A recipe for a more resilient human race
Mindfulness practice has personally brought me a great sense of peace .. as I’ve learnt to become the non-judgemental observer of my thoughts and feelings, and not a victim of their presence.
When people get hijacked by their ‘survival brain’ in an unpleasant (non-life threatening) situation, it is because they unconsciously allow their thoughts and feelings to take the lead. Typical reactions could be shutting-down to the moment, avoiding or denying the experience or endlessly trying to find a solution for it. When matters remain unresolved, the stress reaction turns inward: their muscles tense-up, they may experience tightness in the chest, accompanied by feelings of anxiety. It then takes them a while to settle back into their natural calm state.
What’s worse, when such reactions keep recurring again and again, unintentional habits get formed. The brain gets ‘trained’ to react in a certain way, when exposed to a certain situation or trigger. To quote psychologist, Shauna Shapiro: ‘What you practice grows stronger’. Over time, a repeated pattern of internalised stress reactions, makes it harder and harder to come back to a relaxed state. This may also negatively alter physiological and mental traits.
I find it ironic that our survival instinct, that triggers the fight-flight reaction, was necessary for our survival as a human race (back in the days when being chased by a lion or tiger was not uncommon), yet has become hugely unsupportive towards our well-being in today’s modern world.
And, let’s face it, we are exposed to a whole bunch of stressors every day, from the daily hassles of waking up to the (often unkind) sound of the alarm clock, to getting our kids ready for school .. to some bigger events such as tight deadlines at work or a serious conflict with a colleague. For some, these triggers may continue deep into the night, where thoughts about the day’s events or worries about the future, may keep them painfully sleepless.
For our human race, to naturally evolve into one that is more resilient, self awareness body/mind practices are key. If we can gain an understanding of our active role in self-regulating our physiological state e.g. by learning how to consciously relax, then this is a first essential step towards nourishing our well-being. Yet to break ‘autopilot’ behaviours that are unsupportive, we need to strengthen our capacity for non-judgemental present moment awareness. This helps us grow the ability to watch out for patterns of reactivity in our daily life, and to consciously alter them … by becoming more skilful in how we respond to our ever-changing life experiences.
I know that I am biased, but wouldn’t you agree that everybody should be practicing mindfulness?
