The reason we have questions is that we don’t see the bigger picture. As children, we don’t recognize the trauma we experience, but as we get older the sense that something is not right in life may lead us to the spiritual path. What happened to us informs how we respond to life in the present, but we live out of the programming of the past. As long as we’re reacting from childish programming that was designed to protect us then we’re unable to accept what is in the present. Self-observation and writing are ways to practically work with our thoughts, emotions, and patterns. When we have reactivity, we can come back to the body, be as present as possible, and be kind to ourselves. We can learn to be with what is going on for us instead of thinking that we should not feel the way we do. Homeostasis is when the body brings itself back into a stable and balanced state. Our habitual reactions keep the world intact and keep us identified with the person we believe ourselves to be. Loosening the intensity of our reactions makes it possible for us to see who we are underneath that. There is always more, always a bigger picture. We don’t fear the unknown; we fear the known ending. The prison we find ourselves in is the known. We may say we want to get beyond our known reactions, but it can be scary and our inner work will bring up resistance. Who are we if we don’t have our stories about ourselves? We can see how affirming, denying, and reconciling forces operate in our lives. There is benefit to working with people in a group who can remind us of our practice. We can hold to and nurture the experience that we sometimes have of who we are beyond our reactivity and definition of ourselves based in the past. Elise Erro (e.e.) has been committed to a life of engaging spiritual principles and service through theater, support for the dying, and bringing enjoyment to others as a chocolatier.
