed me to get some wiggle room in regards to being able to say, no, I don’t want to work 60 plus hours a week anymore. And I’m going to start saying, no, no, no. For five years, I started decreasing what I was doing, started minimizing all of my extracurricular activities, and tried to be more aware of truly what was important to me. And it led me to this whole exploration of spirituality.

I love that. So, these moments in our lives, so often these pivotal moments, if we would recognize them as wake up calls instead of last ditch effort, you know? You know, it’s like, I think that’s awesome that you recognize that and some, you know, calling in you, your spirit, you know, says, well, we’ve, you know, something’s got to give, something’s got to change. 

And, you know, this vicious cycle of getting more and more and more, the consumerism and all that, and then the debt underneath that is, or the, you know, most of us, you know, have a hard time managing through all that. So, good for you, you know, you’ve sold your dream house and it gave you breathing room, who do I, and this path to soul searching, to Am I is this my calling is this my purpose because I do want to get in That those questions with you because I feel like that’s the journey you went on, right?

Yes, I mean I can honestly say that that stroke was the best thing that’s ever happened to me And you’re right, you know, oftentimes when you’re in it you don’t see that and you see it as this the worst thing that could happen to you and what are you going to do now but you’re right it’s it’s our soul talking to us and saying hey there’s something out of alignment here and you need to change some things so it’s it’s really us uh really heeding that call and and saying okay 

You’re trying to tell me something, let me have some time to sit still and figure out what that is. And you’re absolutely right. And it has to do with something that you’re not in alignment in regards to your soul mission and your passion. So that’s truly what I had to do, is to figure out what is it that I’m supposed to do, how do I get in alignment with that?

How supportive was your medical community around this shift, because I’m sure there were questions?

So I gradually said no, and then I started exploring these other aspects of healing for example, I started going I went to a place called Esalen in California. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. It’s one of the retreat centers that is one of the first in regards to self-empowerment and they have big thought leaders in regards to like Joseph Campbell and Ram Dass and all of those leaders that looks at how can we up increase our level of consciousness and improve ourselves and align with our true essence in our soul.

How did you find that place? I’m a personal development junkie. I’m very much on the path of purpose and awakening and all that. So I’m curious how you found that.

Well, I had a friend whose mother was a child of the 60s, and she was always telling me about the different experiences she’s had. And she’s the one who told me about this place in California that had all these different teachers from meditation to yoga to energy workers. Come and share information. So it’s always been in the back of my mind, but I’ve never really pursued it until this happened to me. And I said, ah, I remember hearing about this place that helps you sort of find out who you are and in your purpose and so on. 

And then it became apparent to me that’s where I had to go. And truly I had a very powerful experience there because it connected me with the work of the inner child work and the trauma. And I realized there was one exercise that I did and it was a breathwork exercise. And they call it holotropic breathwork. It’s a form of deep breathwork that induces your connection with the spiritual side and the energetic side. And when I did that breathwork, I saw a picture of me as a child, like five years old, in the corner crying in desperation. And it became apparent to me that that was trying to communicate with me. There were some unhealed things that I needed to address. So that opened up all these doors where that led me six months later to Peru, going to a shaman. 

I actually experienced an ayahuasca journey, which is one of the plant medicine psychedelics. Because I’m familiar with the brain and how all of that works, I researched that and I realized that, oh my gosh, this is something that many people don’t even understand or there’s misconceptions about it, I think. From you know the 60s, all of these psychedelics were not good for you and whatnot, but you know more recently, there’s been a resurgence of that, which can be helpful to help people heal mentally, emotionally and even physically. So it’s a journey that I think needs to be more talked about you know so people can understand how these things can help you.

That’s a pretty big shift to go from a medical doctor white coat to out in the wilderness with shamanism. We both believe that it’s all good, we’re going to find the right path for ourselves. Didn’t that lead you then to want to create your own center?

Yes.

And I want to go back into what you did to find your passion, which I believe is integrated.

