When a baby is fed and comfortable you can see her belly rising with each breath. She is open, trusting, capable of taking in love and very quickly giving love.
In a blink of an eye, if the baby gets startled or hungry her breath gets shallow, or she pulls in a lot of air, or starts breathing short breaths at the top of the lung. The bliss is gone. Many of us carry that discomfort response into adulthood. Anxiety is our early warning system but if we panic at simple discomfort we might miss that signal.
We are able to accept discomfort with grace. Even in danger we can face it with calm. It’s all about listening to the body. It wants to stay calm.
My clients often call this their inner child. I discourage that because it’s key to very adult situations like a sex life and our skills at work or school.
Mihaly Csiksentmihaly (chick-sent-ME-hi) describes a “flow state” that athletes, musicians and scientists experience. It’s the same as a spiritual experience or a transcendental experience like watching a sunset or a pod of dolphins playing near a beach.
More to come
