'ThIS SH** IS ALL MADE UP'

This always amazes me: had I been born in Vietnam, I would love eating chicken feet.

Had I been born in Turkey, I'd cover my head with a scarf.

Had I been born in Wyoming, USA, I'd most likely wear a red MAGA hat.

It's kind of ... spooky.

Our 'identity', choices and convictions, that we fiercely defend as 'objective truths', are -in truth- largely inherited habits. Fuelled by the primal urge to belong, they get cemented into our brains, nervous systems and muscle memory by sheer repetition from an early age.

From day one of our lives, these cultural conditionings and biases sink deep into our unconscious mind which we later -especially when we're suspicious of someone 'different'- call our 'intuition'.

~~~

There really is no part in me open to eating chicken feet or wearing a MAGA hat.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗦 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 - 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲.

I think we'd all do well to remind ourselves of this when we oppose each other at seemingly insurmountable divides, with our bodies perhaps on red alert with anger or even hate.

𝗪𝗲'𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵** 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗨𝗣.

It's our CONSTRUCTED and EGO IDENTITY which is all defined by external markers of who we are and by what we HAVE and DO (job, statuts, houses, income, opinions, etc)

~~~

I also know -especially from hundreds of coaching hours- that as if underneath this constructed identity there is a much deeper UNconstructed identity:

the Higher SELF -for want of better words- where patterns, external markers, opinions, constructs, & conditionings etc drop away.

This is pure 𝗕𝗘ing.

We touch it when the mind goes quiet, when our thinking slows, the fight/flight/freeze survival program in the brain goes quiet, & past-future stories stop - when we become fully present here and

𝗡𝗢𝗪.

THIS is when polarised views, hate, anger, anxiety, mistrust, shame, guilt, etc evoparte like mirages, making space for presence, calm, compassion, love, curiosity, empathy, clarity...

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 - 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲

𝗢𝗡𝗘.

Peace, connection, diplomacy, reconciliation, positive change etc flow from there; because they ARE first & foremost: embodied nervous system states.

Politics always looks to 'solve' conflict on the outside.

Whereas in truth, it is ALWAYS first & foremost an inside job.

That's why there is so little peace in this world.

That's why nervous system change is the foundation for external #systemschange.