Yes, all of that. But yes, all of the things that I’ve done since 2011, has led me to where I’m at now, which is creating my own retreat center. And what I realized was that there are not many places or opportunities where these various healing modalities can be integrated together. And so it became apparent to me that of all of the things that I’ve tried, whether it’s the shamanic work, the energy medicine, whether it’s the simple meditation, yoga, even the basics, you know, nutrition, the Ayurvedic medicine, the Chinese medicine, acupuncture, all of those things need to be integrated and to help people really look at their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects. So I wanted to be one of the people who can help gather people together and allow the regular person to experience these types of healing and to be supported and guided.

The pictures of your place in Cold Spring, Texas. Cold Spring is outside of Houston, so it’s kind of remote in a way but not inaccessible. The pictures of your Golden Hill Retreat Center it is beautiful. So it’s goldenhillretreat.com, right? Yes, that’s that goldenhillretreat.com, and I like to go ahead and spell your name because the vast majority of people won’t watch this, they’ll hear it. Dr. Nelson. Valena. V-a-l-e-n-a. 

I don’t use a title as much. But you can reach me at info@goldenhillretreat.com And our website is goldenhillretreat.com and our Facebook page is golden hill retreat center. So we’ve been here since November 2020 we moved here, but gradually built out our space now we have hall, a kitchen, we have a spa, it’s called White Lotus Spa, and it has a space for, we actually are having an Ayurvedic practitioner that’s working on some people right now, and we also have private baths where we can do herbal baths, we have an ice plunge, we have a sauna, we have something called a tachyon chamber, which is an energy chamber. So, we have Healing Lounge, which has vibroacoustic therapy. I have the right frequency machines. I also have something called brain tap.

I have brain tap. I use it every morning.

Yeah, I love brain tap. So that’s that’s a very good modality to help balance the nervous system. I also have something called the Lucia light. which is uh it’s a bright it’s a light that was developed in Austria by a neuropsychologist or a psychologist and a neurologist and what it is is it gets your brain to that deep delta theta state and the unique thing about this light is it’s called the hypnagogic light which is gets you to the point where you’re in between you know sleep and that uh alertness so you’re in that twilight period and they say when you’re in that twilight period you have access to deeper things like for example things that are in your subconscious so this light also gives you a psychedelic experience without having to take psychedelics so you see a different um colors, but it also allows people to have emotional and physical release. 

So there’s so many different modalities that you can integrate into helping people heal. And what I mean by that is really trying to get your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual realms in alignment. and to help and guide people through that. So it doesn’t mean ignoring, you know, the traditional medicine, like the allopathic medicine, where, okay, if you have something wrong with your, you know, different organ systems, or if you have a deficiency in something, yes, of course, supplement and do all of that. However, I think you have to take it beyond that, which means, yes, support that, supplement that, but then take a look how did this happen in the first place. What type of behavior led you to this? 

What’s the lifestyle patterns that you’ve had that led you to this? Because if you don’t take care of that, it’s going to revert back into the same things and you’ll have it. You know, you have to deal with it again. So I really feel like that’s what’s the missing link, is really look at the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects, and not only the physical. So I did an integrative medicine fellowship, and that’s looking at natural supplementation, hormonal balance, and so on. And, you know, we dealt a little bit with the emotional, spiritual, but I feel like that’s still the biggest gap, is that we need to have a center where we truly can have collaboration and integration with people that can address the emotional, mental, and spiritual alongside the doctors that are addressing the physical.

So yeah, so it seems to me that you’re one of the few places that doesn’t, it’s not all, it’s not either or, it’s both and. So Golden Hill hosts frequent retreats, workshops, and private healing sessions fostering a collaborative environment where conventional and holistic practitioners work together to empower guests on their healing journeys and that’s what you had sent to me so that is a in the nutshell you know you’re not just uh do you do you ever have do you have conventional doctors that are there when you’re

So that’s one of the goals is I feel like one of my roles is to try to bridge that gap and trying to get more conventional doctors to be open to these types of modalities. So one of the things that we’re doing is we developed a forum for that and it’s called Sacred Health Council. And the Sacred Health Council is inviting physicians, allopathic physicians, as well as the non-traditional. Some say it’s the traditional, right? The shamanic and energy workers.

It’s been here a little longer than medical doctors.

Exactly. You sort of have to understand, yeah, the history and the ancient, that these are ancient healing arts. But what I’m trying to do is get the two sides together in order for us to understand each other and to be able to collaborate. I had the first meeting we had we actually had over like 45 people there and actually at that the first meeting I may have had I think about eight physicians so these are MDs. And they were there with some energy workers and shamanic practitioners, implant medicine facilitators, and so on. But the second and third one was interesting because it had less physicians in it. 

