You belong here. Even if you don’t believe you do. Even if you don’t feel worthy or deserving of belonging, you do belong. Even if you think you are a mistake or were told you are. It is not true. You belong here simply because you are here. Life wanted you here. The truth that you belong might take a while to sink into your cells. It’s your birthright as Andy Harkin says in the video below.
Tap on whatever point(s) feel right and say whatever you feel in response to belonging. Some suggestions below are:
I belong here This is my home (your body, the earth, whatever feels right) I stand upon the earth, which is my home I feel my feet on the ground Connecting me to my home I feel my body standing firmly on the earth I am coming home to my body too Life wants me here I belong My body belongs to me I belong to my body Which is my home in this life My home standing upon a bigger home Which houses all of us We all belong here
Immediately facing, or perceiving danger/threat, puts our body into defence mode. This isn’t supposed to happen on a constant basis, we’re meant to return to homeostasis after, hopefully, a short period of threat, but many of us in the modern world are living with constant threat and danger.
Dr Robert Naviaux states that we are facing new stressors our ancestors never encountered which is leading to a wave of new diseases and an increase in diseases that used to be rare. He describes the cell danger response (CDR) as the underlying unity that links various dis-eases such as chronic fatigue syndrome, PTSD, autism, depression, primary mitochondrial disease and many more. I discovered his research through Dr Veronique Mead who wrote this blog post on the CDR.
Try tapping on the following phrases customising/changing them to suit you, download the EFT short cut or basic recipe diagram and procedure here.
Even though my cells are in danger (or feel as if they are), I love and accept my cells Even though my cells are reacting to an unsafe environment (this can be real or perceived, it doesn’t matter), I’m grateful that my cells are trying to defend and protect me as best they can Even though my cells are exhausted from being constantly on guard and in survival mode, maybe I can find ways for them to relax and feel safer
Top of head: This danger/threat
Eyebrow: It feels …
Side of eye: Jarring (fill in however you feel)
Under eye: Like my cells can’t relax
Under the nose: Because it’s not safe to relax
Under the chin: I have to be on guard
Collar bone: All the time
Under arm: Because …
Top of head: I wonder if I can help calm this sense of danger
Eyebrow: Even a little bit
Side of eye: And give my cells a break
Under eye: So they don’t have to word so hard
Under the nose: To defend and protect me
Under the chin: They can do other things
Collar bone: That can help me
Under arm: Like repair and rejuvenate
Top of head: If I’m facing immediate danger
Eyebrow: My cells respond immediately
Side of eye: But they also do that
Under eye: If I perceive or imagine threat
Under the nose: That’s something I have some control over
Under the chin: And that feels …
Collar bone: Imagining the worst case scenario
Under arm: Isn’t doing me any favours
Top of head: It seems I can’t help it
Eyebrow: At least sometimes
Side of eye: How can I interrupt old ways of reacting
Under eye: I can notice them
Under the nose: And not judge them
Under the chin: Noticing and being aware is a big step
Collar bone: It can help me be kinder to myself
Under arm: I don’t have to do it perfectly
Top of head: Ever
Eyebrow: I just need to find some comfort and calm, however small
Side of eye: To interrupt this sense of danger
Under eye: Especially when I’m not facing immediate danger
Under the nose: I need to let my cells know, this is an old pattern/imprint
Under the chin: That we can transform
Collar bone: So we can be
Under arm: The best we can be
Top of head: Being in survival mode
Eyebrow: Feels …
Side of eye: My cells and I want to thrive
Under eye: My cells are spending all their energy on defence and protection
Under the nose: Instead of repair and rejuvenation
Under the chin: My cells are helping me the best they can
Collar bone: And I want to help my cells that best I can
Under arm: I’m starting now
I was going to write a post about what can we tolerate after hearing what Dr Datis Kharrazian said about it on the Interconnected series by Dr Pedram Shojai, but I had already posted about it in 2013.
But it has lead to this post which is also about tolerance, stress, diversity, inclusivity and integration on a micro and macro level.
Mirroring the mind body split, we have the split between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system, or to put it in everyday terms: the brain and the gut. This is most definitely changing in many circles, but very very slowly in the mainstream.
As a reaction to the dominance of the brain and the emphasis on reason, logic, reductionism etc. over the last few hundred years, we have more and more emphasis on the body which is great. But focusing only on the body or the brain is not an integrative approach. Humans are systems living within systems and I think any approach to health, mental and physical, needs a systems approach. We cannot afford to leave anything out of the health equation if we want good health and vitality.
Something that Dr Kharrazian said about tolerance made me think about my own tolerance levels over the last 10 years or so; and they haven’t been great. My tolerance for unhealthy chemicals is really low, I smell things I never used to smell. In fact I react to them because I have developed such a low tolerance, which is actually a good thing as it is pointing me to something that I need to work on for my mental and physical health which is the health of my gut.
It also mirrors my tolerance for other things in life which has also been low and has led to me having a ‘short fuse’ for things I would have normally taken in my stride. Or did I ever take them in my stride? Did I just push them down, not wanting to deal with them? And like so many, one day the straw broke the camel’s back and I was forced to deal with the mountain of stuff I had avoided.
We don’t realise that stress affects everything, especially our microbiome. Research is showing just how important it is to have good diversity of bacteria in our gut for our overall health, but it is especially exciting to realise just how much it affects our mental health. Everything we ingest is important to our health; food, experiences, other people, the stuff we read, watch and focus on. Which is why we need to be as selective as we can with the things we ingest and food is probably the easiest place to start for most people. It’s certainly easier to control than other people!
The gut lining completely regenerates itself in just 5 days. Try eating things you’ve never eaten before. This ensures good diversity in your gut. Increase your intake of vegetables, fruits and healthy fats. Drink lots of clean water. Chew your food slowly and sit down and relax when you eat. These simple things will help you enormously. Slow down in general, don’t even try to multi task, it overwhelms us and causes unnecessary stress.
