life in the superlative

when hyper-stimulation, hyper-reactivity, physical, psychological and emotional hyper-performance become the norm, permanent stress also becomes addictive

so we tense up, we harden up, we force ourselves to hold on
always more: to maintain or increase activity, rhythm, pace, performance
we’re always looking ahead, towards a project, an activity, an opportunity, a journey : a headlong rush !
in a scattered version: it’s all over the place, it flies apart, it’s impossible to stop, impossible to say no

when the slack comes
a dose of adrenalin to keep us going, to push us further, to feel free, to have fun
decompression, recharging, excitement, jubilation, a dip and then off again

the norm is to maintain endogenous stress, fed by mental conditioning and identification with an extreme and (practically) relentless intensity

not to mention exogenous stress, caused by events and situations beyond our control, due to changes in our environment

 

a little physics

ductile
a ductile material can be deformed and regain its shape without breaking. Breakage occurs when a defect becomes critical and spreads, at which point it becomes brittle

resilient
a metal is resilient when it can withstand shocks
by extension in psychology: the ability to overcome traumatic shocks and rebuild oneself (cf. Boris Cyrulnik)
it is possible to bounce back rather than freeze and resist (stare = to stand up straight)

plastic
neural plasticity is the brain’s ability to recover and restructure itself
it consists of creating, undoing or reorganising networks of neurones and the connections between them
this is how the brain recovers from traumas, disorders or lesions, and reduces the impact of neurodegenerative diseases

 

human beings obviously have all these qualities: they are extremely adaptable and mutable, constantly changing and evolving
in reality, everything that lives is capable of self-regulating, purifying, balancing, reorganising and regenerating itself

 

the sympathetic addiction !

zoom on the nervous system

the sympathetic
prepares you for intense action, fight or flight
when you’re in a state of alert, your heart rate increases, your breathing becomes faster and shallower, your reactions are quicker, your pupils dilate and your metabolism speeds up

the parasympathetic
conserves energy, regulates rest and digestion
signs: physical and mental relaxation, peaceful breathing, good digestion, good circulation of fluids, restful sleep

the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are mutually exclusive: when one is activated, the other goes into standby mode

 

reversing the trend

what if we invited our body to relax?
by relaxing in a reclining position, without movement
deep breathing
no external stimulation (noise, light, etc.)
floating attention
letting go of control and allowing what is happening to happen

between wakefulness and sleep

in activity (well, only if you insist!)
fine coordination of movements
focus on what you’re doing
you do one thing at a time
with the slowness that goes quickly

 

natural rhythms 

what if we were to re-enter the cosmic dance?
by taking real account of cycles and rhythms on all scales
the phases of life, of a project, of breath, of cardiac coherence
seasonal, circadian and biorhythms
strong and weak times

in the succession of things, bringing us back into phase
tension and stretching give way to relaxation and rest
growth leads to fullness, which leads to decline and back to emptiness

what if we allowed the power of the mutable, the supple, the gentle to express itself?

 

plier pour se garder intègre
ployer pour se retrouver droit
s’approfondir pour être rempli
se faner pour reverdir
moins permet de trouver
trop fait qu’on s’égare

bend to maintain our integrity
fold to stand up straight
deepen to be filled
fade to turn green again
less is more
too much leads astray

Dao De Jing, trad Claude Larre

 

spaces for nothing

what if we got into the habit of allowing ourselves empty spaces?
without ritual or defined place, outside the time lines
here, there, anywhere, anytime
often enough
spaces to be on a break
just with you
for nothing