Day 20 | Emotional Horizon

One of our greatest freedoms as humans is the ability to choose at any moment the palette of our emotional horizon. Consider that the key ingredient for ease is to cultivate the constancy of mind to maintain our joy, humor and appreciation even in the midst of the perception of hardships. Particularly, when you sense the winds of change at hand and when you’re fight or flight responses are engaged—pouring out stress hormones, the vagus nerve tells your body to chill out.  

The vagus nerve is essentially the queen of the parasympathetic nervous system — a.k.a. the “rest and digest,” or the “chill out” one — so the more we do things that “stimulate” or activate it, like deep breathing, the more we banish the effects of stress.

Your gut uses the vagus nerve like a walkie-talkie to tell your brain how you’re feeling via electric impulses. Your gut feelings are very real. The vagus nerve has been described as “largely responsible for the mind-body connection,” for its role as a mediator between thinking and feeling. When people say ‘trust your gut,’ they really mean ‘trust your vagus nerve.’

Presence Pause: Consider the way you digest your experiences.  Do you feel your day in your gut? Your gut uses the vagus nerve like a walkie-talkie to tell your brain how you’re feeling via electric impulses. Your gut feelings are very real. The vagus nerve has been described as “largely responsible for the mind-body connection,” for its role as a mediator between thinking and feeling. When people say ‘trust your gut,’ they really mean ‘trust your vagus nerve.’ 

Action:

Let go ~ Every time you breathe out, imagine blowing out tightness, sadness, anger, grief, stress, worry, tenseness...whatever is uncomfortable...from the deepest part of your gut. Children breathe from their gut.

Throughout the day ask yourself: am I comfortable or am I uncomfortable now?

Breathe in, breathe out...listen for the answer.

If you are uncomfortable, that’s OK.

If you are less then comfortable, welcome it.

Say “Hello discomfort, I'm cool with you being here, I give you permission to be here. I let go. I let go of resistance. I can move with the flow. I allow the wind of my breath to blow away the discomfort.” 

“It’s ok to be uncomfortable. It’s ok to be afraid. It’s ok to be angry.”

“It’s ok to take care of myself. It’s ok to say no. It’s ok to set boundaries. I know this too shall pass.”

“I am resilient.”

Breathe in... breathe out. It’s ok to let go, breathe and flow with the winds of change. I am resilient.