The constantly turning kaleidoscope of life cannot be contained in static words. The unfolding mystery cannot be named. The observer influences the observed with the quality of observation and everything changes in an instant. Knowing this, there are no workshops or books, teachings, traditions or techniques which can apply to living the mystery of life.

However, as a start, as a help to transition from the old, linear, polarized, mechanical way of living to actually being alive — here are some words to experiment with. I find them useful. Will you share with me what you find?

​Thank you.  - Gary

Reflection

"Nobel Prize biologist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, refers to syntropy as an “innate drive in living matter to perfect itself”.

"Some say that a desire arrives in your heart only because it can be fulfilled. As living beings, we have syntropy working in us in a very deep level. It’s this natural striving for growth, for expansion of life and consciousness. The hunger for getting better, living better, having more from life. This psychological drive, when obstructed, leaves us with a feeling of frustration and dissatisfaction that is hard to explain or to get rid of. We may try to numb it through small pleasures in life, or forget it through being busy at work or with family. But it’s still there.

"I won’t tell you to “be brave, follow your passion, chase your dreams!” (words that, although true, can easily become empty clichés). But I will remind you to get in touch with this primal aspect of our human nature, to hear its wisdom, and to honour it - allow it to take any shape it wants in your life."


Syntropy
Live and Dare Inspiration - #6
Giovanni Dienstmann 
LiveAndDare.com

​This dialogue between Evan Cox and Gary Smith in the Emotional Mastery forum on the Tiny Buddha site reveals a shift from mental to feeling. Evan's boldness and willingness to participate helped make the difference in my writing. I am grateful.


{GARY}

Thanks to participants here who helped me see the dualism of writing about lower emotions and higher feelings, which I have changed to what hinders and what nurtures and supports emotional maturity and mastery.

After working through my thoughts, feelings, observations, research and experience, I have distilled it into a process that works for me to be calmer, less reactive, more at one and therefore at peace with myself and ‘others.’

The process involves a shift in paradigm and perspective. I would enjoy to know how others feel about it, with honest feedback. For me, it is simple, natural and effective. I’ve posted it as Soul Purpose on the Whole Human site and copy a portion here, to give a sense of the direction:

When soul is understood as heart, mind, will and emotions, all questions of its existence are removed.

That there is an Everything, an All that Exists, is also beyond dispute.

It is commonly known in ancient wisdom and modern physics that consciousness unifies all that is.

The being of a human is the essential nature. Pure consciousness is the being of all that is.

My interpretation of these actualities is that the soul is an individuated expression of the one being of unified consciousness. The original design for humans is to live in daily communion with the one being.

What has prevented the communion of humans with the one being until now is fragmentation sustained by the grip of fear — the illusion of separation.

What returns humans to communion with the one being is quality attention to that focus. It is an individual choice and journey, and an in-born capacity. Intermediaries are not needed. Systems, techniques, traditions and teachers impede, interfere with and delay the natural process of aligning the soul experience with communion, with what already is. It is a simple process of letting go of what hinders and embracing what supports or nurtures the unfolding of the soul and communion with the greater flame.

How does it feel, so far?


{EVAN}

I appreciate your intellect and drive to communicate topics that are difficult to express, and to provide a system/framework/understanding that benefits all.

If I may offer my personal experience with your writings to date, is that I get confused and I engage my mind in order to read fully what you are communicating. I feel the shift from my heart/body/present and enter critical thinking to absorb what is written. Perhaps it is within me – I am unsure. Perhaps my vocab needs expanding, however this my experience.

For me, beauty is in simplicity – I would enjoy reading your works, remaining centered and present whilst doing so.

This is not a criticism or an attempt to be derogatory, but genuine feedback as requested. From someone who enjoys your intellect and passion, I hope this is constructive for you….


