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| Art Design by Chuck Britt |
Choosing my Experiences
through Mind/Body/Sensate Awareness:
A Five Step Self Time Out Perspective
July 28, 2015
Throughout our lifespan our experiences create neural patterns
within our brain and nervous system. Our experiences determine how and why and
when we make the choices we do, each and every moment. Dr. Daniel Siegal stated,
“The mind is the process of the regulation of energy and information flow.” From
birth, experiences occurring in our bodies
creates energy
and information necessary for us to make decisions about what we are feeling
and needing. We experience the sensations of the experiences we are having
moment by moment within our bodies through the information that flows through
the nervous system of the body/mind. It is this awareness of the sensations flowing
within the body/mind that develops the genetic process of the maturation of the
nervous system. We make choices for ourselves based on this incoming
information. Am I safe? I need to know. The information guides my choices. How
do I determine what is safe? How do I know when I am free of harm?
Before the cognitive mind, sometimes
called the executive function, can play and learn and create, the emotional
mind needs to know I am safe within my surroundings.
As the growing individual learns to evaluate the risks of
safety for themselves, the feelings that represent the question of “Am I safe”,
do not change the risks of safety within the environment or whether it is safe
or not. Developing internal and external boundaries supports the ability to
notice if I am comfortable or not within my surroundings. It is the sensate
awareness of the body/mind that alerts me to the risk factors involved within
the environment. Sometimes called situational awareness, we learn to monitor
the risk factors and determine needs and plans, based on feelings. The more
opportunities we have for determining risk factors of safety through having role
models and opportunities for developing appropriate feeling language and internal boundaries, the more we are
able to use the information in our bodies to set limits and boundaries
externally for ourselves.
The development of language is necessary to express
feelings and needs, the critical part of being able to express what is going on within the
body/mind. The more I am able to assess risk, determine the safety factors, pay attention to my feeling and needs, and name them, the more likely I am able to develop
plans that support healthy cognitive, physical, and social and emotional
development for myself. I must have the language to be able to communicate my feelings and needs. The Five Step Self time Out process helps provide a pathway for developing feeling language to be able to label or name feelings.
I
learn to regulate and express my emotions from the role models in my life. As we grow and our nervous system develops, it is shaped by
our ongoing experiences. When I have adult models in my life that show me how
to love myself and care for myself, day by day, year by year, I learn that the
body/mind flow of information and energy regulation, becomes how I care for myself. We have developed a way to share these common sense ideas which is based on the science of neuro-plasticity. We call the process a
Five Step
Self Time Out. You can find more about this at
www.selftimeout.org
When I learn language to describe what I am feeling and needing, I am learning
to identify, label and process my feelings and needs (name or narrate the flow
of the information and energy within my body/mind). Research in brain science
now tells us that the brain can develop new neural patterns through our
experiences, and throughout our lifespan, this is know as
neurogenesis. Each time I take responsibility for regulating and
expressing my feelings and needs, I am developing patterns within my body that determine
the information needed to make plans to take care of myself. I can learn not to shame or blame or place anger on others or myself. I can evaluate the
risk factors for myself, I can create plans that take care of me.
Through the process of
neurogenesis,
the awareness and response to the sensations within the body/mind create new
neurons, new patterns, and new connections, potentially replacing old patterns that
may have caused harm to the nervous system. Because these neuronal patterns are created
moment by moment throughout the lifespan, my ability to touch into my feelings continues to grow and guide my ability to evaluate the risk factors within my
surroundings. When feelings are clouded and are not identified, it leads to unsafe choices based on
impulse and escalation. trauma nd confusion also creates neuronal patterns in the brain. Without awareness of my feelings and needs, I may not be able
to evaluate safety for myself and therefore may inadvertently place myself or
others at risk of harm. Through the healthy patterns developing within the
nervous system, self-awareness and self-alertness continues to present
information for understanding and evaluating my surroundings. As I develop the ability to
monitor my surroundings through my sensate awareness, I can more consciously choose plans based on the
incoming information and and less on escatlation and create new experiences for myself. Old habitual neural patterns are
replaced with new neural patterns within the nervous system, allowing for
movement out of stuck old frames of harmful, habitual choices and unwanted
consequences. Over time, my cognitive and emotional body/mind is
supported by the practice of these self-guided principles and tools.
www.selftimeout.org This type of practice, over time and from a neuro-science perspective, allows
unresolved trauma and loss, specifically memory trauma, to heal.