And I was puzzled by that. And I was asking myself, why is it that there’s less physician interest? And some of the feedback that I got was, that some of the physicians didn’t feel comfortable or they didn’t think that they should be a part of this because what they were doing was, you know, different. Or what I sensed was more valid in regards to evidence base and and so on and so some of these non-traditional therapies you know they don’t operate through evidence base because they operate through the spiritual energetics and when you’re operating through spiritual energetics it’s not the same as you would measuring a physiological issue so that’s that’s what people have to understand is that it’s two different things but it’s talking about it from a different polarity.

I’m impressed that you actually had eight, eight of them to come into that group and There might be something more. There must be something more we’re watching all of this. I mean, it is rising like crazy, the more holistic modalities are becoming more and more and more mainstream so to speak right? So, they have to have this, is everything I’ve been taught, is that all there is? So, good for them, good for them to take that leap. And to me, the evidence is in the health of the person.

I mean, the evidence may not be testable, but I see it all the time. We know people that take care of themselves in a more holistic way seem to be healthier, and I’ll include myself. I don’t take any pills. I don’t have all that. I think my attitude, my belief system, that I’m focusing on what’s good and not what’s not good. So those are things for me. that I’ve been on that path for decades. So, no little pills for me. It doesn’t mean I don’t wouldn’t, you know, if I had to, if I had a broken bone or, you know, I’m certainly grateful for the emergency care of the physicians. But I’m grateful that they actually took that time to be.

Yes, what’s encouraging is we’re actually getting I think a little bit more traction and more and more physicians are actually opening up to it. I’m also involved with an organization called Physician Transformation Institute and it’s an organization that was founded by somebody, it’s a physician here, Dr. Cheng Wu Wan, who has a center, and he has a holistic practice. But this particular organization is to help open up the minds and hearts of physicians to more of this holistic and spiritual approach. 

And one of the goals is to decrease the suicide rates and the burnout rates amongst healthcare professionals. Because as you know, healthcare professionals are probably one of the most, in terms of work situation, challenging in regards to stress, but also there’s no support for healthcare professionals. I mean, here in the medical center, Houston is one of the largest medical centers in the world, but yet there are no platforms where physicians can have support especially from other physicians

And mental health like mental health or questions let’s get together how can we you know i’m having this issue i’m open forums so to speak exactly i’m grateful you’re providing some of that

Right and there’s more of me there’s more of physicians that are depressed anxious and stress but yet as physicians we oftentimes are one We can’t take the risk of really being verbal about it because there is something called peer review. And one of the questions that our physicians are asked about their peers is, is there some type of mental impairment or something that will prevent them from doing their job?

You can’t admit that you’ve got this stuff because then you’ve got the stigma oh exactly you know i don’t want to go to them because they’ve got whatever and and so it’s it’s real it’s a really poor system that we’ve created over the last century, right?

Yes. I mean, if you look at statistics, they say 49% of healthcare professionals have symptoms of burnout. And there’s 11%, I think, of American male physicians that are suicidal. and nine percent or eleven percent that are female nine percent that are male but you can imagine there’s a lot of silent sufferers of anxiety depression and feeling really disconnected with their purpose because once you’re in that state and as I was like my ability to really take care of the patients and connect with them and do my best was impaired. 

I mean truly I was in survival state and when you’re in survival state how are you going to take care of everybody else? But again, physicians are suffering silently. I mean, no one really talks about it. I talked to another physician just recently because we started a YouTube channel as well. And I said, this is the first time that I’ve ever talked to a physician at this deep level, that we’re vulnerable, we’re sharing what our challenges are, but yet this is what’s needed. We need to be there human beings, right?

We’re human beings. It doesn’t just because you wear a white coat does not mean you’re not vulnerable or susceptible to Everything else that’s going on and but you have to tend to have like we just said have to have this facade that I’m, you know I’ve got the authority and i’m good, you know, i’m all good And, you know, I think it’s beautiful that you guys are actually talking about it on YouTube. That’s awesome. So, are you overcoming the barriers now? Do you feel like it’s chipping away at the stigma now?

