Issue No. 4

Dedicated to helping you learn how to enhance your life by honoring your soul and spirit while living day to day.

Article

Happy 2007!
Neurochemistry and New Year’s Resolutions!

Last month we talked about how our internal saboteurs, grinches, or what I affectionately call our itty bitty sh--- committee can steal the love from and connection to our essence, our souls.  This month we’re taking it a step deeper into what makes up the psyche and looking at a fresh approach to New Year’s Resolutions.

First, let’s step into this a little deeper.  The psyche incorporates several levels of consciousness: the present conscious, the unconscious and the super conscious. The present conscious holds those parts of our immediate experience we are consciously aware of or have memory access to.  It represents a very small portion of our whole psyche.   If the present conscious mind was depicted as a dot (".") in the center of this page, the whole psyche could be represented as the room in which you are reading this.  (See Roberto Assagioli’s work and psychosynthesis for more info.)

While self-sabotaging behavior occurs in the present conscious realm, much of this behavior arises from unconscious beliefs and thought processes.  The unconscious part of the psyche holds deeply held positive and negative beliefs, body memories, traumas, hurts and unresolved or un-felt feelings that can sabotage our best conscious intentions.

Have you ever over-reacted to a situation that really wasn’t a big deal? Without awareness we repeat habitual responses to certain triggers even though they may not be appropriate and no longer serve us.  What’s more, these habits can become addictive as our brains produce neurochemicals that create the desire for more of the chemicals that are being produced. These addictions are not just to substances (e.g., alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, potato chips, etc…) but can also be to emotions (e.g., depression, excitement, satiety, fear, lust, victimization, etc…) and other stimuli (e.g., sex, shopping, surfing the web, ...etc.) that produce a particular neurochemical response. Scientists have discovered that the actual physical structure of the brain, neural networks, is created and influenced by experiences, emotions and thoughts. (See the movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know?!!" and Candace Pert’s book, Molecules and Emotions, plus many other authors on this subject.)

When we are not paying attention, we are not aware of how hooked we are in many of these areas.  We tend to ignore, rationalize, fight or live in resignation claiming, "That’s just the way I am."  We generate a tolerance to our own stress and anxiety producing thoughts and behaviors.

In actuality this repeated behavior is a gift for it presents us the opportunity to shift and heal the unconscious processes that perpetuate it.  The gift is in the message that something is not working and in the deeper calling of the soul, "...I’m here, listen to me, this is not in your best interest.  Pay attention!"

This is where the spiritual muscle comes in.  The capacity to hold the present moment, what I call the spiritual muscle, lives in the midst of the psyche.  It connects us to the now and is the gateway to essence, soul and to the Divine. When we exercise this capacity we gain an awareness of what’s happening in our present consciousness that can free us to choose our actions and thoughts in each moment. Ultimately this stirs our unconscious and super conscious giving us deeper more expansive access to our wholeness.

Note: Therapy is one way that this healing process occurs and provides helpful support for deep wounds. Coaching is another method for being present to what shows up and using it as grist for the mill. Exercising and strengthening our spiritual muscle helps support all transformative processes and life!

  So how does all of this relate to the infamous New Year’s resolution? 

Our best resolve to change our lives often backfires if we create it from the same mind that created the situation to begin with.  So, here are suggestions to creating a deeper and sustainable change based in awareness:

1. Make a resoulution not a resolution! Listen to what your soul is urging you towards.  Pay attention to what you really want at a place beyond your mind chatter, i.e., the shoulds, oughts, have to’s, need to’s, etc.
2. Set an intention from this place of your soul. e.g., Resolution: lose weight and exercise.  Intention: pay loving attention to my body daily.
1. Post it on your bathroom mirror, cell phone, monitor, in your car; places you’ll see it.
2. Construct a list of 10 or more ways you can do this; e.g., eat breakfast, go for a walk at lunch or after work, have a salad for lunch, cook instead of eat out, etc. 
3. Do one thing every day and use a chart to help you track your progress.
3. Feel the positive emotions that the process of attaining your goal produces and focus less on the outcome.  Languish in each step you take being proud of yourself and inspired by your efforts. Stay at it one day at a time!
4. Pay attention and befriend your self-saboteur’s thoughts. They will come up!  Welcome them as opportunities to learn more and choose differently.
5. Get support!  Our souls love company! Find a buddy – someone who won’t collude with your saboteur.  Hire a coach, join a support group.  You do not have to do this alone. 
6. Acknowledge and congratulate yourself every day for having success.

Every action taken in support of your intention creates a new neural network in your brain, shifting you from the inside out, creating lasting change and literally transforming who you have been in the world to what your soul’s intention is for you. As you do this you will find that your negative self talk begins to shift and you enter a flow where your goal is met more easily for you are no longer struggling to achieve from your brain, by re-solving the issue.  Instead you are re-souling your self, honoring your soul’s deepest desire – to be the wholeness it is and to have room for greater depth and expansion!

I’ve used this technique to lose and maintain and 80 lb weight loss, keep my body in great physical condition as it grows older, learn how to ride and care for a horse, be a good passenger on the back of a Harley Davidson, remodel my kitchen (in progress) grow my business and improve my relationships.  It works!

As 2007 unfolds, I challenge you to set an intention that will inspire you to create changes in your life and move you closer towards your soul’s deepest desires for you.

I love hearing from you!  This month I request that you send me your intentions for 2007 and stories of your journey in Spiritual Fitness.  Your sharing can help others on this path.  Thank you!

Readers Respond!

I love hearing about your journey in Spiritual Fitness!  Please write! We help each other when we share!

In response to last month’s article, Life Coach, Reggie Odom, wrote:

"Wonderful newsletter! I just did the exercise. The gremlin saboteur of my spiritual fitness got really scared, shaky about not having time for this, needed to get a big piece of work to get done this afternoon; it silently screamed. So glad to have your reminder!

Thank YOU, Reggie!