See you in everyone 

Stretching beyond the personal bubble

There is a particular focus we all have as humans.  This focus is the awareness of being an individual self.  What this means is that as a human you are aware that you have a separate sense of self from other selves that you perceive within your awareness.  In fact one of the primary developmental stages in the human experience is this development of an individual self.  You see this start to emerge as young as one year of age and continue on through adulthood.  

This self-awareness (awareness of you as an individual self) is what creates the perception of duality, or a me and you.  Said another way it reinforces the concept, idea and thus perception of separation.  In this way everyone is living in their own individual bubbles of self, experiencing the world as a separate person from other persons.  While this probably seems like the absolute truth to most everyone, as this is the perception and and thus experience that dominates our consensus reality, its not the full picture.  

Within this limited perspective of being an individual self it becomes necessary to create strategies to protect our individual self from other selves.  In this way it is us against our environment.  This is where the development of “defense strategies” within our nervous system’s come into play.  Because we perceive ourselves to be separate we develop methods of self protection.  This is innate and wired into the system of the organism of this physical form.  These methods of self protection actually cut us off from being able to experience beyond our personal bubble or perception of self and instead keep us confined to our bubble.  As long as our sense of self (self-awareness) is identified with being this individual body these methods of protection will play out in our nervous system to keep us safe in our perception of self.  

What’s the bigger picture?

Expanding beyond the individual sense of self

The bigger picture is that ultimately you are not really a separate individual self.  I know that may seem weird or hard to grasp, but I’m sure you have all had some glimpses or experiences of this fact.  Maybe it was through an experience of empathy with a child or loved one where you felt what they were feeling.  In that way you had a joined experience.  Or perhaps you’ve had the experience of being in a crappy mood and then walking into a room where everyone in that room was feeling blissful or joyful and it started to rub off on you.  In these examples there is still a you and another you but it is starting to blend and these are beginning tastes of interconnectedness.

In truth none of us are actually in individual closed off bubbles (or substitute body for bubble) even though that’s what most currently experience their reality as.  However the fact that most of us perceive ourselves in this way is what creates our reality to reflect a reality of separate selves back to us.  Yes you actually do create your reality by how you perceive yourself to be!

So how do you as a perceived separate individual perceive beyond being a separate individual?  There are many paths and strategies for realizing self beyond the individual sense of self.  One of the most powerful ways that I have found is to see myself in everyone.  In this way everyone I see becomes me.  This begins to dissolve the beliefs that “I can’t feel or know what someone else is feeling or experiencing” because if they are me than I can.  “Physical” boundaries become less distinct and defined and with that a more subtle energetic sense opens.  People refer to this as essence or spirit.  This strategy also opens your heart and as your heart opens more your awareness of self becomes more unified and less separate.  Along with that those defense mechanisms that keep your separate sense of self safe and protected simply don’t need to fire because there is less perceived “threat from other” because there is less perceived sense of other.  

If this excites you than practice playing with it.  As you do you should notice more joy and an innate sense of all inclusivity.  You will notice where you previously resisted something about someone else there is simply acceptance and love.  You begin to experience that things that people say or do have nothing to do with you personally and you don’t feel the need to react anymore to defend yourself.  You begin to move more and more into bliss, oneness and the one love that is all of creation.  

Dr. Amanda Hessel, Chiropractor, Network Spinal Analysis & Somato-Respiratory Integration, Boulder, Colorado