Stories - An Invitation to Explore

I have a way of looking at life that is a bit different and outside of the way we are "taught" is the right way to look at life. Notice I didn't say that I have a way of looking at life that is unusual or unique or different from others.....because I don't think it is. I think we all have unique ways of looking at things...........but perhaps we don't always speak freely about those perspectives and perceptions, because.....well.......we don't want to be deemed crazy weirdos. (Pssstttt I think, for the most part, the crazy weirdos are far more "real" than those that fit into the category of "normal"....they certainly are far more interesting....and it really is a matter of how deep we have buried that.....for some, it is tucked way down, for other's it's right there on the surface.)

Today I was reading a bit about the nervous system and stress, as this is the topic for this month. Then as I was looking through Instagram a post popped up from someone I know, which I found incredibly touching and inspiring..........it was about a simple pipe used in cooking/baking from his childhood that was filled with story, memory, and personality....... and love. It touched me so deeply that I was moved to tears...... that were not sad but more bittersweet..... filled with love and joy and a bit of sorrow that we don't pay more attention to these things. They are important.

That somehow meshed with my work on the nervous system and then I had that AH-HA type moment, which often happens...usually something completely different than I was planning...and off I go following that breadcrumb.

The Nervous System is fast. It changes rapidly and is reactive. It influences the Endocrine System and creates changes there over time. The Endocrine System is slower. It takes a while to change. This is why when we work with endocrine things, we go to the nervous system first, and always let our client's know to give it three months or so before you begin to notice deeper changes.

A story can be like this. The story of something in your house that maybe holds memory for you. Perhaps those memories have anger, joy, sadness, and other things in them. Those are like the nervous system...and certainly affected the nervous system. And over time, they have formed a sort of slower type of wave that runs through us. When we start to pay attention to this, it becomes really interesting and I think can give us some information.

Here's my invitation for everyone who would like to explore this and see where it takes you.......

Pick an item in your house (the item should be a physical thing) that holds. memory for you.

Sit with it.

What does it bring up? What emotions? What events of the past? Where in your body are you noticing and feeling these? Stay with them and notice if these physical places move? Are there any connections to physical ailments that you might currently hold in your body?

Emotionally, what are you feeling in relation to this physical piece of your history? Who comes up from your past? What is the general feel? If you sit with it what else comes up?

Notice if there is a bigger, deeper current running through either physically or emotionally?

After you have explored this notice what you are feeling? Did this little exploration bring you any gifts? What are they? Did you notice anything about your nervous system or endocrine system that might overlay upon your story?

This can take us all sorts of places and bring up all sorts of things. And it's not hard to do. We just have to give a bit of pause to allow ourselves to FEEL. The things we look at and pass by everyday DO touch us do affect us, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. They are part of us. And the stories are important.

If you would like, please feel free to share your little story exploration with me or with others in the comments below this post.