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RE: Be one in self-harmony, in Yoga, and arise, great warrior, arise.

in #yoga7 years ago

Cool, yes if the human mind could learn to NOT define everything, not box it all in, remain open to the reality of unlimited potential things would be much more fluid & free! So how do we stay "suspended in that moment"?

Judgment has been ingrained in us for a really long time, and for more people to judge is subconscious and automatic. I believe humans are starting to wake up and recognize they have actual power over themselves, which means we have the ability to become aware of, analyze, and rewrite these dysfunctional programs. It's a big deal to take responsibility for evolving as a person!

The mind and emotions are intimately connected to the body. Think about being afraid - you might feel it in the pit of your stomach. Or anger - senses get heightened as adrenaline pumps, blood rushes to the face. Or LOVE! You feel relaxed, warm, open. Such it is with EVERY emotion and experience, including judgment.

There are what I'm going to call "higher" and "lower" emotions, meaning that higher emotions enhance health and well being in the body, and lower emotions harm it. Love, hope, compassion are higher emotions, and anger, judgment, fear, etc are lower. Love, hope, compassion release chemicals like anandamide, seratonin, and dopamine into the body, and lower emotions release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Stress hormones in small doses are awesome and beneficial - it prepares the body for fight or flight when you have to defend your life or outrun a bear or something, but in modern society the ON buttons for anger, judgment, and other stressors are constantly triggered - which means we have a steady flow of these hormones. They cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and generally just fuck up the system when they're always ON!

The thing is that judgment (and often anger and fear, guilt, shame, doubt, etc) operate from the "lower" parts of the brain, and modern humans are so disconnected from their bodies that they don't pay much attention to how it affects their physicality. The brain has A LOT to take it - it is constantly, unceasingly processing data and inputs, so on the one hand it's like a space and energy saver to tuck some things away in the subconscious so the program runs and you don't have to think about it, but on the other hand if the program is NOT in your own best interest, then it takes some effort to wade through the subconscious, identify the dysfunction, and reprogram a new, healthier, happier habit.

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I am exactly there - finally working through some destructive ways of thinking that no longer serve but have been with me since childhood. It is tough. But I have had some success and the results are freeing in unexpected ways. Thanks for the inspiration!

You're welcome! To me, addressing dysfunctions is the real war. Keep on fighting the "good" fight!
If you have some serious stuff to deal with (and who doesn't? lol), I recommend looking into a technique called EMDR. I'll write a post about it eventually, but it's a really great technique for PTSD especially.
Sending you love and support! 💛