Most of us want comfort. No matter one’s situation, from bored silly to fighting for one’s life, the human organism is designed around a core of seeking comfort, happiness, a sense of wellness, like warm sunshine after a night of dark clouds and gloom or surging, uncontrollable surprises. Comfort seeking is something like “going home”. . .and a dose of comfort now and again keeps us upright, primed to meet life’s daily challenges. There is nothing wrong or shameful in seeking comfort.
While comfort definitely has a physical component that needs addressing, comfort has a large emotional component. And that’s where Mindfulness comes into the equation. “‘Emotional intelligence,’” writes Daniel Goleman, “refers to being intelligent about our emotional life: more self-aware, better able to handle disturbing emotions, more sensitive to the emotions of others — and able to pull all that together to create effective, nourishing interactions.”¹
Amplifying on this theme is a quote from the Dalai Lama (translated): “In the case of mental actions, because the mental processes are so fast, it is not simply adequate to have the knowledge. You also need a very sharp and quite advanced level of monitoring awareness to be able to “catch” the mental processes. You can catch before you act.”¹
This “advanced level of monitoring” is gained in several ways. Meditation is one very significant way. On the how-to-meditate.org website, the purpose of meditation is “to make our mind calm and peaceful. . .free from worries and mental discomfort. . .(so we) experience true happiness.”² On the Transcendental Meditation (TM® ) website, Mayo Clinic is quoted as saying “TM is a simple, natural technique. . .[that] allows your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort.”³
Dr. Candace Pert, in her book Molecules of Emotion, discusses the chemical and physiological components underlying our physical and emotional experiences of comfort. Our emotions generate certain energy patterns, like waves on a pond. She describes the openness, the “shape-shifting” nature, of certain receptors able to respond quite subtly to chemical and vibrational cues, and she talks of their “lily pad like nature” with “deep connections to the interior.”⁴
Judith E. Glaser, in her book Conversational Intelligence, speaks similarly of the neurochemical bases of emotions and their influence on human relationships. She writes that words have histories, histories trigger emotional reactions, and if we are mindful of our emotions and learn to express our thoughts and feelings in ways which strengthen relationships we become empowered to influence our neurochemistry and our interpretations of reality.⁵
There are many stories of healers with unusual powers or methods, like Edgar Cayce dreaming on behalf of his patients, clairvoyants who read auras, miracle healings with prayer, Healing Touch therapy, and Reiki to name a few. One of my favorite books is Louise Hay’s Heal Your Body, at the back of which she lists various conditions associated with the anatomy along with corresponding emotions: back pain linked with support issues, for example.
And capturing my attention a long time ago to write this article was one written by Goldie Hawn entitled “Mindfulness Matters” wherein she writes of establishing the Hawn Foundation in 2003 “to help children create greater brain health through mindfulness practices.” The Foundation was able to demonstrate that “if students take two minutes for a brain break three times a day, optimism in the classroom goes up 80 percent.”
For the holidays, one of our local librarians removed all the books normally on display behind the front counter replacing them with books in an upright triangular pattern whose spines all were green, and below the base with books in a small rectangle at the bottom whose spines were brown. It’s amazing how many people look at that display and ask “What?” Comes the reply, “Look ‘BIG’.” “Ohhhh,” it suddenly dawns.
If we come prepared to our own health circumstances, including chronic pain, with senses open to the bigger picture, especially through taking time regularly to become quiet, allowing a time gap between experiencing an emotion and action or reaction, allowing a peace filled neurochemistry to integrate slowly with our deeper physiology, and/or allowing “miracles” to take place whether at the hands of a gifted healer or our own empowered selves, BIG things can and do happen quite suddenly. All best to you and thanks to readers.
Katy Nelson, ND, (Bastyr ’94), with an office since 1997 in Michigan’s rural Upper Peninsula on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior, promotes our Nature devoted profession through consultation, writing and mentoring. She is joined by Bastyr grad, former mentoree and Pediatric specialist, Alicia Smith Dambeck, LAc CH (also ad locum in St. Paul with Amy Johnson Grass, ND). Since 2011, Dr. Katy has been ad locum herself in SW FL for family matters.
References:
- Ekman, P. Emotional awareness: overcoming the obstacles to psychological balance and compassion: a conversation between the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman. New York: Times Books; 2008.
- How to Meditate – How to Meditate. How to Meditate. Available at: http://www.how-to-meditate.org/. Accessed December 15, 2015.
- Learn about the Transcendental Meditation technique. Transcendental Meditation® Technique – Official Website. Available at: http://www.tm.org/. Accessed December 15, 2015.
- Pert, CB. Molecules of emotion: why you feel the way you feel. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster; 1999.
- Glaser, JE. Conversational intelligence: how great leaders build trust and get extraordinary results. Bibliomotion; 2013.
- Hawn, G, Hochman, D. Mindfulness Matters: Goldie Hawn’s prescription for inner peace. AARP The Magazine. 2014:64.