{GARY}

Your response is constructive and appreciated. I have been aware that my writing is ‘mental’ and my partner has also encouraged me to write poetry instead. It has felt that I needed to start with the mental for my own framework as well as to fulfill an urge to communicate and contribute. I have considered to stop writing and engage fully in practicing the beauty of simplicity in small, everyday actions.

{{If I may offer my personal experience with your writings to date, is that I get confused and I engage my mind in order to read fully what you are communicating. I feel the shift from my heart/body/present and enter critical thinking to absorb what is written. Perhaps it is within me – I am unsure. Perhaps my vocab needs expanding, however this my experience.}}

It is not you, Evan. That you shift from heart/body/present to critical thinking tells me clearly that my writing has not served the purpose. Heart/body/present is essential and my challenge, if I continue to write, is to use language that evokes feeling and not thinking.

I long to live more as a feeling being, as my partner is. One step for me is to shift my writing from mental to feeling. I would share the words of ‘Communion’ and ask if they still shift you to critical thinking or if you can feel them and remain centered and present:

Communion

Nothing is external.

The other and I are one.

The one being is all that is.

I am in the Present Moment.

I listen to what Life is saying.

I let go of what hinders the soul from unfolding.

I embrace what supports soul growth and communion.

I am fluid and grounded.

I act in the flow.

I bring my gifts to the moment with quality attention and care,
and no expectation of return.

I merge with what is.

I rest in the unknown, in the mystery unfolding.

I serve the wholeness of Life.

I commune with the one being.

I am the one being in human form.


{EVAN}

What a graceful response! I appreciate your openness, and receptiveness. Your demonstration is appreciated.

I do not want to discourage you by any means. I enjoy your intellect, and would encourage you to continue writing, as your passion is palpable and sincere. I am unsure how much latitude I have here…… but I will also show my courage in return as you have.

Rereading your Communion, there is still a shift, the reason being the use of ‘I’. If I may….

Communion

Nothing external.

No other exists.

One being is all.

Be Present.

Listening to Life whisperings.

let go, be unhindered, the soul unfolds.

This allows the mind to disengage yet the wording is similar. I am certainly not a writer, and I apologize if my efforts disturb you, however, I intend only to offer what keeps me grounded/centered without engaging my mind.


{GARY}

{{I am unsure how much latitude I have here……}}

Your latitude with me is unlimited, Evan, especially when your write with courage and sincerity as you have.

{{Rereading your Communion, there is still a shift, the reason being the use of ‘I’. If I may….}}

Yes, there are still shifts to come. An earlier version of the Whole Human site had a page called ‘Holy Shift’ as tongue-in-cheek humor. I like what you wrote, and am continuing to explore depths in myself and write them. Sharing does sometimes require courage. I am aware some of my writing will be met with resistance and am stubborn to write from authenticity not from aim to please readers. Still, I like to communicate clearly and in a way that readers can resonate with.

And, I see holes in my own writing. Words will never fully convey whole truth, as universal truth is fluid, not static and words solidify. Truth, the actual, can only be experienced in the beauty of simplicity, in the present moment and the mystery unfolding.

{{This allows the mind to disengage yet the wording is similar.}}

I value your reflection and contribution and trust this type of inter-action will be on-going, as it is helpful to both of us on our converging journeys. While sitting with Aura (our Siberian Husky friend) yesterday, overlooking a lake, new words came to see with the eye and hear with the ear of the one being.

I need to correct my earlier comment, ‘I long to live more as a feeling being, as my partner is. One step for me is to shift my writing from mental to feeling’ to give it balance as I am a feeling being. I feel the mystical more palpably than most human activity. What people call abstract in my writing I call universal and actual. The longing in me is to have the opportunity to inter-act in a fully human way with those who are on a similar frequency, who value wholeness over the common fragmentation and act from the heart/body/present.

This morning I awakened in a sweet space of timelessness and near bliss, and words flowed within. As soon as I checked the time, I went from that spacious feeling to mental contraction as the schedule demanded I get up and drive the grandsons to school. My thoughts on the road were mental and fragmented and although aware, I could not change it. It was the clearest example of a shift, in this case from feeling to mental.

Just in the middle of writing this, my partner came back from an encounter with a person in the house. She was in a space of serving wholeness, and the young man was engaged in a war game. As a sensitive being, she became overwhelmed by the vibes of violence and came to our yurt distraught.

We are finding that our idea of creating an oasis of lived wholeness in the midst of chaos, drama and fragmentation is not fully effective where people have no interest in changing their habits of comfort and familiarity. We have traveled widely and visited several intentional communities and so far found that they just repeat the old patterns of fragmentation, even if they talk about being a conscious model of something new. So we are considering our next move, whether it is wisdom to be steadfast here or to wander again.

{{I apologize if my efforts disturb you, however, I intend only to offer what keeps me grounded/centered without engaging my mind.}}

I am grateful for your boldness and caring to reach out. Your comments are valued and will be integrated. If you are up for personal communication, my email address is emanatepresence at live dot com.


{EVAN}

I enjoy our communication, and will send an email to you throughout the day. Presently 7.12am in Australia.

You are certainly following you heart in your writings and life. Your intuition is sound…. Be safe, and I trust we will continue to share here and via email.


{GARY}

G’day Evan,

Kati asked me to express her gratitude also for your comments. English is not her native language, and she had difficulty to convey how I could bring spaciousness into my writing. She said that your suggestions are exactly what she was trying to tell me. So, thank you from both of us. We (you, Kati and I) have co-written the next version with your suggestions. What would you add, change or remove in this version of One Being?

Namasté.


{EVAN }

G’Day Gary and Kati,

I am humbled! I would not alter anything, and simply wish to express my appreciation for your openness, and your demonstration of refining yourself, your writing, and your essence. For me this is a ‘true action’ from your heart, and simply being part of this process is reward of the highest level.

This works for me and it is beautiful. Well done! I felt a depth reading through, and two parts especially jumped out for me….

Being the observer and the observed.

Border-less and defined in the same moment.

Being in the Present Moment.

Being the Present Moment.

Seriously Awesome!

And also….

Accepting the unknown.

Being the unknown, the mystery unfolding.

I feel a transition in your expression also – your feelings within the words are very apparent.

You stated previously “I long to live more as a feeling being, as my partner is.”, and it appears your answer has found you. Removing the ‘I’, or mental component, your artistry is shining, and is your soul unfolding.

With sincerity and gratitude

Evan


{GARY}

G'day Evan,

Your last reply was a delight at the end of our day. Heartfelt thanks from both of us. - Gati

Yes, removing the persona of the 'I' dissolves the mental contraction and makes the line more spacious and universal.

Removing the statement from the line also shifts it from mental to feeling.

Contracting thoughts such as a judgment or anything that isn't actual, like a musing from the past or a worry for the future, if caught quickly, dissolve in the replacing thought of 'letting go of fragmentation' or 'being the present moment.' If I engage with any fragmenting thought, shifting becomes much more difficult. Even dwelling too long on thoughts *about* consciousness contract me into mental mode. Consciousness itself shifts me into expanded feeling, and it will fill where space is made.

Evan, if you are applying 'One Being', I'd love to know in what ways. 

May I have your permission to publish this dialogue with your name, as a Whole Human blog post? I would edit it some and send you the link. I like that it reveals the shifts in writing with your participation. My request is made with no expectation or attachment.

Kind regards,

Gary
​

{EVAN}

Hi Gary,

You are more than welcome to use our communications. Our true gift is sharing.

I have read ‘One Being’ a few times now, and will allow things to evolve and get back to you. From past experience, life reveals itself slowly on a personal level, and tends to include others who benefit greatly. This happens naturally, and the results usually brings joy, and laughter at the synchronicities at play.

Watch this space!

