Harness the Power of the Connector Brain
DID YOU KNOW? The average person has 70,000 thoughts per day.
Today I was reminded that words have power. Words can calm the brain and words can excite the brain. I talked to several people over the phone. Both reported that they missed being with their families and wanted to go home to be with them. Each one grieved the fact that traveling was not wise at this time. One felt the duty to take care of her aging parent. The other felt the financial pressure of no work due to shut-downs. The words they spoke connected me in my mind’s eye with others who had similar stories. All of a sudden, I realized that I was consumed by these stories ringing in my ears. Then, my mind swirled with thoughts about all the times I was kept from being with people I loved. My body reacted. It started to tingle, my ears started to pound, my muscles tightened and my breath stopped. These physical sensations gave way to anxiety while my Connector Brain screamed for a break. At that moment, I heard myself say: “Home is where the heart is! My heart is here … in my body … now!”
The Connector Brain links us to our self, to others, to our Creator and to Creation.
ABC Tool #3: Access Your Creative Imagination!
A – Aware: Be Attentive!
Ask yourself “To whom or what are you connected?” Connect to yourself.
Pay attention to your physical body. Describe your sensations. Be specific. For example, I feel a churning in my stomach. I feel a tightness in my chest. I feel tension across my shoulders.
Ask yourself, “How do I know I am anxious or fearful … Where in my body do I experience or feel this emotion?”
B – Break: Be curious about your breath!
1. Focus on your breathing pattern.
a. Is it open and deep or short and shallow?
b. Are you holding your breath or has it stopped?
2. Practice stop/drop/roll breathing when your brain is on fire with anxious thoughts or consumed by worry.
a. Say to yourself: Stop!
b. Exhale: Drop your breath into your diaphragm. Blow it out like a whale emerging from the depths of the ocean. Release your breath!
c. Inhale: Roll into now. Use youreye patterns to balance your brain. Imagine a clock directly in front of your face. It is a circle with numbers from 1 to 12. The 12 o’clock position is at your forehead and the 6 o’clock position is at you chin. Now, exhale, dropping your eyes to the 6 o’clock position and breathing deeply into your diaphragm. Release … Let go. Inhale, rolling your eyes up to the right to the 1 o’clock position and then to the 12 o’clock position. Exhale, repeating this eye movement with your breath at least 3 times (or more as needed to rebalance the brain.)
C – Connect: Access your creative imagination!
Use the power of your mind. Connect your mind to one thought … calm, peace, love … what is your word? Say your word with each exhale … inhale and say it again as you exhale. Repeat the word over and over again until your body experiences the word. Embrace this one thought!
Use the power of your words. Select a word that calms the brain. Embrace images, sounds and sensations stimulated by the word you choose. For example, the word is “still.” This word gives way to an image of still water flowing as in the eddy of a river or experiencing stillness when gazing into a camp fire. Or the word "still" may lead to a deeper association.
Use a Breath Prayer. Let the word "still" guide you. For example: “Be still and know that I am God." Breathe in "Be still and know" ... Breathe out "that I am God!" Keep your breath open and flowing without pause. Words have power.
Harness the power of your Connector Brain!
May the Word of Life flow through you!