The essence of my spiritual practice, my deepest truth… can be summed up in one word...
~presence~
the ability to deeply experience the moment as it happens, with a quiet mind and awareness in the body.
simple, but not necessarily easy...
seems hard, and yet infants do it perfectly… when we are infants, before words, sentences, or thoughts are formed in our minds… we experience the world thru our awareness, emotions, feelings and senses… we are fascinated by the moment as it arises… there is no past or future lurking about in out heads, and we are absorbed in what is happening around us and inside us… we react spontaneously and in harmony with what we are feeling and sensing… our nervous systems are at rest and ease, and we are real and authentic with whatever it is we are experiencing, expressing and feeling in the moment…
our natural state of being…
and life kicks in… we learn to label things... mama, dada… no! words, labels, thoughts begin to form in our minds… conditioning begins to happen…
yes! NO!… good/bad! beliefs about 'how life is' begin to settle in and off we go… we move up in our heads, and we never move out. we learn to stifle our feelings…
big boys don't cry! put your big girl panties on! shut up! so many messages on how to be- so we can be accepted and loved…
wounding happens and we begin to guard our precious hearts… we stop expressing our authenticity and begin to 'behave'. confusion happens as we learn the world is not safe~ it is not ok to express what we feel...
fear sets in and our nervous systems constrict…
we have two nervous systems:
sympathetic/parasympathetic.
fight, flight or freeze/rest and digest.
fear/ease
we are (hopefully) in rest and digest as infants… when we feel fear, we go into fight, flight or freeze. it's designed to keep us safe… we don't have tigers and bears anymore tho… now its bills and expectations...
we tend to stay in fight, flight or freeze and loop and loop because our thoughts are full of fear and anxiousness… what ifs'… past and future…
we tend to continually traumatize out nervous system by looping the story over and over in our heads...
we forgot how to bring the system back into ease.
animals do it naturally by shaking…
we do it by movement, feeling, breath, and silence in the brain...
have an experience instead of a mental commentary~
our thoughts come from our beliefs…
what we believe about 'how things are' we have thoughts about that.
from our thoughts, our brains produce chemicals and flood our bloodstreams with feelings and sensations.
beliefs - thoughts - feelings/sensations - actions
our basic belief structure is programmed in us before we are 7. many people never upgrade.
we tend to just pile more and more beliefs on top of each other as we grow and explore the world…
conflicting beliefs even...
confusion happens…
knots form… our nervous system gets kinky… rigid, constricted and habitually stuck and looping in fight, flight or freeze. this creates exhaustion and illness...
what happened?
we forgot how to be at ease.
rest and digest…
we forgot how to deeply and authentically feel… how to accept what we feel, and actually feel it.
we lost our ability to process in the moment, as it arises…
we are cut off from our deepest spontaneous emotions and live in the world of faulty beliefs, erratic thoughts and fearful feelings.
we go numb.
we are living in our heads instead of our bodies.
cut off from a vital part of ourselves…
not safe to feel…
constricted, in fear, restless…
we forgot how…
we forgot~
how to feel deeply without a mental commentary… without a story that we tell ourself about everything we see…
how to actually feel the feeling inside our body...
how to experience life instead of label, judge and dissect life…
how to flow with the truth of our being…
how to hone in on our inner wisdom, our intuition, our gut instincts...
how to get out of flight, fright or freeze and back into ease…
how to relax deeply with what is…
how to trust ourselves...
so how to be at ease again?
Stop, Drop and Breathe~
this is a micro-practice. it takes 10 - 15 seconds… do it 20 or more times a day, and your life and stress level will change dramatically!
STOP thinking… just clear your mind. that part is easy… keeping it clear is another matter, but clearing it it simple enough. just stop thinking. turn down the volume… give your thoughts a rest.
you will notice what is left is your awareness. babies have awareness. your senses come more alive… just notice…
no mental commentary needed.
DROP into your body with your awareness… still silent in your mind... if a thought arises, just return to the silence...
BREATHE notice your breathing… that's easy enough. just notice the rise and fall of your chest. imagine how a baby would notice… no words yet, just a simple noticing of the movement. feeling it. experiencing it. witnessing it as a part of it. being it. just noticing...
whatever works for you… in the silence, deep within yourself...
a thought will arise… don't follow it… just return to the silence and finish your breath.
one deep breath is enough. maybe two…
then let it go and carry on…
always trying to catch yourself thinking throughout the day... when you do, just stop, drop and breathe right there! just do it. don't complicate it… it only takes 10 seconds.
make it a habit. do it when you pee… at the end of every song… before you eat… while you eat… before you drive… while making love… your body will soon begin to remind you…
think of it as a reset button.
your nervous system will relax. you will find yourself in ease…
your feelings will return to neutral… there are no erratic thoughts to create more pain…
you will venture into your body… becoming more embodied… creating more connection and wholeness with yourself… dissolving the split between mind and body.
you will learn that you are so much more than the thoughts you think in your head all the time…
you will begin to accept your deepest feelings as your friends… accepting all of yourself again… creating more space to be fully human and ok with it.
you will experience life more, instead of a mental commentary about life…
depth and richness come alive~
you will sometimes sense your shadow… your deepest fears and hurts, your ugliness and pain… the ways you create separation.
and you will know how to be with it, to breathe with it, to stay with it… not labeling it or turning away, not rejecting it, not disassociating or distracting yourself or thinking about it…
just being with it, feeling it and breathing with it… allowing it… a part of you… giving it acceptance and attention… allowing it as part of you…
your angry self, your sad self, your scared self and mean self… these are a part of you too… they deserve your attention, your awareness and compassion… your acceptance...
in the acceptance, is the relaxation
in the relaxation, is the healing…
all of you is welcome here~
you will slip, you will forget… and it will be ok…
we are remembering…
start where you are, again and again...
you will begin to connect with others more easily because you are connecting with yourself.
you will be more compassionate and allowing with yourself and others...
you will begin to accept others more easily because you are accepting yourself more easily. just as you are.
you will become truly more loving, both within and without…
you will fill your own cup first…
a nervous system at ease, wins.
nervous systems are like tuning forks…
if you are at ease, other nervous systems can be at ease more easily…
want world peace?
stop, drop and breathe~
a lot.
enter your center~
it begins within~
~dana marie~
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