Opening to life
Beyond separation
People frequently ask me “what do you mean by open” in reference to when I talk about their body and their nervous system. The idea that they could be either open or closed has not crossed their mind. What I mean when I say “you’re more open” is that your nervous system is now in a state where it is better able to communicate with intelligent energy. Remember the article I wrote a few weeks ago on the different expressions or categories of energy? While your nervous system is a conduit for energy to move through. As your nervous system is in more of an open state there is greater connection to and flow with the energy that organizes everything in the universe in order to better organize you. When you (including your body, thoughts, and emotions) are more organized then everything works more smoothly.
One of the most basic, yet flawed assumptions that we live by is that we are separate from other people and from the physical reality we perceive. We see ourselves as a body-mind that is apart from other body-minds and apart from situations and circumstances. This is a closed state and creates immense suffering and eventual breakdown (or what we call illness or disease). Separation includes the belief that we have little influence and impact on ourselves and our life. Separation is the root of disempowerment and is a disconnected state. Disconnected from life, from intelligent energy and from who/what you really are, which is the creator of this life. We have become overly identified with the separate body-mind and have thus lost our connection to the source of life itself.
Free-will
Your choice is required
Many people don’t realize that participation, or opening to more of life, is an option. We tend to believe that things, including us, are just the way they are, and that’s it, end of story. We fail to see our role and that we have choice in how much of the game of life we want to play.
One of the fundamental laws of this creation is free-will. We all have free-will to choose to open or close down from life. This law is in effect even if you are not aware that you are the one choosing. When you begin to wake up to the fact that you are more than this body-mind, but the actual creator of it, it becomes obvious that you are the one choosing your life and life experiences, but until this awareness is realized there remains some level of disconnection and feeling of victimization and disempowerment.
So how do you realize and reclaim more of your free-will? You must take responsibility for your life. This includes taking responsibility for the way you feel, the thoughts you have and even how your body expresses pain or disease. As you begin to take responsibilty you will notice how frequently you allow circumstances or other people’s actions or nonactions to determine how you feel. You will also notice that are not in charge of your thoughts and are simply allowing whatever random thought that floats in to be there without realizing you are choosing that thought. You will also realize that you feel like you have no control over how your body expresses, and that if something hurts it just hurts are you are victim to it. When you start becoming aware at this level you are starting to wake up to your power (aka free-will and choice). Simply through seeing these habitual patterns of disconnect, disempowerment and separation, your system will begin to wake up and open up more. This will bring in more choice power, meaning you will begin to see how you can allow yourself to soften, to open, to participate more with the larger rhythms and energies of life, or not. If you make the choice to open and participate more, then the tendency or need to protect yourself becomes less and less. There will be less efforting and more allowing to be taken with the tide rather than trying to swim upstream. You will eventual realize that you’ve been the tide all along, simply fighting yourself. At this level you begin to feel blissful, light and in the flow with life.
Network Spinal Analysis & Somato-Respiratory Integration are permission slips of sorts to help you open your system and yourself to more of life. They provided expanded awareness and an experience into more of you, however you ultimately must be the chooser to open and step into larger rhythm of participation with life.
Dr. Amanda Hessel, Chiropractor, Network Spinal Analysis & Somato-Respiratory Integration, Boulder, Colorado