No, really--you are here for THIS.
Even on the cloudiest of days, the sun is there, waiting for us.
How have you been, post-election?
I went from shock to frozen fear on election night, couldn’t sleep. When I remembered to apply the “10 Steps” from my new book, I finally dropped off. (Yes, I use these tools. Every day, and sometimes in the middle of the night.) It took me a few days to take a glance at the news, face into the reality of what just happened.
A week out, I have the Creative Brain resources to get curious again, begin to examine some of what I’ve been learning. Does any of this match your experience?:
I really, REALLY wanted to WIN. Have the other side lose in a big way, see how wrong they were.
It turns out I was stuck in Pride, the righteous kind that says “I’m better than them/there’s something wrong with them. We must beat them.” Then my side didn’t win–even though we clearly had the moral high ground, were the better choice, were the hope for the future of humanity…
So I went to where I go sometimes, to the collapse of the loser. From Pride to Shame in one night. (Oh right, “pride goeth before the fall…”)
On reflection, my thrall with Reactive Brain and its stories (“really!! He/they are a EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO HUMANITY”) is very familiar. My Reactive Brain is a little tyrant. It takes over and holds on tight, with very convincing arguments as to why staying in a threat response is essential and will have an impact–as if my reactivity will have any effect on people I’ve never met, and circumstances I know nothing about. (Even as I write this I have parts of me whispering, “no, it’s true! Don’t let up!!!”).
Meanwhile, as I finally am letting my wise, essence self have some air time in my head, I’m remembering some things:
My threat response, and expression, triggers the threat response in others. No one changes their perspectives when they feel threatened.
Force creates force. I push, you automatically push back. We expend loads of energy being stuck.
When I’m in Reactive Brain I feel agitated, adrenalized, explosive, jittery–until I collapse into the lethargy of wanting to just give up, check out. I exhaust myself. None of that results in any creative action.
I have a long list of Shift moves that I can apply to my physiology to move out of Reactive Brain back into my natural state, Creative Brain. I can breathe ~ dance ~ listen to music ~ stare at flowers ~ laugh ~ sing ~ open my focus ~ face into what is ~ remind myself of my purpose ~ remember the power of love ~ bring myself back into alignment and flow.
I can TELL A NEW STORY FROM CREATIVE BRAIN.
Now I have access to truly infinite resources. I can connect with myself, with those around me, even with the folks-I-previously-viewed-as-enemies. I remember that I’m part of the web of life, a teammate with All That Is. I can move out of a win/lose, friend/foe trance and back into what Creative Brain knows for sure: Every one of us, every bit of life is part of the same fabric.
As I like to remind myself and all of us at every turn: humans’ natural state is Joy. When we’re out of reactivity, we immediately connect back to ourselves and each other and all that is. We realize that our power has nothing at all to do with external structures like laws and government and someone else’s authority. It’s within each of us, found in our willingness to identify with the best parts of ourselves, what we access when we land back in our own bodies–our most expanded selves. Our divinity.
Take a look at the Inner Map. Where are you now? Did you make it back Above the Line, to Creative Brain?
Of course, the whole idea of the Inner Map is that, within our body is every state, that each one is adaptive according to what our mammalian bodies are contending with in the external world. We can expect to move up and down the elevator of our own consciousness.
Getting stuck in reactivity, however, means we’re bathing in stress chemicals. It’s not good for our health.
So–I want to directly address your Reactive Brain:
You’re supposed to be a temporary alarm system. If you’re going off all the time, there’s no way to discern when to act. Let the body stand down, relax, rebuild, refresh. That’s ultimately the best way to deal with threat: to have access to all cognitive, intuitive, and relational resources.
Our species is facing unprecedented challenges. That’s what you, and I, and all of those seeking the light, are doing here now. Let’s use our strength to move beyond our Reactive Brain tyrants’ trance of win/lose, good/bad, Power Over/Under.
Our true, evolutionary power comes from connecting deeply with ourselves, with each other, and with all that is. Let’s link arms and step into Power With–together.
Are you looking for resources to support you through this time?
Here’s a link to a free PDF of my new book, “On Evolutionary Power: A Path to Conscious, Sustainable Activism.” You can get a hard copy (or bulk copies) here.
Wednesdays, 1-2 MST, I’m teaching a weekly class called “Supporting Your Conscious Activism.” It’s my creative action, so it’s free. (You can donate to the Evolutionary Power Institute if you feel so called.) Register here and get videos to all past classes.
We have coaches and trainees at the Evolutionary Power Institute who are trained in these tools, and who can help you, with costs that start at free.
This video is of one of my favorite tools; you could apply it right now: