Senses & Emotions
There is an Osho quote that says ‘you become enlightened when you stop believing what you think’
The mind and the body are linked if the body and all the senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste) are connected to memories.
The moment I smell anything that resembles formaldehyde I’m immediately transported back to the cadavers in my anatomy lab in nursing school. Nursing school was over 20 years ago and it is rare that I think about that time, but the smell takes me back there immediately.
It takes a robust and healthy nervous system and self-awareness to put ourselves out there. To take risks. The system (our brain and body) is always going to freak out when we move into unknown /uncomfortable territory because it isn’t sure what potential threats are in the unknown.
This is why we stay in toxic relationships, jobs, and situations longer than we would want to. Our system knows how to navigate the dysfunction, the brain says in its own way ‘if you leave this there could be a more deadly form of dysfunction out there that may harm you’ and perhaps it is true, but what your brain isn’t saying is that there is likely peace too.
I’ve worked and still regularly work on being comfortable with the unknown, training my body and mind to be comfortable with the unknown.
I also work to allow my emotions to come up, to witness them, and not react to them.
Here are some of the most effective things that have worked for me:
-Sensory withdrawal
A meditation practice where there is sensory withdrawal. Such as meditating with headphones on while listening to biserial beats, and having an eye mask on. I’m able to go deeply into myself and temporarily shut out the noise of the world.
-Breathwork!
Breathwork is like a fast track to meditation and it opens up parts of the brain that we don’t access when in a stressed state. This is the fastest way to quiet the mind in my opinion. (Join my free Saturday 30 min breathwork class to learn how)
-Going slow and checking in with myself.
Everyone’s pattern of dealing with fear and stress is different. Some people lash out, get angry, flee etc. My pattern has been to shut down, to go into some unconscious autopilot and when I do this it tends to numb the emotions of overwhelm and fear etc. If I go slow and regularly come back and check in with how I am feeling I can more easily be with the fear and discomfort.
I think a big misconception is that we are trying to eliminate fear, anxiety and overwhelm. And the reality is, we cannot. What I try to do is build my capacity to be with these emotions. To allow them to be there, and by allowing what is to be, in time it passes.
-Esoteric Healing Work
Energy healing is so powerful! There are 7 layered energy bodies. Just like things back up in our physical body, things get backed up in these energy bodies such as emotions, trauma, stress, and mental processing. Having these energetically cleared regularly does wonders for my mind, body, and soul.
-Inner Child work
I’ve worked with inner child work in many forms. How I incorporate it into my day-to-day is when I feel some emotional overwhelm, I think of myself as a child. What would I say to a child if they had anxiety or told me they were scared? I try to hold my thoughts and emotions with the tenderness I would a child. This can mean resting, taking a break, or taking some time out to do something light & playful.
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