Best,

Evan

In the book and movie, Dune, the protagonist Paul Atreides recited a litany to see himself through his greatest fears:

Litany Against Fear

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
 
- Frank Herbert, Dune

According to the Dune wikia, 

"Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides I, used the Litany when the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam compelled him to put his right hand in a device that causes pain as a test of his intellect. The litany helped him to withstand the excruciating agony. NB. This was not actually a test of his "intellect", it was a test of his humanity in a qualitative sense. A person whose nature is still primarily bestial recoils from pain and seeks to flee it to preserve itself, a person of higher nature goes through it and out the other side in order to remove the threat permanently."

Paul used the litany powerfully, not as an affirmation or supplication, but as an invocation. When faced with fearsome challenges, fear welled up in him. He focused his mind and overrode the rising fear, holding it at bay with his will and the words of the litany. The 'Litany Against Fear' puts much emphasis on the threat of fear, in a polarizing way: 'Fear is the mind-killer....' 

Paul used the litany when tested by Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, and again when facing and subduing the giant sandworm. To me these scenes represent a shift from being the slave to the master of oneself.

The 'Litany of Love' puts emphasis on what I choose to create, in a non- polarizing way. Where attention goes, energy flows. I apply the 'Litany of Love' throughout the day. It has been a tremendously powerful tool for me. You could write your own litany when you understand how it can be used – not recited like an affirmation but invoked from a place of clarity and will. Each line has a depth of meaning. It is not to be recited lightly, but slowly — allowing oneself to sink into a deep feeling for the energy behind the words.


Litany of Love

I let go of all that hinders and embrace all that supports emotional maturity, refinement and mastery.

I am an individuated expression of the One Being, having a human experience.

The One Being of unified consciousness is all that is.

I feel the One Being in, through and around me.

Nothing is external. The other and I are one.

The Sacred flows within everything. Consciousness is ever-present.

I enter the Present Moment and abide in Stillness. I rest in the unknown, in the mystery unfolding.

I act from feelings of maturity, refinement and mastery.

I listen deeply to what Life is saying and merge with what is.

I serve the wholeness of Life.

The 'Litany of Love' does not have to be kept in its exact form. Sometimes I mix the sentences or shorten them. Having worked the energy of the words into my memory, I trust whatever comes up in the moment. When resistance arises, I merge with what is. When I feel uncertain or pressed, I pause and listen deeply to what Life is saying. When I am scattered or fragmented, I feel the One Being, enter the Moment or remind myself, nothing is external and the sacred flows through everything. When circumstances seem pointless or challenging, I invoke my service to the wholeness of life.

It has shifted my energy in definite, clear ways. I am using it daily as a tool to continue sculpting myself into the person I choose to be. I handle challenging situations with greater calmness and confidence, and go through discomforts rather than walking away from them. I am able to feel more compassion when before there was disgust or disassociation.

You could read and recite the 'Litany of Love', allow yourself to feel it, and decide if it is something for you. Once you have the idea, you might choose to write a litany from your perspective and life experience.

"Since emotional mastery and the capacity to skillfully and wisely choose our emotions already exists and they only appear far removed because the mind fabricates that story, all that is needed is to let go of what hinders and merge with the creative spark which has designed us. What hinders is the subject of another post."

This is the other post, and looks at both what hinders and what supports emotional maturity.

A person in the Emotional Mastery forum asked, "Could you please comment on why emotional mastery is desirable?"

The term 'maturity' fits more with my view than 'mastery' and I use them as different nuances of the same thing. 

To answer the forum participant with questions:

"Why stay a seedling, when the design of Nature is that it grows into a tree?" and "Is it desirable to thwart the design of Nature that humans actualize themselves as conscious beings?"

What exactly is self-actualization?

Abraham Maslow described self-actualization as a high-level need in the following way: “What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization…It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming." (Maslow, 1954, Motivation and Personality,  p. 93) [1]

I am in complete agreement with Maslow to this place and with his outlook in general — and branch away when it comes to what a human being can be. Visionaries have seen into the future of technology. Their visions, thought strange and crazy in their day, became the everyday reality of more 'advanced' technology. Who has envisioned an 'advanced' human?

