Undoing Triggers Part 1
Most people I work with in transformative conversation are looking for a nicer experience of life for many different reasons. One of those reasons is to get past or undo triggers and phobias. To live without fear. To be more effective in the present moment.
We start from the fact or principle that our experience of life is created by us. Humans use the energy at the heart of life to power thoughts and consciousness into a cogent reality. Essentially, we create our perception of reality and then live in it. This understanding is exceptionally transformative when you see how it works. The simple knowing of how we create means that we can change because we cooked it up in the first place. That said, one area that looks like an exception to this rule for many people is unwanted triggers.
Triggers are commonly understood as a very quick fear or anger response to an outside stimulus based on past experience. People often work very hard to avoid feeling these fear reactions. It can be debilitating. Many people live with them or undergo years of therapy to diminish their effects on their lives. We are commonly afraid of our fear reactions.
It appears that an outside triggering event is causing one's fear and panic. Some people get other neurological symptoms or strong debilitating emotions as a response.
However, we (humans) only ever work one way. Life happens from the inside out. We feel our life experience as we create it in the moment. We aren't actually feeling a past event. We just create the same fear reactions over and over fresh (or not so fresh) in the moment.
Why would I create a thought that is so painful and scary and why would I do it so often?
To answer that question, I'd like to tell you about my recent experience with a small car accident I was in and the new fear that arose for me. And how I deliberately uncreated it.
I was on the highway in November and all of a sudden, the car in front of me came to a dead stop. We weren't going very fast so when I rear-ended them, we weren't hurt very much. There were three cars involved and all three cars were able to be driven away. My wrist and shin hurt for a couple of weeks from stomping on the brakes so hard. None of it felt like a big deal just something to take care of with the insurance and repairs.
I was surprised but not too surprised to notice that I was jumpy the next time I drove on the highway. It would be ok I told myself. Over the next week I noticed that every time I saw brake lights ahead of me, I would overreact. Literally jumping with fright in the car. And to my dismay, it was getting worse. Brake lights on the highway became a very specific fear trigger. I could see this reaction building. I started to plan out trips to avoid the highway. I started to change my life to not have to feel this specific fear.
I did not like this at all! I don't need any new extra fears or triggers!
Then it came to me in a flash of insight.
My brain is asking me in the moment, "Hey there's brake lights ahead, is this dangerous? Or is this something to pay attention to?" Your brain doesn't know what is going on outside of you until you tell it.
The neurology of perception is that our brain and spinal cord gather information, e.g., visual, auditory stimulus, and then integrates it all together to make a picture of "reality". This picture gets compared to what we think about our past experiences. "Oh no! Not brake lights again!". Our "trigger" or awareness of this is literally like an alert or even lighter, as an ask by the brain. Like a checking-in. Hey, this might be something to pay attention to.
When I saw the brake light fear reaction in this light (pun entirely intended), everything changed. I automatically started to notice it, not fear it, and then what came up was that no I don't need to pay extra attention to brake lights. Just normal driving attention.
Over the next week, the reaction lessened and became a response. Until I had no extra response or awareness about brake lights on the highway than was needed to drive normally.
My brain got the message and adjusted my neurology accordingly.
Perception is an inside-out deal.
I later realized that my brain alerting me wasn't in response to a potential danger. Unwittingly, I had the thinking that I needed to pay more attention to cars braking in front of me while driving on the highway. Our neurology takes its "marching orders" from us. I had essentially set a friendly reminder (using Thought) for myself. I want to be more aware and notice cars braking on the highway. That's all that was ever going on!
The original response had actually nothing to do with the accident itself. It was my own desire after the fact to be more attentive while driving. It was all me! It originally felt like I was fighting with myself. I realized that was never happening. I was looking out for myself by reminding myself to be attentive.
Once I became aware that the entire thing, from start to finish, was made of the energy of Thought, it started to fall away. Also, I didn't need to be aware of the specific thoughts involved. I had no idea why that particular response until long after it had naturally and effortlessly fallen away.
The simple awareness that all experience we have is made of Thought from us is enough to undo the experience. We can then use the resource, that's literally at our fingertips all the time, of our deeper nature and rest in the peace of this space.
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion next week in part 2...
With Love,
Sara Joy