How many of you feel like you know or have seen this person recently? These days there seems to be a cacophony of name calling and finger pointing.
I, personally, have noticed what feels like several different camps.
There’s the us verses them category which is generally centered around mainstream political parties. The “I hate democrat, snowflake, libtards” verses “I hate stupid, racist, redneck, republicans.” Each party seems more steadfast than ever in their convictions and has retreated to their respective corners. Most read, watch and talk to others who confirm their beliefs and perpetuate their anger, fear, hatred, confusion, disillusionment etc. This is not just opinion, there is actual research on this subject and I highly recommend the book High Conflict, if you’d like to read more about it.
There are also some middle of the road folks who feel that there has to be some solution where both parties can come together in some sort of harmonious ending, thinking “can’t we all just get along man?” There are those who have buried their heads in the sand in hopes of pretending like nothing is happening. Some people are stifled in fear. And others are starting to question what is and what has been happening. Many in this camp feel that both parties are completely fucked. They are seeing clues that there is a much larger overreaching agenda that not only involves American politics, but global politics. How a few very rich and powerful beings have infiltrated all parts of world leadership and that a great deal of the worlds chaos, conflict and suffering has been carefully orchestrated by a few very powerful individuals hoping to eventually secure world power. This is a very complex ideal that involves concepts as big as governments seizing complete control of populations by implementing swift restrictions and regulations that take the population off guard and most don’t realize what’s happening until all of the sudden they are fully dependent on government systems. And at that point, the power lies completely in the hands of the government and the people no longer have a say. It is believed by some that this has been happening for many many years, but people began to become more aware and bring it into the light during Covid 19, when extremely swift restrictions and regulations were put in place that overnight put a huge amount of the population in a position of being completely dependent on the government because they were out of work and could no longer support themselves.
I feel that everyone has retreated to their corners and pulled off their gloves. And you can find channels on mainstream and social media, podcasts and private posts to back up any or all of the opinions above. Regardless of where you fall in the above categories, or if you even believe that they exist, I think we can all agree that we are in unprecedented times. We are now staring down the barrel of 2 years of election season that I am certain is not for the faint of heart. I remember when election season used to be a few months before the election and it just got annoying that the airwaves were taken over by political ads and you would see signs along the roads promoting the different political candidates.
Now most people are either afraid, pissed off, or both. And there is so much confusion about who to watch or read, and what to believe that some people are stifled with fear frozen in inaction and the other side of the spectrum are arming themselves for protection and survival when the country falls and it is every man for himself. While the rest of the country still stuck in the political party system is continuing the us versus them dialogue.
If there is one thing for certain in these times it is that this has caused a huge shake up and is it possible that this happened for a reason so that people could wake up to the possibility that the thoughts and beliefs that they have carried with them may not be exactly true and that there may be more to the story?
What if this is happening to make us question the status quo, question authority, question our beliefs, question everything? What if it’s happening so we no longer are just okay with going along to get along? But rather to pause and look at what is actually happening and decide now how we feel about it. What if we looked at these unprecedented times not as a terrible catastrophe that is happening TO us, but as a blessing that is happening FOR us.
How many of you know wonderful things that have come out of the pandemic? Career changes that never would have happened, people reevaluating their priorities, relationships, goals and their whole lives for that matter.
A lot of SHIT came out of it too! Chaos, uncertainty, political upheaval, economic downturn, etc However without that shit we were destined for a continued path of status quo, destined to be stuck in the missionary position of life and a continued broken system that everyone complains about, but few people actually do something about.
How many of you know people that complain and complain, and complain about everything that is happening and how ridiculous the other party is, or how ignorant and stupid that group of people are for asking for accommodation, or how blah blah blah. . .fill in the blank? You ALL know someone!
But how many of you know people that are starting the conversation of, “But what do we do now?” What do we do with this broken system and world full of chaos?
I am excited to say that out of all of this chaos, I see people waking up! Waking up to the governmental decisions being made across the world and starting to question them. You can’t change anything unless you have people considering the change, thinking that the change is possible, and then implementing the steps to create the change. So, we’re on the ground floor. . .We now have people asking the questions and that is a start!
