Study Time
HeartMath Experience – Chapter 5: The Emotional World
- STORMY emotions (high energy / depleting): Emotions in the upper left quadrant are those that are draining and have a lot of energy associated with them. eg. anger, rage, hate
- CLOUDY emotions (low energy / depleting): The lower left quadrant represents emotions that are less energized but often very depleting. eg. depression, worry, sadness
- CALM emotions (low energy / renewing + regenerating): In the lower right quadrant are emotions that don’t necessarily have a lot of energy in them but are very renewing. eg. peace, tranquillity, care
- SUNNY emotions ( high energy /renewing + regenerating): The upper right quadrant includes emotions that are regenerative and energized. eg. bliss, adventure, joy.
[I like this concept of an Inner Weather Report very much. Helpful. I’ll use this in my work.]
HeartMath Experience – Chapter 6: Attitudinal Breathing
TECHNIQUE #3 ATTITUDE BREATHING™ 1. Observe what you are feeling. 2. Identify a replacement attitude. 3. Practice heart-focused breathing. 4. Breathe in the new attitude or feeling. 5. Anchor and maintain.
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***Med: 12mins of coherent breathing (6/6) using Breath+ app***
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So after our last Dialogue a couple of days ago, I went to a 30min BreathWork session with the amazing Deborah. We practised – uncannily – ‘Coherent Breathing’ which involves equal-length inhales and exhales, of whatever length is comfortable for you. This is meant to reset the vagus nerve, among others benefits. I’ve practised it a bit since. I note the main apparent benefit for me so far is the reactivation and resetting of my breath muscles. As Deborah said, we tend to breathe twice as often as we need to – short, shallow breaths. Deep or sustained breaths take me right into my anxiety spots in my chest, but after time it does diminish – and with HeartMath’s Attitudinal Breathing, I could breathe in a wanted emotion (eg replace ‘nervousness about next week’ with ‘confidence that I will do a good job’). I noticed during the day yesterday, I was indeed breathing more deeply.
As Bringers says, you do well to oxygenate! And hydrate! And get playful! Relax more. Breathe and drink life in!
Aha…
Oxygenate = breathe life in.
Hydrate = drink life in.
Yesterday, I was playful. G and I did an epic 3 hour walk from the house, down into the valley, along the river, to the aquaduct (beneath which, despite ‘lockdown’ a lot of people were congregating and swimming) and looping back up through the dappled woods to home. My game was this: I imagined I was a UX Tester for the Earth Simulation [UX = user experience] feeding messages back to the Simulator creators on what I liked about the Simulation, for their product development work:
“Hm, I like the smell of the woods – excellent feature. Yes, these massive trees give a sense of the majesty of nature – nicely done. I like this guy I’m walking with – he’s so hot – keep him. I love the mountain bike route the kids have created through the woods – that’s such a fun feature – I’d like to use it! I love the sun’s warmth – perfect temperature, especially with these shady spots too.”
Tell me what’s on your mind today…
As you settle into the poise of calm confidence, the doors of life open up to you.
I am sincerely trying.
Listen to your Heart’s intuition, and obey it.
Obey is a strong word.
We are underlining a point here, for you. As you obey your Heart’s intuition, so will you move from the left of the Inner Weather Report (depleting emotions) to right (renewing + regenerating).
This I like the sound of.
‘Choose your attitude’ – we like this technique you were learning about this morning from HeartMath! Select your ‘replacement attitude’ and then breathe it in, drink it in. Be very specific about this. Learn to pivot your emotional state. This is what is available to you in this time: for you to become the director of your emotional state, not the actor playing out the role of a tragic, hapless protagonist…
Easy tiger!
Be the director! It takes energy and mental acuity to do it! That is why you need to oxygenate and hydrate and play… to generate the MOMENTUM for being the director, not merely the actor who’s been handed someone else’s script. Become the playwright of your feel-good movie, and then act in that movie. Define, determine, direct. As your dear friend Sarah wrote: envision – plan – execute. This all takes energy, and chutzpah, and momentum… But it must all be momentum building in what HeartMath calls the renewing emotional sphere (vs spiralling depletion through fear or stress). We are looking for stormy to become cloudy, to become calm, to become sunny.
Yes..! Thank you! Yes, at HeartMath they talk about changing the baseline emotional state from stress/frustration to appreciation/calm.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsFBvvi3xOQ&feature=youtu.be)
I am committed to achieving this shift into underlying calm. I know it can be done because I watch G living that life. He has made an art of it, so quietly, so modestly, without fanfare. He really is the master bonsai-trimmer before my eyes.
Now it’s time to determine your state, as G does his. Use the Attitude Breathing technique of HeartMath.
Select your chosen renewing/regenerating Replacement Attitude and breathe it in to your heart, and then ACT it out, for at least ten minutes after which, go on about your day. And repeat the exercise, again and again, with the same or different Replacement Attitudes. Playfulness here says you state the selected acted Attitude aloud, as part of the game.
“I am acting: Calm.”
You are an actor. Write your script – your feel-good script. Direct yourself. Act your attitude.
And remember: this is just a Game. Play with it.
Ok. I am acting: Happy to do this. 🙂
We know this feels like a step too far, but have trust. This is about efficiently rupturing old patterns of depleting heart states. So, get over the artifice concerns, and play along. This is a way to breathe and drink life in. Go for it. Gently. FEEL the renewing Replacement Attitudes uplifting and energising you.
This is like the Tony Robbins work…
Exactly. You are embodying physical/emotional heart states of your choosing, so that you can have psychological agility. And walk on hot coals when so required and desired. As you did.
I did. 🙂
It’s that level of mind psych. Go for it. As a gift to yourself. And to the others around you.
Mind psych. Great term.
Ok. Let’s go. Let’s play this Game with Tony Robbins level Mind Psych. 🙂
First Attitude?
I am acting: Refreshed!
Awesome! Go for it!
I am acting Attitudes
PS. I can be a ‘Sims’ character in the Simulation. Now I am UX Testing and Demoing the ‘Refreshed!’ emotional profile… Must do it for 10 mins so the Simulator creators can test and track the biofeedback… 🙂 It’s all for play…
PPS. In the future we might stop being battered about by emotions or external conditions, and actively select our state from a ‘menu’ we have full access to any time as in… “How am I feeling? Well, I am feeling whatever I choose to feel, and right now I choose to feel… peaceful.”