I think a little at a time. I think by just allowing or at least creating a platform where some of us can get together and share is a big thing. I actually just talked to another physician last week and said, hey, why don’t we do a monthly meetup and just support our colleagues? Because again, there are no platforms that allow that. or at least provide that and have physicians who are open to it to go.

Well, you admit vulnerability, right? And you admit that you don’t have it all together and you don’t have all the answers.

And that’s difficult because as we’re trained and so on, we are conditioned to, you know, Give a portray that we are in control and we are doing what we’re supposed to do and using our knowledge. And so if someone doesn’t have that type of trust in us because we’re, you know, perhaps thought of as, yeah, not- Weak, weak. Yes, weak, exactly. weak or not knowledgeable or you’re not standing up for themselves or whatnot, we’re considered to be, yeah, not good clinicians. So it’s a double-edged sword. 

Yes, we have to be vulnerable and interact with our patients, but we ourselves have to be a certain way, which is very, very challenging for a lot of us to be able to do our jobs, but also think that we ourselves don’t need support. And I can tell you that physicians are probably one of the worst in regards to putting self-care as a priority. Because I myself have tried to get physician retreats here at the retreat center, but I’ve had minimal interest. I’ve tried to invite others and really the priorities are not into self-care or dealing with some of these

Well, they have to go deep inside to that space that they’ve trained themselves out of, right? So, your life purpose and mission, you did find out and you did have to go through all those things. And I’m sure there’s stigma against you personally that your peers were not you know yes what’s going on here and you had you said you did it slowly but still you know it’s a it’s a it’s a hill to climb

Yeah, I still get the rolling eyes look when I talk about certain things. And yes, I’ve gotten used to people sort of ignoring my requests. I would invite people and I would get zero answers back about anything. So I’ve become accustomed, but I’m not giving up. I’m just going to continue trying to invite others who are open to this. And I’m hoping by, sort of sharing my example of what could be, what are options that you could take to actually maybe make some changes in your life so that you are more in alignment with your true passion.

And although I felt like I was helping people taking care of brain injury patients, in my soul I knew that it wasn’t exactly what I came here to do in terms of this lifetime. So I gradually tweaked it and said, ah okay, I think I’m very interested in this. There’s something that is intriguing me about this particular thing. Let me explore it. And I think that’s the key for all of us to start exploring what is it that I’m really passionate about? What gives me joy? Where is my interest leading me? And continuing to follow your heart is really being that heart centeredness.

And once you do that… But you’re not taught to do that. I mean, you’re taught to not do that. I mean, it’s like, no, don’t go there.

It’s using the brain. Yes.

We truly have done a… Terrible disservice for for that community the medical community as well as the patients because they can’t relate then either I just mirror so Mira, well I had we were introduced together because Jane mirror has mirror Jane.

Yes.

She’s awesome She was a guest on my show and was just delightful and she does the same thing in a way this integrative And I like to remind myself or remind people that how I meet my guests, right? So, I just remembered that we hadn’t mentioned that, but she’s in Houston, she’s a beautiful

spirit to work with her and it’s exactly right because we were actually trying to work on some projects together and trying to help health care professionals because one of the things that she uh mentioned was you know a lot of health care professionals are dissociated meaning that are sometimes through our experiences and training we separate from our bodies and our spiritual energetic side to be able to cope with our challenges. So for example a lot of times in training we are pushed to the max in terms of our physical bodies and I remember in residency that sometimes I don’t I wouldn’t get sleep for you know 36 hours but yet I had to continue and persevere and take care of all these sick patients and these patients who are dying in emergencies and so on. So when you’re in that situation, you have to dissociate from your physical body telling you, oh, you need rest and so on. 

So that becomes your norm. you dissociate from your body and what it’s telling you and also your feelings because you basically have to separate it in order to meet the challenges of day-to-day things that you have to encounter through health care. So that’s a big problem and that’s something that needs to increase people need to be aware of that and what can we do about it because you’re right if we ourselves are not in a state where we are able to open up and be heart-centered We are missing our opportunity to be part of the medicine Part of the healing for that patient and you know when 

I was working so hard I realized that inside is that I felt like all I was doing was pushing pills and writing prescriptions and writing for procedures And I really didn’t have a chance to connect with the with the people, you know that I was working with one-on-one asking them making that heart-to-heart connection and something Something told me that that’s the most important thing. I mean, we can push as many pills as we want and procedures, but if you don’t have that heart-to-heart connection with someone, you’re missing a big part of the healing.

