Episode 11 – Using your voice for positive change

Episode 11 Transcript

Brigitte Factor 0:13 Hello, and welcome to the hungry for truth podcast. I'm your host, Brigitte Factor, the truth seeker, researcher, scientist, nutritionist, teacher in truth teller, and awakening is coming. Get ready for it.

Brigitte Factor 0:47 Hello, and welcome back to the hungry for truth podcast. I'm so excited to be back and podcasting. I don't know where last month when it was so busy and I was doing a lot of work behind the scenes which I will share with you today. And I'm just happy to be back happy that you're tuning in and listening today. And I have a lot I want to talk about. Today's episode is going to be about using your voice for change and speaking up for your rights because what I've been working on has been directly related to that. And it's also related to a topic that has really been bothering me that I want to raise awareness about and that is censorship, there is a lot of censorship happening on social media, and in mainstream media as well. And I've just had to take a break from social media overall, because it was getting really frustrating seeing just the amount of censorship that's happening, and the negativity that is surrounding that, and the lies and that are surrounding that. So first off, if you're not aware, there are a growing number of accounts, being d platformed. And what that means is there's a growing number of accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, that are just being taken down completely. And many of these accounts I follow because I am in the holistic and alternative space. And I tend to lean more towards that way of thinking, even as a scientist and I also get really frustrated with the amount of science peer reviews, published science that is being censored or misconstrued, like the Facebook fact checkers will put a fact check on a piece of information and then claiming it's not true. And then you go in and you read the explanation. And they're using circular arguments based on nothing, and they actually don't debunk what is being said they're just labeling it as untrue because it doesn't fit the narrative that they want. And Facebook is being sued because of the censorship that's happening. One of the main accounts that got deplatformed that I follow is Robert Kennedy. And I admire his work as an environmentalist. I've followed him through the Monsanto trials, he's part of the legal team that has one after Monsanto. And if you're not aware of that Monsanto has been found guilty of basically knowingly putting a product into the environment that causes cancer. So you can look that up if you want to learn more about that. But so I follow Robert Kennedy Jr's work, and I admire what he stands for. And the information that he puts forth is solid, it's fact based, it can be referenced, it can be verified, but he is getting smeared a lot in the mainstream media. And it's really disheartening to see, I believe that free speech and scientific debate are important for moving forward for moving our understanding forward. And that's being shut down right now. Critical inquiry and asking the right questions is important to explore the right options in a time of health crisis for people. There is no one way or one size fits all. That's part of why I chose the holistic path is because I believe in bodily autonomy and choosing what's the best path for you. And that medical authority doesn't get the final say so. So it's really frustrating to see some of this stuff happening. But I wanted to raise awareness about it because if you're not following those accounts, you may be completely unaware of the amount of censorship that's happening and censorship on social media has been going on for a few years. I've noticed I've had been been a part of groups that have gotten taken down. I've seen other accounts get blocked, and taken down as well. So it is increasing greatly right now. And it's unfortunate.