Yes, there is the philosophical concept of the Renaissance Man, that 'a man can do all things if he will,' which considered man the "centre of the universe, limitless in his capacities for development, and led to the notion that men should try to embrace all knowledge and develop their own capacities as fully as possible." [2]

I see the whole human not as being advanced, the centre of the universe or able to do all things. It is not about trying, knowledge, or developing, but simply about growing into emotional maturity, an original design of Nature that has never been realized. My 'vision' is not envisioning in the sense of fantasizing some grandiose idea. It is gained by listening deeply to what Life is saying and perceiving what already is. Engineers cannot design the emerging human, as Nature has already written the blueprint.

What prevents the realization of a mature, whole human?  The primary hindrances to maturity are rigid beliefs, stuck patterns of behavior and fear in all its variations. Fear is its own frequency, the carrier wave of fragmentation in humans. It generates and supports the illusion of separation from the one being of universal consciousness. The fruits of fear are smallness, suffering and slavery. Most people choose fear because of its familiarity, which gives comfort to the immature. The immature remain a seedling. When a person chooses to grow into maturity, they are steadfast to go through the discomfort and — in the fullness of unfolding — experience themselves as the mature tree of their original design.

Staying un-realized and emotionally immature is what keeps humankind in a cycle of suffering, and controllable by those in power. Consciously evolving to fulfill my highest potential is my greatest joy.

If a person doesn't have the longing to mature, then there is no spark to unfold and the seedling remains a seedling. But a person who dies in old age an emotional child is not a tragedy. In Nature's efficiency, unconscious and emotionally immature human biomass is recycled so new biomass has a choice to become conscious and mature.

I don't display emotions. I have every feeling that everyone else has, but I've developed ways to suppress them. Anger is one of my most comfortable feelings. - Curtis Jackson

Staying steadfast through our discomforts, neither suppressing nor avoiding nor wallowing in them, is the way to grow.

Though I have no attraction to feeling emotions for the sensation, I understand some people do. And I understand that until now earth and its inhabitants are emotional. Even plants have emotions. These energies in motion have served a purpose. For those who choose to grow — feeling the emotion as it passes through, accepting and observing it neutrally and not acting upon it, can certainly be supportive of the unfolding into emotional maturity. 

With the earth changes and shifts in consciousness occurring now, we have a window of opportunity for those who choose to not only mature but transform.

Stages of unfolding cannot be compared between people because unfolding is not linear.  A coastal Redwood unfolds and matures differently than an apple tree or an oak. There are no 'shoulds' and shouldn'ts. Emotional maturity has a certain look and feel to it, to me. It is a personal perspective. We are not in competition to compare who is ahead of the other. That is what hinders.

My lists of what hinders and supports emotional maturity is of course from my perspective. It is not meant as a rule book or even to apply to anyone else. This is to share the general idea of recognizing what hinders and what supports, not to be too specific and definitely not legalistic. Letting go of what hinders reveals what supports. What hinders is part of the fragmentation of humans, what supports is part of the original design of the whole human.

The emotions which hinder maturity are unstable and stormy energies in motion, automatic reactions triggered by stimuli, and fast changeable. A person may experience awe in one moment and disgust in the next, expectation is followed by disappointment, exultation by despondency. Emotions which hinder maturing seeks gratification from the outside and are greatly influenced by swings of circumstances. There is deep stillness in emotional maturity. External stimuli which clamors for attention and is able to draw a person into it hinders. The immature seek entertainment and comfort and are drawn to the clamoring. The mature abide in stillness while acting in the flow.

Some people stay in hindering emotions or behaviors for the experience, and if a conscious choice it can still be a part of their unfolding. Even when a habit in the 'unsupportive' list is unconscious or stubborn, at some point a lesson can be learned and it would support emotional maturity. It just is a slower process and may end in being recycled before growing out of the seedling stage.

