Calling on the Conscious Human Beings

We are one species, human beings.

While we often act like we are distinct, different, and disconnected from one another, in reality, we are all incredibly similar. Our differences arise out of our desire to distinguish ourselves from those we fear or do not understand. They stem from our need to make sense of those who view and experience the world differently.

I recently watched a video post by New York Times author Ezra Klein that spoke to the last two weeks of chaos and confusion. In his message, he makes the case that the current chaos is purposely being used to create massive overwhelm.

Ezra said, “The real threat is if he convinces the rest of us that he has power he does not have…he’s trying to overwhelm you, he’s trying to keep you off balance, he’s trying to convince you of something that isn’t true, don’t believe him.”

His words struck me and prompted me to write this article. Not as a diatribe on the current presidency or even on whether Ezra’s opinion is wright or not. Rather, on the challenge of consciousness human beings to face this type of challenge.

The Challenge

Believe me when I say, “I get it, understanding how our government and legal systems work is challenging.” The way it is structured has been built over many decades and amidst many different world challenges. Furthermore, it’s complex for a reason.

But as a result, it’s hard to understand where the President’s power begins and ends. It can be hard to understand, acknowledge or admit that a person so many elected may actually be acting against many of our interests and needs. Even those of the people that intentionally chose him to be the leader.

I get it, the news cycle is a lot right now, it feels hopeless, frustrating, and exhausting. You’ve shifted from states of anger (fight) to fear (flight) to numb (freeze) to how can I fix this, or it can’t be this bad can it (fawn)?

If your body recognizes the threat, it responds with its most primal survival instincts. The body will automatically shift into the survival state that has served us the best in similar situations in the past whether we want it to or not.

But we aren’t (most of us)

• outrunning a predator chasing us,

• fighting against another country (yet),

• about to experience such extreme pain our body needs to shut down completely,

• in a position to fix it by pleasing or appeasing the threat.

Our current challenges require a higher level of intelligence and wisdom to guide our decisions and actions.

I recognize that if these actions are meant to overwhelm us, then we must learn how to quickly rebalance ourselves. Every single human being needs to know:

• how their body gets triggered into different survival states due to distress.

• when and how we shift into overwhelm, shutdown, or anxiety

• and how to bring our bodies back into balance.

Shifted & Stuck in Survival Mode

When we are in survival mode or a state of stress or overwhelm, our intelligences or the neural networks and pathways in the human body begin operating based upon their default past patterns.

• For example, have you ever felt yourself feeling overwhelmed and then someone says something to you, and you overreact and snap back at them? Like maybe your child? You might even realize it instantly and wonder, why did I react that way to such a small thing?

• It’s because your past pattern ran its program without your conscious input. Rather than consciously choosing how to respond, stuck in survival, your body chose for you based on your many past experiences.

These past patterns are formed throughout our lives and in response to all of our experiences and environments, and the more they are repeated the stronger they become.

When our body is stuck in a survival state…

• It’s not interested in finding creative solutions.

• It’s not interested in connecting or offering compassion to others.

• It’s not interested in growing new ways of doing things or new capabilities.

The more overwhelmed we become by the chaos and confusion, the more our bodies end up in states of survival and the more reactive we become.

• Instead of responding to problems and challenges with creativity, looking for ways to understand, expand our perspective and make sense of the challenges before us, we react.

• Instead of responding to conflict with a desire for connection and in a way that is aligned with our values, we react.

• Instead of choosing actions that will ensure our long-term self-preservation with actions authentically aligned with our true self, we react

• Instead of being compassionate, creative and courageous human beings, we react with fearfulness or apathy, indifference or hatred, and stagnation.

What can we do?

Bring Your Body into Balance

• Feel your feelings and then move them through and out of your body.

• Instead of staying stuck in survival, use balanced breathing or other somatic techniques to regulate your nervous system and bring your body back into balance.

• When you feel overwhelmed, try grounding yourself by going outside and standing on the Earth.

Access Your Intelligences

Did you know you have three brains, not just one?

Make sure that in all your actions, decisions, and interactions you are actively listening to and communicating with all of them

• Your head brain is responsible for cognitive perception, thinking and meaning making Ask yourself: What do I really think or know?

• Your heart brain is responsible for your emotions, values and relational affect. Ask yourself: What do I truly want or feel? What is truly important to me? What do I relate to or connect with?

• Your gut brain is responsible for your core identity, self-preservation, and mobilization. Ask Yourself: What do I deeply need to take action on? What do I need to feel safe? What do I sense is aligned with my authentic self? What do I identify with?

While the head brain is loud and will communicate with stories and words, the heart and gut brains are more subtle. The heart will communicate with single words, smells, emotions, or sensations. Similarly, the gut brain may communicate with sensations in the gut, throat, chest, a scratchy throat, simple words, or even imagery.

Align Your Intelligences

Once you’ve communicated with all your intelligences, you’ve now accessed your inner wisdom and intelligence, but they may not be in agreement. There may be a block, barrier, or constraint based on your past patterns that you created throughout your life that you need to identify & rewire.

Indicators of misalignment or challenges between your intelligences are:

• You experience internal conflict between thoughts, feelings & actions

• You’ve not acted upon your dreams, goals, & plans.

• You do unwanted behaviors or habits and don’t know why or have a difficulty in stopping.

• You find it difficult to make a decision(s)

• Something within you is making it difficult to motivate yourself to take action.

• You sabotage yourself from achieving goals.

Apply Your Intelligences

Once aligned, we can take this wisdom and apply it directly to solve problems, make decisions, improve our relationships, and figure out the wisest next step we can take.

This is a call to the conscious; to those who want to use their full intelligences, who want to access, align, and apply them individually and collectively to create the catalyst for change necessary to navigate this constantly changing and chaotic world.

Conclusion

As a starting point, I’ve created a C^3XC^3 C3 Campaign Guide: Coherent and Conscious Conversations Guided by Creativity, Compassion, & Courage.

I believe if we want to solve today’s problems, to bring change to the chaos and corruption, to dispel the discord and division, and to bring hope to humans and humanity; we must start one conversation at a time and begin consciously communicating. 

One night, as I put my kids to bed, they selected one of my favorite children’s books, It’ll be Okay. The book is about a fox who is afraid of everything, a seed that doesn’t like things to change, and a good wise farmer who is always looking out for them. It’s a beautiful story, but the part that always strikes me the most is when the seed is faced with change.

The seed gets planted by the farmer and thrust into a dark scary lonely place (deep down in the dirt) and must trust that there’s a plan. The fox stays with his friend seed until the seed grows out of the dirt and becomes the magnificent tree he was meant to be. The seed had to trust that out of the darkness it would grow beyond what it could have ever imagined for itself.

Obviously, this is a children’s story meant to convey an important message. One I think is particularly relevant right now.

Right now, it kind of seems like we are in the dark, scary, lonely place.

The place that is dark but also where we can grow the most.

We must trust that we won’t stay in this darkness forever.

We can and will grow out of it.

Just as the seed grew into a big strong tree, we too can grow…

We can grow to be more conscious, creative, compassionate, and courageous. 

But while in the darkness, we need friends who can see and support us through it.

We can also be the friend for others as they go through their time in darkness.

We can partner together in a way that we might never have if not for this period of darkness creating, cultivating, and changing us.

We can evolve ourselves out of this place of darkness into wiser human beings.

As we arise from these periods of growth, we will better access the wisdom within.

Rather than resist and fear the dark messy space, let’s embrace it.

Maybe, just maybe, we’ll discover we’ve grown in ways that bring wiser solutions to today’s greatest challenges.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey, even if it means time spent in the dark.