Yeah, like, what’s really going on? What’s really going on? What’s behind this? What is, you know, we all know it’s stress, we all know it’s inflammation, we all know all of those, all that. But there’s, as you’ve, I’m certain, learned, there is always, always something deeper that causes those things that manifest into an illness or a problem.

Right! It’s just that our physical body is a manifestation of what’s going on internally, in terms of our emotional, mental and spiritual. So that’s a big, big component that needs to be integrated into our current system. and right now it’s not because there’s something called placebo right and people say ah the placebo effect and truly when when you’re in medical school in training the placebo effect sort of gets a a negative connotation to it meaning like oh it’s all in their heads you know that’s and in fact um in training there’s something called psychosomatic diagnosis meaning that 

we couldn’t find anything on our testing therefore it’s all in their heads and there’s sort of a negative connotation to that meaning oh we need to send them to the psychiatrist or social worker or whatnot but we’re sort of we have to change that whole mindset because yes there is something to the emotional, mental, and spiritual. And that should not be negated or minimized, but in fact, that should be the focus of what we need to do to help that person get out of their situation.

We need to not only deeper it’s it’s called it’s just deeper than just a physical symptom And that’s what the placebo effect by book by. Dr. Joe dispensa, which I have, you know, and there’s so much to be Looked at and they’re scientifically looking at and finding out that that there’s so much more than we knew and i’m so Thankful and grateful in this moment of our society that we are shifting. I think much faster now I think that I think you will find That with the new, um with 

Dr. Robert kennedy kennedy jr. That’s Pushing that the we’re not going to keep putting the crap in our foods and our water and you know and stuff like that and and to raise the awareness that we’re holistic. And I am I saying if God can create it, he can heal it. These got it, it may take some medicine, it may take this or that. But if he can create it, he can heal it. Our bodies are amazing. And I mentioned before, I was like, you know, we’ve got good germs, but we got bad germs, but we got good germs too. And the good germs we keep washing all away, both. And it seems to me to even compromise our immune system more when we don’t understand those connections.

Yes, I love the work of Dr. Dispenza. And also you have Greg Brayden.

Greg Brayden and Bruce Lipton. It’s like the three musketeers on that whole scientifically man.

So key. And one of the things I love what Greg Brayden said is this concept of the And he describes divinity as the ability to transcend human perceived limitations. Meaning that within us, he has a whole book about it, is the God Code and the divinity within. And if we’re able to connect with that and activate, we can heal ourselves. But that doesn’t mean, like I said, that we need to support that healing mechanism by doing the right things. And like I said, if you need certain things, yes, take it. learn that there’s more to that than just taking the pill. Is look at how you got there, what is the behavior, what’s the lifestyle, what are your choices that you’ve made that got you to that point where you have these problems. And once you heal that, then you truly have holistic healing. It’s taking care of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Which leads to peace right? I mean, we all want to have peace. We want our minds, all of this, we want to be just calm and in peace. And most of us, I believe, so often we’re so attached to the external busyness, the constant the constant barrage of interruption, right? We can’t think after more than five seconds anymore. We can’t concentrate. So a lot of that is probably, I’m sure they’re interrelated, where there’s so much stress over here, we’re just going to veg out and watch TikTok, right? 

Instead of going, what’s really going on with me and be still, see, I love the biblical be still and know. Pete, listen to that still small voice inside of you and listen, what’s really going on? And when you ask that question, then you say, well, what’s really going on? And then really, what’s behind all that and continue digging. And I’m grateful for your your experience and then your white horse out here trying to get the message out.

Yes, definitely. But I also believe that we have to meet everybody on their level, right? So for me to talk to other healthcare professionals, I always say we have to look at it from the physiologic standpoint and the neurologic standpoint. and that all of these ancient healing arts are basically activating that parasympathetic response, that repair and regenerate, by doing the breath work, by doing the meditation, and even there’s evidence now that energy medicine can calm the nervous system. You know, things like Reiki and some of the energetics have been shown to help people relax, decrease their stress, activate their immune system, and even this whole thing on vibration medicine. You know, 

It’s the sound healing. vibration therapy, the vibroacoustic modalities, all of those are there to calm down the nervous system, activate the healing response, and decrease inflammation. So there’s science behind these things, but you also have to look at how does it affect the person emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. So not look just at the physical, but How does this affect their ability to be more open-hearted? How does this affect their ability to connect with their divinity? How does this affect their ability to connect with each other in their relationships? Those are important measures. If we’re going to be measuring things, measure those things instead of the physiology. How does it affect our lives? to be happy and find joy and to live a life that we are excited to live instead of being in this automatic sort of you know zombie type of world where we’re just going day to day doing our work

Reacting, reacting, reacting instead of taking a moment. I mean, you think about the ancients before there was all this electronics that they didn’t have, all they had to do was watch, lay in the ground and watch the sky and count the times and all that. They were the great classics of Shakespeare and all those musicians and all those things. It was before we had so many distractions. You had to use your brain for even entertainment, so to speak.

Yes.

So I love that you’re having a retreat place, a place for people to go, and the Golden Hill Retreat Center in Cold Spring, Texas, where people can come and do those things, take some time away from the busyness. You know, it’s beautiful and I know that there’s lots out there, but we don’t take time. I mean, you’ve got to find them and you’ve really got to unplug in order to be able to be there, right?

Yes, that’s key. I think one of the biggest challenges for most people is to reset their nervous system because most of us are, you know, if you’re working day-to-day and all of that, there’s a certain you’re in that fight-flight, hypersympathetic system and it gets you to the point where you’re getting from one place to another, one thing to another. but it prevents you from connecting with your soul, the divinity, and sensing the subtle changes within. So that was one of the biggest things that I had to learn or unlearn was that I didn’t have to be busy all the time, that I always had to be productive, that I actually had to spend some time in stillness and to pay attention to what was going on within my body and also connecting with my emotions. Because your emotions and thoughts are simply the language of your soul and the spirit to help you make changes in your reality and your body.

And that little voice that’s always in your head, it’s always, always, always there, but it will never, ever, ever say, yeah, go ahead and do something new. It will only, it’s like, no, it’s got to keep you safe. Even if it’s safe is in a good place, it’s better than the unknown. And that, if I’m not mistaken, is pretty much a proven thing. Your inner voice does not want anything unusual or new. And so 99% or 90 something percent of our our thoughts on a day or repeats of everything we’ve done, nothing in the future. So you have to make a change somewhere along that line.

Yes. And coming from the physiology and the brain injury background, yeah, it’s this concept of this left and right brain and how each side processes it differently. So we can process the same event or stimulus in a different way. And the left brain is all about the logic, the rational thinking, the familiar, you know, the academics, where the right brain is more about the feeling, the intuition, the emotional, the connection to your soul and subconscious, and it’s more of the receptive. and the being versus the doing and competition and you know going after things. 

So it’s just balance that needs to happen but unfortunately most of us are skewed to the left brain world of doing and rationalizing and not really cultivating that right brain, emotive, some spiritual traditions call it the masculine versus the feminine approach. And the feminine is the nourishing, the receptive, the emotive, connecting with the soul versus the doing protection and competition aspects of the masculine. So it’s balancing both sides and making sure that we discern when to use one versus the other. Because both are very important. But the Western society is mainly encouraging the masculine perspective. Think through it. Science, evidence, base. But they forget about the power.

Intuition. The intuition is a real deal. The gut feeling. I believe that if you go with your gut and your heart, Yes, that you will be almost 100% right instead of overthinking or you know, so I do believe that they’re both important. You want to know the facts, but when it comes to a real deep Decision you I believe that we have it all inside of us. I believe we’ve got the knowledge of the entire universe of eternity to Draw on that somewhere inside of us. We know Does that make sense to you?

No, that’s exactly right. And it’s the great Braden’s work, right? It’s that heart brain coherence is having that you’re thinking brain and your heart working together and you know it tells of this discovery in 1991 where the scientists discovered there was 40,000 sensory neurites in our hearts and so these are a nervous system within our heart that tells us information and that actually gives information to our brain to sort of give the flavor of how the brain should react to it. And the brain, of course, sends signals to the rest of our bodies. So when you think about it, our hearts is even more powerful in regards to getting information from that etheric, non-physical world. And it gives information to the brain, and that’s where you get the intuition. So there’s science behind it.