I am not a 'list person' usually and the words by themselves may be unclear without explanation. This is just a start. Your input will help me understand how others view it and perhaps begin writing how I see the energy behind the word being either a hindrance or a support to emotional maturity. In the end, lists are not needed. When a person can sense it for themselves without naming, when they are self-aware enough to feel their inner landscape, all that is needed is to let go in the moment of whatever hinders. Your questions and comments will be read with an open mind. Many thanks.

Hindrances of emotional maturity/mastery
(and characteristics of emotional immaturity)

Addiction
Aggressiveness
Analyzing
Anger
Angst
Anguish
Annoyance
Anxiety
Apathy
Arousal
Arrogance
Assumptions
Attachment - to what hinders
Awe - when drawn out of oneself into stimuli
Beliefs
Blaming
Boredom 
Comparing
Competing - Measuring
Confusion
Contempt 
Contentment - in circumstances
Control of others/circumstances
Cowardice
Curiosity
Cynicism
Depression 
Desire 
Despair 
Disappointment 
Disconnection
Disgust 
Disrespect
Distraction
Distrust 
Dread 
Easily influenced/influencing others
Effort
Embarrassment 
Envy 
Excitement - as stimuli
Expectation - which turns to disappointment
Fear of emotions
Fear of the Unknown
Fear
Frustration 
Greed
Grief 
Guilt 
Gullibility
Hatred 
Helplessness
Hidden motive
Horror 
Hostility 
Hysteria 
Identifying - with status, image, role, hindrances and so on
Imbalance
Indifference 
Intellectualizing
Internal Chaos
Internal clutter
Irony
Irresponsibility
Jealousy 
Judgments
Labeling
Laziness
Linear thinking
Loathing 
Loneliness 
Loss
Lust 
Manipulation
Numbness
Obsessiveness
Opinions
Outrage
Over-thinking
Panic
Partial view
Pity
Pleasure
Polarity 
Possessing
Poverty / Victim Consciousness
Preference
Prejudices
Pride 
Projections
Pushing
Rage 
Regret 
Remorse 
Resistance
Sadness
Sarcasm
Seeking - outside oneself for what already is
Sentimentality
Shame 
Shock 
Shyness 
Social Behavior
Sorrow 
Speculations
Stagnation
Stubbornness
Suffering 
Surprise 
Taking - Getting
Tension
Trying
Unawareness
Unconscious Habits
Withdrawing within
Wanting
Worry
​
Supportive of emotional maturity/mastery
(and characteristic of same)

Abundance
Acceptance
Accepting
Actualizing
Allowing
Appreciation
Authenticity
Autonomy
Awareness
Awe - when it reflects from the stillness
Balance
Beauty - recognized within
Being
Caring
Celebration
Centeredness
Clarity
Co-creating
Communion (with Nature, the one being and oneself)
Compassion
Confidence
Constancy
Courage
Creativity
Detachment from what hinders
Effortlessness
Empathy
Equanimity
Essence
Expanding energetically
Feeling
Flowing
Freshness
Generating
Giving
Grace
Gratitude
Grounded-ness
Harmony
Honesty with self
Humility
Humor
Inspiring
Integration
Integrity
Internal order
Intuition
Joy
Kindness
Knowing
Letting go
Love
Naturalness
Neutrality
Nurturing
Opening (heart)
Owning
Pausing
Peace
Play
Playing
Presence
Purity
Quality of attention
Respecting
Responsibility
Sensing
Serving
Spaciousness
Strength
Surrender
Trusting
Whole view
Wholeness
Will
Wisdom

After letting go of what hinders and embracing what support emotional maturity, what next?

[1] What Exactly is Self-actualization?