Brigitte Factor 5:19 So that brings me to wanting to come to a place where can we, as a society, start to ask better questions. So when we see something, and I've talked about this before, in my first episode, talking about understanding the science and how to be your own fact checker, when you see a headline, do not believe what the headline says, actually go in and investigate and find the original source yourself. And use your own judgment. Because there's a lot of programming happening in the mainstream media, that people aren't questioning. And it's really, really sad. So one of the questions we can start asking ourselves, when we see something, is asking ourselves, Is this true? And how do I know that's true? So when we find ourselves wanting to get defensive about our stance, or our belief, and we notice that emotion coming up, where we want to get defensive about it, use that as a check, you know, to check yourself, what is it that is happening inside of me? Is this belief that somebody else has that's making me question my own stance? Is this rubbing up against me the wrong way, because I might have some cognitive bias, you know, cognitive biases, where you can't take in new information. Because when you hear another perspective, you just can't believe it, even though it may be true. And that can cause people to become defensive about things. And so, really doing some self exploration and asking ourselves, how we know what we say is true. And to take responsibility for the information that we share with others even online, and that we really need to stop parroting what we hear without investigating it ourselves. Now, when I first started into the holistic nutrition realm, and functional medicine realm and learning new things, I was super exciting about sharing information. And posting that on social media, I loved sharing what I was learning. And so I'm sure in the past, I am guilty of sharing things that aren't, weren't quite accurate, but I am working hard to really investigate the stuff that I'm that I share now. And I just want everyone to realize that it's really important to really check what we're sharing, and understand at any moment, our perspective can change, we can have new information, and that can change the direction or what we're thinking. So out, also allow yourself to ask the question, What if I'm wrong about this? Could that be a possibility? You know, when you're in that moment of feeling defensive about something, really asking, Is it possible that I can be wrong about this? Is it possible that my perspective is not accurate? Is it possible that the person I'm speaking with that their perspective isn't accurate either, and that both of our perspectives are not accurate? And you and honestly, that's mostly the case, because one person can't see everything. So trying to look at things from different perspectives and different directions, to allow yourself to stay open and curious about what the truth is. And realize that everyone has the right to speak their mind and share their opinion without defaming someone else, you know, without putting other people down, when we start insulting people and insulting their credentials, or saying they're not an expert. We're not using logical arguments in that. When I was researching and presenting my research at scientific conferences. I never saw anyone stand up and present their research and say, Just trust me, I'm an expert. They had to speak to the data, it didn't matter who they were. And the data spoke for itself. And there was lots of inquiry and questions and there was different perspectives on how to interpret the data. And this type of debate was allowed to go on because that is how we further our understanding of things. And so this whole concept of only trust the experts isn't, isn't really the way science is approached. Another piece of wisdom that I use when I am looking at things and wanting to speak about things is Ephesians 429. And it says, Don't use foul or abusive language, but everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Brigitte Factor 10:30 So I really try to speak, positive, encouraging and helpful words and information. Now, that doesn't mean at times that when I see something that's wrong, I'm not going to call it out. Because, you know, speaking truth and love is about calling out things that are that aren't correct, and that are right. And that needs to happen. It is absolutely imperative that we stand up for ourselves, and we stand up for our rights, and we stand up for our beliefs. But we do that in a loving way. Using your voice makes a difference. And advocating for your rights is important. It's part of our Constitution. Free Speech, is the First Amendment of the Constitution and fundamental to maintaining our liberty. One of the things that I have been working on behind the scenes is actually working to get a bill passed through the state legislature. There is a bill that we've been trying to get past for the past few years. And by we I mean, those of us at the Missouri nutrition Alliance. I'm a co founder at Missouri Nutrition Alliance, which is a membership based organization that brings together health coaches, and holistic nutritionists and other health practitioners that are not licensed to bring them together to advocate for our profession and to share with a community that what we do so that we can have a growing awareness and increase of how important eating real food is. So those of us at ma have been working to get a bill passed through the house in the Senate. And I've had to travel to Jefferson City multiple times to get this bill passed and testify at the Senate hearing and also testify at a house hearing. So a lot of that's been really intense. For me, I, this is not in my comfort zone at all to do, but I do it because I feel that it's important to modify the law to allow more holistic practitioners to practice in our state. And so that's really what I've been working on behind the scenes. And it's taken a lot of my mental and physical energy to do that. But I'm thankful that I get to be a part of that. And I get to use my voice for positive change. And it's just another example, how a certain group of people feel that their way is the only way to do things and how we're trying to make a way for people that have a different perspective to work. And do that do what they do in the state of Missouri. So you can check out the Missouri nutrition Alliance, and in look into what we're doing, if you're curious about that. But I again, I just want to encourage people to speak up for your rights. And we have to start speaking up, we have to start speaking out against the censorship that's happening in the free speech violations that are happening, or we're going to slowly erode our rights even more and not get them back. Another thing I wanted to mention is that using your voice doesn't mean posting passive aggressive things on social media, that those kind of things don't change another person's mind or have any kind of positive effect. Having a real conversation with people does, having a real conversation with somebody that thinks differently and asking them Why do you think that way? What is your background? What is it that brings you to that, and being able to openly explore different perspectives from a place of respect for each other. Also, if there is real change that needs to happen, I'm reaching out to your legislators, they want to hear from you. They want to hear from their constituents and what their constituents want and need to happen. So because really, our government is meant to be driven by the people, and working with the legislators to make those changes happen. And if you're not involved in those conversations, if you don't have an open line of communication with your representative or your senator, then you're not involved in those conversations. And it's really important that you're making your opinion, and what you want known. And you're doing that in a respectful manner, just like you would talking to your friend or to your neighbor.

Brigitte Factor 15:24 So I just wanted to share about that, and what's been going on. Since I'm not on social media as much, I would really like to stay connected with you. For those that are you are interested in doing that, I have a platform called the authentic table is my social media alternative. And you're welcome to join me there for real conversations around real food and health. I'm thinking about offering some free happy hour zoom meetings where we can come together and build community. And I'd love to have you be a part of that. And I'll post a link in the show notes for that. And then also be sure to sign up and get my emails because that's the best way to stay in communication with me is through email, especially if you're not on social media at all. And so I will post a link to have you get on my email list as well. And I hope that you found this information, encouraging and that you take it to heart that it's important to speak up and use your voice for change. Use your voice for positive change, to do it in a loving and respectful manner. To have those real conversations ask those difficult questions. And thank you for listening. And until next time, Grace and peace to you.