Hi thereI had an interesting discussion with a friend and client the other day when they were speaking about how easy it was to get caught up in all the negativity that surrounds us in the media in these times. It reminded me of a prayer that has literally helped millions of people through the darkest and toughest times in their lives.
The Serenity Prayer is a prayer written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in 1951 popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). It has always been a compelling guide for many people making their way through some of the most challenging times imaginable.
“God, give me the grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.”
What makes this such a powerful prayer is that it brings consciousness to the impact of what we focus on. You see, what you focus on is what you will experience.
I don’t know if you ever had a meeting with a loved one and that person was late for the meeting. You may start wondering why they had not arrived. Next, you may begin to create pictures in your own mind about all sorts of disturbing possibilities. Until you become distraught and upset about something that did not happen.
The true threat in our current situation is much more our own fear than the virus itself. It is our fear that lowers our immune system, it’s our fear that causes us to make irrational decisions.
Similarly, on average, over 40 people are fatally injured, and at least 20 left permanently disabled in road accidents in South Africa every day. That is a startling 31.9 deaths per 100 000 people annually. If we were to see the graphics of this statistic every day and there was an announcement and running total on every death, we would probably be terrified to get into our cars, and yet we do so every day.
I would, therefore, invite you to become conscious of what you are focusing on and what the outcome of that focus is. If it serves you, then that’s great, if it helps those around you as well the planet even better! If not, then I would further invite you to find the courage to focus on the things that you can change – as best as you can.
You see, your brain is very powerful, and historically it was set up in a way to help you survive and not to make you happy. Why is this so important, especially in these times? The part of the brain that that gets activated when you are threatened cannot reason in the same way as your thinking mind, also called the prefrontal cortex. The old part of your brain, the reptilian brain, has one main job, and that is to activate the “fight and flight” response. Which is very useful when you are running away from the proverbial tiger because it switches off the thinking part of the brain. Let’s be clear, when you are running away from a tiger, there is not much to be thinking about – is there? It increases your heart rate to get oxygen to your legs, it restricts blood flow to the organs and directs it to the muscles to help you fight or run. It also causes the excretion of many toxic compounds such as adrenalin and cortisol into the body. All of these in an attempt these help you survive to fight another day!
The challenge is that the effects above are put in place by what we perceive. This is why we watch movies because we get to experience a whole range of emotions by light projected on a screen. Our thinking brain knows that the film that we are watching is not “real,” but our reptilian brain does not. In fact, here is a clip of the very first movie ever showed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Ppp5902Yg
An interesting thing about this movie is that not one single person in the theatre saw the end of it! Everyone was too busy running, trying to get out of the theatre. Fearing for their lives!
Because when we see something on a screen or visualise something in our mind, your reptilian brain believes that what you see is your immediate reality.
If you see or hear about people dying and suffering all day, it thinks that thousands are dying around you right now and that you must react, so it initiates the fight and flight response. This causes your intelligence to drop, some say by up to thirty points or more, puts great strain on your immune system because of the stress hormones which are pumped into the body, as well as shutting down digestion and your visceral organs.
In current times it has become more critical than ever to nourish your mind and body to strengthen not only your physical immunity but also your emotional immunity. Because physical and emotional resilience is what will carry us through the times that lay ahead for all of us.
For now, some of the action points include:
- Nourish your emotional and physical health.
- Love yourself enough to invest in the best nutrition for yourself.
- Be conscious of your focus – what you focus on expands.
- Avoid the mainstream media and recognize that they are out to startle us not to inform us
As always Cbeyond Health is here to serve you as far as:
- The highest quality supplements,
- Personal recommendations,
- Live blood analysis,
- Organic- non-GMO-, vegan-friendly, gluten-free foods
- Life coaching to guide you through these tough times for and even more health and wellness.
Come see your health differently. Visit our website or come and see us in the Hemel and Aarde Village or Eastcliff Village. The directions are below!
Looking forward to meeting with you and serving your purpose!
Warm Regards
Ferdi |
