From the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep you are immersed in thoughts…”I wonder what time it is?” “Where are my shoes?” “I’ve got to remember to call so and so…” etc etc etc. This is so much the case that it is easy to mistakenly believe that all you ARE is your thoughts…IE “I think therefore I am”. While your internal dialogue is a vital part of getting things done, thoughts are mostly limited to resolving conflict and solving problems. When you confuse yourself with your thoughts you begin to believe that you are a just a series of problems and conflict situations. This is the source of an immense amount of overwhelm and anxiety in the world.
On/Off Switch
Your brain extends out into your body via nerves. The behind the scenes portion of this neural network is called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It’s the ANS’s job to keep you alive and healthy by regulating your heart and breathing rates, digesting food, adjusting body temperature, mobilizing energy etc. There are two sides to the autonomic nervous system. There is the go, do, activate, move your ass side, commonly referred to as “fight or flight” and there is the rest, digest, repair tissue, assimilate nutrients, relax side,.. which we will call “rest and digest”. The ANS is an either/or game…you are either predominantly in fight or flight, stress response mode, or you are in feel and heal, rest and repair mode.
Staying Alive
One important thing to realize is that the ANS prioritizes staying alive over being healthy. For example, if there is a choice to be made between mobilizing energy towards fighting off a rabid monkey or digesting a recently eaten peanut butter sandwich…the ANS will always choose to deal with the rabid monkey at the expense of not assimilating the nutrients of the sandwich. You really wouldn’t want it any other way.
Stuck in the ON position
The problem lies in the fact that today’s world and personal psychology has a tendency to keep you overly activated. The body does not differentiate between the stress caused by worrying about paying bills or finding parking and the stress caused by being chased by a hungry tiger. Unfortunately a continually activated stress response does not allow you to switch over to the rest and digest mode you need to rebuild and function properly.
System Overload
As a result your body fails to absorb the nutrients it needs, cannot eliminate the toxins it doesn’t and is unable repair the damage done by the daily wear and tear of your life. This leads to your effectively allowing yourself to quite literally decay both mentally and physically. Brain cells (particularly those involved with forming new memories) die and are not replaced, organs such as the heart and liver fall apart, and your suppressed immune system fails to fend off disease. All this ultimately results in your dying younger and in poorer shape than you need to.
The Bigger Picture
Thankfully, you are so much more than your thoughts. Your being and awareness is immense. By simply fully engaging an appreciation of your senses it is possible to periodically crowd out the monkey mind of your conscious thoughts with the innate intelligence of your unconscious mind. This periodic letting go of associating with the problems and conflicts of your thoughts is vital to the balance you need to thrive. It’s as simple as stopping to allow yourself to enjoy the sights, sounds and sensations which surround you. Even if simple doesn’t always mean easy.
The positive feelings that come from allowing the unconscious mind to permeate your life is the key to turning off the damaging effects of being stuck in the “on” position… AKA going from being dominated by “Fight or Flight” mode to living in “Rest and Digest” mode. Being able to step back from the stories your thoughts weave by dropping into a relaxed appreciation of your surroundings allows a deep knowing to unfold, both mentally as a sense of clarity and confidence and physically as a healthier, higher energy body. Remembering to relax into experiencing more than your thoughts is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself (and those you around you).