Managing intensity.

“This is this is so incredibly important to try to bring into your system. The vast majority of the time - almost all the time - we are not actually under the threat that our system perceives that we are. ”

The following is a transcript from the audio:

We’re here to make it right. At least for a few minutes. Reset. Try to find a way. With all the intensity that can come at us from all these different directions. Sometimes suddenly, sometime surprisingly. But there's a there's an intensity that we have all the time.

This intensity, we hold it in our bodies as much as we do in our minds. One thing will will focus on a little bit today is the how much the body is this is bracing for the next piece of news or the possibility of having an event like that happen. We’re always a little bit on alert sometimes a lot on alert. And what we can do about it how we can manage it in our in our own experience every day. Moment by moment.

It's something we have to attend to. If we just let our system do it what it will normally do we we will experience what most of us experience most of the time which is a level of anxiety maybe high anxiety. Sometimes a lot of fear, even terror, talking about some of these things… and world events and yet here we are.

But there's a level of intensity that we that we hold as a protection I think all the time and then as we hear these stories or if we pay attention to news or any of the the ways that we communicate through our culture, most of those ways magnify the threats. Magnify the dangers. And especially today, not today, but these days we live in a kind of environment where there’s multiple threats seeming to be coming at us and yet there affecting us in the moment.

And so how do we manage the threats manage what we believe are threats including work and getting things done in achieving and doing a good job and larger dynamics of climate uncertainty and and all of these things that that are prep

How do we manage in our own moment by moment bodies and minds the way of being in the world that is more is is more present to what's happening right here and right now?

And of course part of my answer is well we do this we train with a little bit of breathing, meditation, we can take the time to analyze our perceptions, which I think is a very important piece of this. Is really to take a close look of of having things and try to really question whether we’re perceiving things - at all correctly - or somewhat correctly, to knowwhether whether there's really the level of threat that we I perceive in this moment.

I think this requires practice because our bodyminds or the part of us that is making the decisions of whether we’re under threat or not. Let’s just be clear about this part. Our conscious minds aren't really making the decision whether were under threat or not. It’s our nervous systems, our limbic systems making decisions for us -preconscious - that's why we just feel this way, we just feel the intensity. We didn't choose to say “turn on the intensity, I think things might be dangerous today.”

You feel the intensity and then you start to chew on what what is … because I’m feeling this way. You figure it out, you say “oh yeah there's this danger.” You don't go through that process because it’s a split second to feel it.

So what we’re here to do essentially, and over time if you work on this, it's retraining that level of our limbic and nervous systems to perceive things the way that we prefer to perceive them. That’s a little bit of a long-term quest.

You can use this decision tree or feedback loop, “am I in danger, yes or no?” If the answer is no “then what do I do?” I should breathe as we do here meditation. I should do something to soothe myself, to bring myself back to the present moment. Pay attention to something that is right here and right now, which doesn't actually cause the threat. I already did the decision tree I'm not actually under threat.

If the answer is yes let the automatic system protect me like turn on the stress response give me a fight or run away or freeze or whatever it needs to do in order to make me safe again.

But the vast majority of the time - almost all the time - we are not in that level of danger. This is this is so incredibly important to try to bring into your system, is that the vast majority of the time - almost all the time - we are not actually under the threat that our system perceives that we are.

So as we practice meditation, as we learn to calm our nervous system, train our nervous system or maybe it rather it's like harnessing our unconscious to be a bit more under our control, we can begin to be in much more stressful situations, or the world as it is which is stressful, and have a greater sense of calm and peace and clarity because we’re actively training our nervous system to settle down and not react to every piece of information with our fight or flight response.