Okay so you
might ask yourself, what is my body actually communicating to me? How do I practice these principles to take care of the mood
shifts occurring within my body?
Consider taking the opportunity to be open, curious,
accepting, and loving of yourself and what your body is telling you through your
feelings and moods. The process of mental well-being comes from the integration
of mind/body awareness. Episodes of increased awareness of our experiences give
us the information we need to make choices. This includes either
explicit factual episodic memory, or implicit non-declarative forms of memory;
both are affected by the process. This is called
autonoetic: To be aware of one’s own
existence as an entity in time.
Autonoetic
memory is defined as the process of remembering an experience or event, as
well as the emotion/s that occurred, at the same time. Episodic memory or narrative
therapy (telling your story) is the linear telling of the sequence of events
and the mental experience of the characters within the event. Left hemisphere
of the brain uses its assembly patterns to make since of and create a cohesive
picture = coherence of an experience. Telling your story is an opportunity or
loop for bringing cohesion to decision making by connecting to a part of the
implicit or explicit memory. If this process can be practiced enough and become
an enduring part of our self-care, it will serve the role of allowing us to
live our lives with coherence and congruence. Creating many opportunities for healthy development throughout the lifespan.
Making plans and decisions based on feelings and
needs, not on is happening outside of my body, creates a coherent process
for continued body/mind/sensate awareness. As new neuron patterns develop, the
opportunity for creating healthy safe choices based on risk factor evaluation
matures.
Great News: Science is confirming that the process of neurogenesis continues
throughout the lifespan. The hippocampus can grow new neurons and new synapses as
we develop throughout our lives. The amygdala alerts us when we do not feel
safe through our body/mind sensate awareness. Both of these portions of the
brain work together (neuro-biological) to formulate information that is
expressed in the sensate awareness of the body. Dr. Taylor states, “we are not thinking creatures who feel, we are
feeling creatures who think.” I love this statement because it confirms the purpose of the Five Step Self Time Out process. Awareness of the feelings within my body allows me to determine my needs and make new plans and decisions based on my current
feelings and needs, different outcomes and experiences will occur as I move
through my surroundings.
I can pay attention is where the neural firing will
occur. Awareness, not just the reaction of the experience, permeates firing
connections of the development of new neurons, thus altering the very structure
of the brain, this is called neuro-plasticity. Physical exercise also promotes
neuro-plasticity. Therefore it is important exercise as much as the body can adjust to doing. Exercise is
a very important part of mind and brain health.
I am responsible for my choices and experiences throughout
my lifespan. I can choose to take a Five Step
Self Time Out based on my current feelings and needs. New experiences, new
information means energy regulation of body/mind sensate awareness is flowing and not stuck. This process allows
for the connections in the brain to change, i.e. neuro-genesis. It allows for the development of congruent (something that agrees with
or is in harmony with another) and cohesion
(how well something fits together) life choice experiences to occur in calm, safe neuro-network patterns. The more I am aware of my mood,
the more defined my language will become and my ability to identify, label and process what I
am feeling and needing will guide the process of making plans based on the current data in my body/mind. The more I choose to evaluate the risk factors within my
environment and surroundings, the more I am able to choose safe, calm plans based on my mind/body sensate
awareness (feelings and needs) and not on what or who I think is irritating me outside of myself.
Definitions
”Executive function: (also known as cognitive control and supervisory
attentional system) is an umbrella term for the management (regulation,
control) of cognitive processes, including working memory, reasoning, task
flexibility, and problem solving as well as planning and execution.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions
“The
emotional mind: The knowledge and skills that you develop to accurately identify
and express your emotions are essential to living a long and healthy life. Your
physical health is directly related to your ability to regulate and express
strong emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness. Although you may not be able
to choose your emotions, you can learn to choose how to express them.
Regulating the intensity and duration of your strong emotions is a necessary
life skill”. http://www.pearsonhighered.com
References
Dr. Daniel Siegal, Author and
speaker. Book, “The Developing Mind.” Psychotherapy Networker audio course,
“Psychotherapy from the Inside Out: The Brain of The Mindful Therapist Fullfillment.”
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor: Author and
speaker. Book, “My Stroke of Insight”. TED talk “My stroke of insight”. And
“The Neuroanatomical Transformation of the Teenage Brain.”
Nature: International Weekly Journal
of Science; April 2011. “Increasing adult hippocampal neurogenesis is
sufficient to improve pattern separation.”
