Recently in our chat Good Sh*t Happens we spoke about keeping your head up and seeing the positive within the negative.  Today I thought we could chat about how to heck to do that when your mind is saying “be afraid, be very very afraid.”  You could be having these thoughts about the current state of affairs in the world, your work, your relationship or basically anything.  It doesn’t matter what area of your life your thoughts are attacking, your body will respond like it is fighting for its life.

Lately I have felt like in order to thrive during these times you need to be a mental ninja warrior.  At times I picture myself as a princess avatar with a sword and shield going inward doing battle with my mind as it reacts to various pressures from the external world.  Other times, I realize that a healthier way to live is to exist on a higher plane so to speak and soar above what is occurring all around me.  I have spoken with clients about this throughout the pandemic and have heard many different responses from “that feels like turning a blind eye and being ignorant” to “that is so HARD to do!  It is so easy to get dragged down by it all.”  To which I would say, “Yes, I hear you and….”

Lately I have taken to researching  Dr. Joe Dispenza.   I believe I spoke about Dr. Joe in our last chat as well.  I have been a bit obsssed with him lately as I create my princess ninja warrior outfit (those that know me know fashion is everything:). Today while sitting at  the Trident Booksellers & Cafe  chatting with you, I decided to tune into a video interview with Dr. Joe.

During the interview he said this statement

“When you receive something. When something is happening to you or just happened to you that is favorable, you feel gratitude.  The body does not know the difference between an experience that created an emotion and an emotion that you fabricated.  Both can create the same emotional sensation in the body.”

WHAT???? You say.

Yes, it makes sense.  Think about a time when you have been reflective about the things or people in your life you are most grateful for.  What happens in your body?  Does it tense up because those things are not presently in your life in that particular moment?

NOOOOOOO!

What happens is pure bliss.  I know for myself, when I am able to take myself on the magic carpet ride of gratitude, I get a warm and fuzzy sensation all over like I am curled up in my favorite blanket.  A soft and warm smile comes across my face and for that moment, all is good in my world.

This can even happen when you are imagining or envisioning something that you haven’t even experienced.  Like say when you are planning a vacation and you can visually and sensorily place yourself in that place without having ever been there (my latest past time as I look towards an adventurous Spring!)

Dr. Joe states in his book Becoming Supernatural  that you can use this to help create your energy and that through his research he has found that the practice of gratitude can strengthen the immune system by 50%.  FIFTY PERCENT!  Virus who shall not be named, take that!

Fear based thoughts and feelings work  in the same exact way. By being afraid you are signaling your body that something scary is about to happen to you.  Your body turns on its defense mechanism of the fight/flight response which increases the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, to be released.  Pretty soon these hormones have you scanning your environment for all things that are not deemed “safe” and you are now hypervigilent seeing your environment as a war zone.

This could relate to our current state of affairs or it could be triggered by that email you just received from your boss.  Or your partner letting you know that he/she wants to speak to you about something.  Maybe your body is sensitive and it gets triggered by sounds of alarms, notifications on phones, or other environmental noises around you. It may also be triggered by your thoughts such as the proverbial “Sunday scaries” that have you spending your weekend preparing for the week rather than relaxing.

Dispenza said

“What we feed we give power to.”

to which my head was nodding “Yup.”

You may be feeling like you totally get this intellectually but how the heck do you get off the hamster wheel that is your reactive mind and body?

Well I can’t say that I am perfect at this.  If I did then I would be lying and I would profess to be on some white puffy cloud…which sadly I doubt anyone is these days.  Even Dr. Dispenza said in the interview that yes he has gotten triggered by various things during the pandemic but that he has been actively working on choosing what he gives his energy to.

I would say the same.  My brother said recently that life is  “peaks and valleys” and that part of the work is to just ride the wave. This is not necessarily profound but it was comforting to hear.  Yes, I always share with clients that life is like a storm and the work that we have to do on the journey is to find our center internally so that we don’t get picked up and thrown around by the sometimes vicious storms around us.

Dr. Dispenza speaks much about meditation and it is the cornerstone of his programs and life’s work.  He uses visualizations to help heal the mind, body and spirit.  He shared in the interview that he believes that the deep separation that we are all seeing and feeling is just a way to help us collectively come together to create something even more beautiful as one.  That the way to thrive is to be connected to the whole.  We are stronger together than we could ever be separate.  That the real illness that has come from all of this has been the illness created by the separation and division of unity.  The healing will come through an energetic unity of souls/spirits/human beings.

And so as we wind down our chat for today and move forward, I leave you with this…there is no such thing as a mind and a body; there is just a body.  The connection between your monkey brain and the rest of you is your breath.  We all have choice in how we live; even during times when there is extreme turmoil in the external world.  We vote with every thought we follow and every decision we make on whether to believe in infinite possibilities or fear based dread.  No it’s not easy but YES it is more than possible.

So let’s stand up and shake some booty to Michael Franti!!!!!

TODAY IS A VERY GOOD DAY TO HAVE A GOOD DAY!

CHEERS!