"If you are falling....dive."— Joseph Campbell
Often when we are faced with trauma or crisis our minds automatically reel from past to distant future in an almost simultaneous fashion. Racing thoughts set the innate primitive survival mechanism of fight or flight into lockdown mode, we are flooded with a sea of emotions - stuck between fleeing or preparing for intense battle. The surge in adrenaline caused by the sympathetic nervous system leads to feelings of emotional stress in our physical and emotional bodies. We become engaged in very self destructive patterns. The extremely overwhelming stress caused by our emotions becomes a heat seeking missile with the target being not only ourselves but anyone who crosses our path. This innate system of fight or flight is only intended for short term functioning. Locking in to the stress in such a violent way is damaging to our physical, mental and spiritual bodies. During this period of crisis one struggles to meditate and find the quiet stillness in the spiritual core. However, meditation is exactly what is needed to unlock the stress and find the strength to respond appropriately to what life throws at you.
In meditation the relaxation response is engaged. As we begin to relax we gain awareness and insights that otherwise couldn't be heard above the mental and emotional clutter. In the stillness one gains the ability to choose how they are going to respond to life on life's terms. When you change your perspective your experience of the world changes. With diligence and perserverance the mind finds the still moments and we gain the ability to decide how we are going to respond. We can choose in mid-flight to dive instead of fall!
