On Becoming Calm
Since the last post three weeks ago, I’ve used “the space between two points,” as my primary way of helping people access their calm space. The results have been 100% success in helping people become aware of the calm space, usually within just 2-3 minutes, never more than 5 minutes. Here’s a description of the language I’m using to help people see that space. I’m currently working on a paper about my :Portland fibromyalgia sessions, and this excerpt comes from the paper draft.
Peptide explanation: “The first thing I want you to know is that a literal molecule is created in response to whatever we are feeling at the moment. This molecule, called a peptide does two things related to your pain. It provides instructions for the cells of your body for what they should be doing. Peptides are also involved in memory storage.”
Calm State: “I’m going to show you how to enter a calm state. When you’re in the calm state you’ll be making calm peptides. First focus your sight on the door handle. Notice that as you focus on the door handle, it’s a simple thing, and there’s little or no emotion involved. And the cells of your body do this because you told them to. The cells of our body, for as long as we live, are our servants. The problem is the cells of our body spend a lot of their time and energy responding to things they can’t do a thing about — our worries and fears about the past and the future. You can tell this is true if you wake up in the night and your heart is pounding about something that happened last week or that is going to happen next week. There’s nothing for your body to do while you’re in bed, but since your body can’t tell the difference between a thought and an action, your body goes on alert. Going into the calm state turns off the alert signal.
So, while you’re focusing on that door handle, your body follows your command. And because it’s so simple you may already feel your body beginning to relax. Now focus on a second object, that blood pressure monitor on the wall. Again, the cells of your body do what you tell them. Next, I’m going to ask you to let your gaze move to the space between these two objects. There’s a wall in the background, but in the space between the door handle and the monitor, there is nothing. So you are observing nothing with your mind, because there is nothing to observe. And because you are observing nothing with your mind, there is nothing for the cells of your body to observe. And because there is nothing for the cells of your body to observe, the cells of your body are observing nothing. And when the cells of your body observe nothing, there is nothing to do, and the cells of your body turn inward to the process of cellular healing and restoration.
In this rest state, your cells can metabolize energy, get rid of wastes, tune up the DNA strand, check in with the health of the body and even make drugs to help heal and restore your body. This calm state is the healthiest thing you can do for your body. You are giving your cells complete freedom to engage in healing for your body. Notice that you can be in this calm state and still be taking in information when I speak. The calm state does not shut your mind down. You can still observe everything, but your body remains calm, and your body can continue to focus on healing even when you’re observing what’s going on in the world. If you get some practice in, this can become your default state instead of always being in fight-or-flight mode.
Explanation of fight-or-flight state: “This calm state is the natural resting mode for your body. The only time that the fight-or-flight response is needed is during a clear and present physical danger to our body. Then the fight-or-flight will automatically engage. For anything that you’re thinking about, you don’t need your fight-or-flight response. The problem is that for almost everyone, we have our fight-or-flight response turned on for almost everything, almost all of the time, responding to all the things we think about in the past, present, and future.”
Try it – you’ll like it.