A heart math, you know, that when that thing called came out, I was like, there’s a heart maths institute. And I’m like, Whoa, yes, yes, yes. Ho’oponopono, all of those things is beyond, we don’t have time to go into anymore. This is goes so fast. This is one hour. I’m like, Oh, my gosh. I’ve just been enthralled with this conversation. And I’m so grateful that you, you know, you took your time today to have this conversation. So what Is your one message? What’s the final thing the thought you want to leave if the what does the world need from you today?

Yes, well, uh to me the world needs to know that within us There is an inner healer that if we can only connect to it and support it that we can get a life full of joy happiness and health So I’m hoping that more people are open to that in regards to understanding that don’t just focus on the physical and our physical reality, but make time to look at our inner world, our emotional, mental, and spiritual. So I’m hoping that if I had to give that one message, that would be it.

Yeah, and turn and turn off some of the noise turn off. I don’t watch I haven’t watched I just don’t watch that stuff in the media tv So, uh, but turn off some of that noise and and take time, right?

Yes, of course. Yeah I do want to invite people that are interested in looking at our our expo and wellness We’re going to be having the life con wellness expo here in houston downtown at a place called the post And it’s going to be speakers that will be talking about their journey on integrating spirituality. also different types of vendors and holistic providers and in cold spring in July 12th we’ll be having a gathering of practitioners from both sides from medical doctors to energy practitioners and I’m hoping that this becomes more of a draw for people can come and collaborate so I’m hoping that some of your audience maybe it’s only uh three and a half hours four hours from from

The FW?

Yeah from dallas. So it’s not too far.

It’s about an hour out an hour out of houston and and so, you know, anyway, it’s just down, uh, it’s northeast of houston, correct?

Yes northeast of houston.

So it’s Right. So, um, we’ve got that. So when is the um, the what’s the other conference?

That’s Yeah, so downtown houston. What’s it called? That’s called life con uh life con at ob on august 9th saturday and we’ll have that out as soon as all that information is available. Awesome. I hope that yeah everybody in your audience who’s interested in that to come and be part of it.

Well, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be with you today. And I wish that we were at the top of the hour. So I’m going to just say goodbye. And thank you so very, very much.

And as I try to end most of my shows, let’s always remember to choose joy.

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About  Dr. Nelson Valeña

Dr. Nelson Valeña is a physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, with over 30 years of experience, including extensive work in neurological rehabilitation and brain injury medicine. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Valeña’s career took a transformative turn after he suffered a minor stroke in 2011, inspiring him to explore integrative and holistic healing modalities alongside conventional medicine. He completed a fellowship in integrative medicine and developed a deep interest in energy medicine, shamanism, and spiritual healing practices. Dr. Valeña is recognized for bridging the gap between traditional healthcare and holistic wellness, introducing natural healing techniques to his patients and colleagues. His mission is to empower individuals to activate their own healing potential by aligning mind, body, and spirit. He is cofounder of Golden Hill Retreat Center Located in Coldspring, Texas. Golden Hill Retreat Center is Dr. Valeña’s visionary project, co-founded with Jason Anderson. The center serves as a sanctuary for healing, learning, and community, welcoming practitioners and seekers from all traditions. Its mission is to help people connect with their inner healer through a wide array of integrative practices, including: • Meditation, yoga, and breathwork • Crystal and sound healing • Plant-based living and essential oils • Dance, music, and energy psychology • Biogeometry, tachyon energy healing, and shamanism • Ayurvedic medicine and hot/cold therapy The facility features an 800 sq. ft. meditation/yoga room, a 1200 sq. ft. outdoor deck with a waterfall, gardens, a gazebo, firepits, and a kitchen/dining area for up to 30 guests. Accommodations include a bunkhouse and private rooms, with amenities such as the House of Essence (Egyptian essential oils), White Lotus Spa, sauna, and a bee sanctuary. Golden Hill hosts frequent retreats, workshops, and private healing sessions, fostering a collaborative environment where conventional and holistic practitioners work together to empower guests on their healing journeys.

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