Our ancestors needed to group themselves together.

They had to be alert at all times.

The threats were constant.

They mastered rehearsing what had saved them in the past.

Our mind, based on patterns, analyzes, comments, criticizes, judges, and speculates.

We remember upsets, not joys.

We replay mistakes, not triumphs.

Our negative default setting protects us from both real threats and imagined threats. Fortunately and unfortunately, our nervous systems do not know the difference.

Once our amygdala is activated, we are in fight or flight (dorsal vagal), and while our executive skills are inaccessible, we are unable to restore harmony (ventral vagal).

However, if we have practiced and trained our selves to respect our need to pause in the moment to breathe consciously, right hand on heart and left hand on naval, we know we need to ask if what we are thinking is true, if we can know if it is true or merely a thought, and identify how we choose to respond, not react, based on the values that guide our choices and decisions.

Yes, it is a challenge to be this aware of our selves.

It is also a gift to be this aware of our selves.

Yin. Yang. Two sides of the same coin.

As always, we must be curious.

Are we helping our selves OR harming our selves ?

If you continuously spiral downward into despair, how is this helping you ?

Peace for your nervous system.

Kindness to your BrainBodyBEing.

You are worthy !