I’d love to review some general concepts relating to the creation of a peaceful and safe environment for your mind-body. The unfolding of events over the past three “flatten the curve” years has left a trail of stress and trauma that very much impacted the lives of individuals, communities and our species as a whole. Stress is perceived differently by different people, as are all things, but it is stress just the same. Simply put, we cannot survive and thrive in an environment of hostility. When our mind-body perceives a threat in any way, it is innately wired to defend. Although often necessary and helpful in the short term, a consistent state of defence is not only unsustainable but harmful in the longer term.
Why? Defence mechanisms are energetically draining and are “break-down” in nature. They are based on survival rather than “thrival.” Short-term survival will always trump long-term well-being for obvious reasons. The long term is irrelevant if the short term is not surpassed.
On the flip side, when our needs are being met, no threat is perceived, and our mind-body is in a peaceful place, it is a different story. We engage a completely different mechanism and energy allocation. It is here where our body’s resources are used for healing, growth, repair, creativity, contribution, ability to relax/sleep, etc.
Here is a small list of things that are nothing short of an “attack” on our mind-body, sending us into defence.
- Pain
- Inflexibility (Mind or Body)
- Pressure on your Nervous System
- Dehydration
- Lack of Fuel/Nutrients
- Toxicity in Fuel/Nutrients
- Lack of Rest/Sleep
- Social Isolation
- Toxicity of Thoughts (Anger/Fear/etc.)
We can all relate to each and every one of these, I am sure.
Here is the question: How are we doing with this in our lives?
Moments of time with any one of these elements are practically inevitable, but how often are they there?
Thankfully as human beings, we are given the gift of conscious awareness that allows us to do many important things but maybe two in particular that make a big difference:
- We can consciously make choices (act) each and every day that creates either defence or peace for our mind-body.
- We can consciously change our perceptions of the events in the world around us to create either defence or peace for our mind-body.
The challenge is one that is shared by us all. What information/belief/values do we operate under that allows us to make choices that will serve us well in the present and into the future? I believe this is our job to help distill things down for you into the key fundamentals that not only work but actually make sense.
With Light and Love,
Dr. Richard