[2] Renaissance Man: Philosophical concept

... intense experience and suffering instruct us in ways that less intense emotions can never do. - Kay Redfield Jamison

I believe that fear, for example can save your life if you are in true danger, motivate you to react quickly and effectively to real danger, and so, it is as high or valid an emotion as can be! No other emotion can possibly be higher when confronting real danger. Feeling humility, when confronted with real danger, is going to get you dead, so what is the high value of humility then. - participant in Emotional Mastery forum on Tiny Buddha site

A long-held and common view says that all emotions are valid and as Kay said, "... intense experience and suffering instruct us ..."

I agree with my mother, who used to say, "Emotions are neither good or bad, they are just emotions." Of course, I would not suggest that guilt and shame are healthy responses to so-called dark emotions. Good, bad; positive, negative; higher, lower — none are the most useful labels. Emotions are just emotions.

When it comes to emotions I choose, fear is not among them at any time or in any situation. A key characteristic of emotional mastery/maturity is being able to choose my emotions. We are far away from this, I know. Correction: Emotional mastery and the capacity of humans to skillfully and wisely choose our emotions already exists. It only appears to be far removed, because the mind fabricates that story and conditioning and society reinforce it.

I am writing ahead to what is possible, to actualizing the fullest potential of the original design. I am challenging the old, stuck, commonly accepted ways of seeing which have held humanity back from its potential and kept it in a cycle of intense suffering over ages.

What else than fear would save me when confronting real danger? How about heightened awareness, alertness, confidence, courage? Do those not sound more self-empowered than fear? Would they not actually be more useful?

Fear is the great tool of religion and other authoritative institutions to keep people small so they can be controlled. It  keeps the masses dependent upon the pharmaceutical industry, on the healthcare system, on consumerism, on employment and the media by creating a false sense of security. It gives power to the controllers. Take the chemical medicine or you will die. Listen to your doctor or you will suffer. Submit to the educational system or you will fall behind. Buy more or you won't be successful. Stay in the job you hate or you will be destitute.  Read the news so you will be informed and safe (and in more fear.) Repent, believe (and tithe) or you will burn in hell for eternity. Now, when social systems are collapsing and chaos is imminent, there is a window of opportunity for those who take the challenge to arise with something wholly new.

I see each human as an autonomous, self-contained, individuated expression of the one being of universal consciousness and each person as their own leader.

After writing the above, I felt a flickering of self-doubt. Can any of what I say about this be substantiated, or is it just a stubborn opinion? Searching brought up mostly the old, traditional thinking. I found support for a core piece of 'my theory' on the Psychology Today site. The quote marks around 'my theory'  mean it is neither mine nor a theory. Neither is it a message. It is a universal truth ready to be proclaimed.

The Anatomy of Fear
Prepare to deal with your fear response to a crisis.
John A Call Ph.D., J.D., A.
Psychology Today

"Fear is an emotion we all experience at one time or another, and its effects are important to understand when talking about disasters. As soon as you feel fear, the amygdala (a small almond-shaped organ in the center of your brain) sends signals to your autonomic nervous system (ANS), which then has a wide range of effects. The ANS kicks in, and suddenly, your heart rate increases, your blood pressure goes up, your breathing gets quicker, and stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released. The blood flows away from the heart and out towards the extremities, preparing the arms and legs for action. These effects served us well millennia ago, in situations where we were faced with beastly animals that thought they had found dinner.

"In modern times, however, bodily responses to fear can be detrimental, especially since the most important one is a negative one: the brain basically shuts down as the body prepares for action. The cerebral cortex, the brain's center for reasoning and judgment, is the area that becomes impaired when the amygdala senses fear. The ability to think and reason decreases as time goes on, so thinking about the next best move in a crisis can be a hard thing to do. Some people even experience feelings of time slowing down, tunnel vision, or feeling like what is happening is not real. These dissociative symptoms can make it hard to stay grounded and logical in a dangerous situation. Essentially, the body's response to fear or stress can be stressful in itself.

