Don’t believe everything you think! Tap into the wisdom in the body.

Not to take anything away from our go-to as humans, the executive function of the brain. After all, the prefrontal cortex has propelled us, the hairless & puniest of the great apes, to the position of dominant species on the planet. Even so, in evolutionary terms, the prefrontal cortex is “the new kid on the block”.

A case could be made that the viruses are gaining on us but that’s a discussion for another day.

Living through a worldwide pandemic and now a hot war in Europe, we are learning about the impact of disruptive change and the vital need for resilience intelligence. Here is an important fact to remember, there is more wisdom in our bodies than just thinking.

The book, Learning from the Octopus details the ground-breaking research done by Dr. Rafe Sagarin’s following the 9-11 attacks on the US. His findings give us the benefit of comparison to how other species have survived disruptive change in the form of meteor strikes, ice ages & other natural disasters.

Dr. Sagarin’s research shows that creating resilience Intelligence requires reliance on systems in the body that humans have inherited from other species. Systems that have evolved over a 500 million year span of time. By comparison, our human ancestors clock in with only 5-7 million years of experience. Nature & the systems in nature have a significant head start on our species.

Here is what the more mature systems have learned and like nature, we can harness the willingness to learn along the way.

• Lean into disruption
• Be present
• Be responsive
• Connect
• Collaborate

Let’s compare one of these more mature systems, the heart to the brain. The magnetic field produced by the human heart is more than 100 times greater in strength than the field generated by the brain. The Heartmath Institute has been leading research related to heart-brain coherence. According to Research Director Dr. Rollin McCraty, “Coherence is the state when the heart, mind, and emotions are in energetic alignment and cooperation. It is a state that builds resilience.”

Create more space between you & your thoughts to access the wisdom of the body.My mentor & teacher, Martha Beck suggests replacing self-criticism with active self-kindness. Turnaround the self-critical thought and see that the opposite may be more true.

Here is an example of how to do it.
The self-critical thought: “The interview did not go well”
Opposite & kind thought: “The interview went well.”
List at least 3 examples of why the kind thought is true.
Experience how your body reacts. Our bodies relax when something is true. Our hearts warm, our stomachs unclench. The more examples of why the kind thought is true the better it will stick. What is true is kind. This is the wisdom in the body in action.

Go on a big adventure. Be kind all the time. Being kind to yourself is contributing to kindness in the world.

The only place we can change the world is in our own hearts.

1. You get a healthier body & mind
2. You get a world that grows increasingly soft & gentle
3. You bring to the world positive healing

Self-kindness is an antidote to the fear and anxiety we are all living with during this time of unprecedented disruptive change.

Just 5 minutes of meditating on self-kind thoughts every day can make a world of difference.
When you come down the curve of fight, flight & fear, you have access to the wisdom & knowing of the body, as well as the inheritance of natural systems that are part of us.

Would you like to explore more ways to tap into the wisdom of the body? Don’t do it alone, I can help you navigate this journey to resilience intelligence. Let’s get started.