Conscious Living vs. Blocking Stressors

People sometimes fear that if they start listening to the developmental messengers of their body systems, they might become hypochondriacs. They fear that they will be compelled to listen to their body’s every complaint. Just blocking the message seems to be the most efficient day-to-day default setting. It is a surprise and a relief to find that the opposite is true. By consciously knowing and adjusting where our neural energy is being used or wasted, we become more masterful over our world.

The amount of energy that we use blocking the environmental stressors markedly increases unconscious stress. Blocking an such stressors take a lot of neural energy and the stress itself takes even more. Almost always suppressing these stresses cannot be sustained long without an emotional reaction. For example, your collar is chaffing, you block this sensory message, then the temperature rises and you block that message. Then your child asks for help and you snap. The energy needed to use your prefrontal cortex has been undermined by all the sensory blocking. If you had consciously adjusted your collar and had cracked the car window, you may have been kinder to your child.

We often block environmental stressors without consciously considering how we could easily accommodate our body systems' needs. I once sat at a meeting for 3 ½ hours facing dark window blinds cracked so that bright light shown into my eyes. I blocked the visual stress and, by the end, had a severe headache that made the meeting information unmemorable. If I had consciously realized the issue, I could have moved my seat or adjusted the blinds. Then the whole point of the meeting would have had my attention.

Many people carry labels, such as, ADHD & autism, and are being overwhelmed by environmental stresses. Attention and development take flight when there are high levels of stress.

Mercury, above, was the messenger of the gods. He carries the caduceus, a rod wrapped seven times by a serpent. This is an ancient symbol of healing. The caduceus could represent the lower "reptile" or survival brain bringing its developmental gifts to the upper brain for enlightenment, health and power. Heed the developmental messenger for health and well-being.