"Wow, since most situations require us to think first, and then act, the body's response of preparing itself for action while shutting down the brain is not a good thing! So how can we gain better control over our own physiological responses in disasters? The best advice is this: learn to breathe. Yep, this may sound like an odd statement, but gaining conscious control over your breathing is the best thing you can do for yourself. Practice deep, even, controlled breathing when you aren't scared, and you'll be prepared to breathe this way when you do feel scared. Slow, even breathing helps to slow down your heart rate and lower your emotional arousal level. It can also make you feel more like you are in control of the situation, which can help block some of the effects of stress.

"In addition to deep breathing, meditation is another thing that people can practice in preparation of dealing with a disaster. Studies show that people who meditate daily have a thicker brain tissue in the prefrontal cortex, which is a part of the brain that handles working memory, attention, and emotion regulation. In short, if you want to get prepared to deal with your body's response to a disaster situation, practice breathing, meditate daily, and be confident in your ability to deal with the tough stuff! Good luck!"

​In the Emotional Mastery forum on the Tiny Buddha site, Joe and I had this inter-action today, May 1. 

(Joe responds to my post sharing the 'Trigger Happy' page of the Whole Human site, which is now un-published. This is my response to Joe.)

JOE: There are lots of things which trigger strong emotional reactions, I guess mainly negative reactions. I watched a film a few years ago entitled "What the bleep do we know?" (it was about things like quantum physics, psychology, spirituality - the kind of stuff I love to read about) and they explored the idea of neuronets - you experience something, it creates a strong neural link with external stimuli, the more you experience that thing, the stronger the neural link becomes, the stronger the emotional reaction (what do I know, I'm not a neuroscientist!)

GARY: Yes, "What the bleep do we know?" explores some fascinating areas. Have you come across "Athene's Theory of Everything?" It is a video and PDF file.

JOE: Mostly my triggers just bring about memories of people I have grown to resent strongly - mainly things similar to that person or just things that the person really enjoyed. I don't like to watch wrestling, I don't like to watch Dr Who, I don't like listening to particular bands, I don't like any of these things because the people I had strong negative feelings towards were obsessed with those things. Every time I see those things, I just have a strong aversion to them - I can't watch, look or dwell on those things for too long without the strong feelings of bitterness and resentment I hold towards that person flooding back (mostly unresolved issues) It's the same with photographs of that particular person, I just can't bring myself to look at them or even read their name. }}

GARY: Do you consider that an issue or hindrance? Or just accept that it is what it is?

JOE: But having said that, I get some strong positive triggers from listening to music. The other month I found out about a condition known as synaesthesia - "Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia; from the Ancient Greek s syn, "together", and aisthesis, "sensation") is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway."

GARY: Interesting! More than interesting really, I just don't find another word. 

JOE: I had grown up assuming everybody could "hear colours" - as long as I could remember I just perceived certain songs and tunes as being a particular colour, I would perceive some songs as being purple, some orange and it would trigger strong kaleidoscopes of colours and imagery in my mind. Some songs make me imagine vivid places and fantasy worlds. Some songs do trigger things I thought I had long forgotten about as well. Lately I'm trying to make more of an effort to listen to classical, ambient and world music.

GARY: This is marvelous. I would love to read more of your experiences - and to exchange bodies so I could get first-hand experience of hearing colours. But it would not be an even exchange, as mine would probably seem pretty dull to you.

JOE: Thank you for sharing, I have found your story most fascinating.

GARY: Joe, young people like you give me reason and evidence to feel that humankind will rise from the ashes of its chaos. From your photo I am guessing you are mid to late twenties. I was a seeking of the 'highest truth' from my early teens, yet even into later years was not so advanced (that is not the word, more like 'well-unfolded' but it sounds strange). I also avoid comparisons and just trust you to read between the lines of what I want to say. I love your 'strong positive triggers from listening to music.'
​
Putting emphasis on the positive, on what we choose, is where I am headed. Today I will un-publish much of the old thinking of the Whole Human site so the new has room to flow.