As we all know, what we think about influences our emotional state. Holding positive thoughts can become a real challenge when our amygdalla (the part of our brain responsible for cueing us to danger) gets hijacked by someone, or something, pressing one of our hot buttons. These hijacks last 90 seconds - during which time, our ability to shut them down is severely impaired, or is it? What can be done?
It's not like we can break in the middle of a board meeting for a 20 minute meditation to bring us back to our joy. Even a two minute break may not always be possible in the moment. When internal worry or external circumstances cause us to experience excessive stress, the amygdalla releases a flood of chemicals into our bloodstream that activate the fight or flight response system responsible for protecting us from harm. When these chemicals start to flow, there is actually a physical sensation that can be observed at the base of the skull. The pulse quickens, the mind races, the breath catches and causes us to breathe shallow in the upper part of our lungs. Awareness of this breath is the key to freedom!
There's a reason that so many spiritual traditions direct our focus to our breath. Breath is the regulator of emotion. If you pay close attention, every emotion has its own breathing pattern.
We can learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of an amygdala hijack and use it as a mental cue to check our breath. Practice learning to identify the Amygdala Hijack breathing pattern. I promise, it's pretty easy once you call your attention to it. Once you have learned to identify it, you can make good use of its signals. Once identified, you can use this physical cue to circumvent the hijack and gain a new level of mastery over your emotions. Access to this mastery is found in your breath.
As soon as you notice you are being hijacked, breathe deep into your belly and on the exhale say to yourself: "This hijack is not needed. I choose joy. I choose peace. I am not at the effect of my emotions. I am love."
Babies breathe from their bellies naturally.
The first few breaths will remain shallow, quick, and uneven. Don't let this worry you. Simply keep Belly Breathing. In the space of a few breaths you will become aware that your breath is calming you. Continue the belly breath until you notice that your anger/despair/fear/distress has passed and you are back in your joy.
If when upset, you tend to be a barker (Say rash things) you're going to need to make and keep an agreement with yourself to "Pause for the Cause". In other words, wait to say anything until you are back in your joy. This may be quite challenging to begin with and you may find yourself needing to stop in mid-sentence. This is OK. It's better to stop here than not stop at all. Go easy on yourself. This takes practice. Stay dedicated to your goal.
As your mastery increases a new sense of confidence in your ability to keep yourself safe will emerge. This in turn will feed your ability to continue your practice. Then one day, you will notice that your response to most stressful situations is no longer panic, and instead, it has been replaced by a joy response.
(The Joy Response™ is a trademark of Xstatic Now. All Rights Reserved. © Xstatic Now 2012)
No comments:
Post a Comment