Now, there are always going to be your die hard, heels dug in the ground, stuck individuals who live the status quo for their entire lives. And that is perfectly fine. Some people just can’t handle the idea of change, consideration, or thinking outside the box. We need those people too!
However, what I’m noticing are many many people questioning the status quo, questioning the way things have been done for “all of these years.” Questioning the beliefs that they have carried with them that weren’t necessarily their beliefs. Likely they came from their families where most times our values and beliefs come from. And most of us have just gone along with the system and our beliefs and not even thought to consider that there was a different way to do things. NOW a lot of folks are starting to consider this. . .Shew buddy you talk about upset the apple cart, turn things on their heads, families being torn apart, poltergeist type behaviors out of some, but this erratic shift is causing people to WAKE UP!
One very tiny part of this huge machine that people are starting to question is the healthcare system in the US. Nothing made people question the American medical system more than covid. Which is great!! People have been starting to realize along the way that the medical system may not have our best interest at heart but we are finally starting to realize that not only do they not have our best interest at heart, they are the reason for chronic health issues, the leading causes of death, and then the consequential dependence on the government for healthcare. So this is a huge topic and we could talk about it in multiple sessions over multiple days but the purpose for me bringing it up today is to help people understand that we have to start taking our own health and our lives into our own hands. Because your life and your health are definitely within your control.
Life is SO stressful. It was stressful enough before covid and world shake up. And now that stress has increased exponentially for most we have to do our best to manage this on our own. When you are experiencing stress or anxiety, your sympathetic nervous system is stimulated creating a fight, flight or freeze response. This system is in place for our survival. It is the system that puts us into action when we are being shot at or chased by a bear. However, stress also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and our brain cannot differentiate between an imminent threat and regular daily stress.
The parasympathetic nervous system is the system that leads to relaxation, digestion, the absorption of nutrients, and healing. Either your sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system is engaged, but they cannot be stimulated simultaneously. So our job is to try and stay in the parasympathetic as much as possible. There are many ways to switch the sympathetic system off including intentional breathing.
Try the 478 breathing technique, it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, and leads to decreased anxiety and stress. It also decreases blood pressure and depression, reduces cravings, improves lung function, enhances cognitive function, helps you fall asleep faster and sleep better, and increases mindfulness.You cannot be in an anxious or panicked state while breathing deeply and intentionally.
I learned about this from Dr. Andrew Weil, a very well known medical doctor and advocate for integrative medicine. He calls the 478 breathing technique the “natural tranquilizer for the nervous system and the most powerful anti-anxiety he has encountered.” He saw a patient with severe anxiety who was able to stop all anxiety medications simply by performing this breathing technique daily.
Start by breathing in through your nose filling your entire torso with air for 4 counts.
Next Hold your breath for 7 counts
Last breath out through your mouth while making an audible sound for 8 counts.
These 3 steps are 1 cycle.
Do 4 cycles, twice per day
For the maximum benefit from the 478 breathing technique, work up to performing 8 cycles twice daily.
I am including a link to a video I made on the 478 breathing technique. https://youtu.be/8db4yJF46fM
References:
Hecht D. Depression and the hyperactive right-hemisphere. Neurosci Res. 2010 Oct;68(2):77-87. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2010.06.013. Epub 2010 Jul 21. PMID: 20603163.
Video: Dr. Weil's Breathing Exercises: 4-7-8 Breath
In-text: (Features, 2022)
Your Bibliography: Features, V., 2022. Video: Dr. Weil's Breathing Exercises: 4-7-8 Breath. [online] DrWeil.com. Available at: <https://www.drweil.com/videos-features/videos/breathing-exercises-4-7-8-breath/> [Accessed 4 August 2022].
Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, Garbella E, Menicucci D, Neri B, Gemignani A. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018 Sep 7;12:353. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353. PMID: 30245619; PMCID: PMC6137615.