Processing Our Experiences

Storm

Many things have been on my mind lately, but at the top of the list is the concept of Process and Processing. In relation to my work, processing includes feeling, receiving, becoming aware of, and allowing an experience to fully move through—just like weather crossing the landscape.

The mind is the part of us that understands and integrates a particular event, and many times we tend to keep our sense of processing up here. But what I’ve found is it’s extremely helpful (and necessary) to let the mind integrate our experiences AFTER we feel and experience our event. Our bodies and emotions are much better at moving through any type of process. Our minds are amazing, but they aren’t the part of us adept at feelings, emotions and sensations.

Bodies are experts at processing. Bodies don’t tell us stories. They simply relay what is. We can ignore it or not, disconnect from our sensations or feelings or not—regardless, the body endures. Our bodies hold our stories, experiences, triumphs and traumas. Bodies don’t lie. It’s all in there if it hasn’t been fully processed. Our issues are held in our tissues as energy and possibly literal unmovable spaces.

When we don’t fully process our life events (feelings, emotions, experiences) they literally remain in our body as stuck energy in our electric nervous system (synapses, neurotransmitters) and our chemical nervous system (neuropeptides, tissues).

The beautiful thing about working with bodies is once you free up the stuck energy, other parts of us move, too. When we free our body, we free our minds. When we free our body, we free our emotions. When we free our body, energy moves better and we feel more connected both inside and outside of ourselves. We literally feel more like who we truly are.

The other day I heard a song that was a strong force in my life as a small child. As I listened to that song, it took me back to this point in time—just like when you smell fresh cut grass, or cookies baking or some other nostalgic scent from childhood. I was there, in the car, traveling with my family and thinking big thoughts many would consider too young for the age I was at the time. As I remembered the experience and felt the way the words and music landed in my cells, I remembered how I felt at the time.

It was a feeling of deep longing and deep isolation. I was maybe 5 or 6. I would hear the song a few times on our road trips of one 8 track on a 3.5 hour drive. It called to something in me that I wouldn’t understand until adulthood. It was the first time I remember words expressing how I felt inside.

I didn’t feel the same loneliness and longing when I heard the song as an adult, but I could still feel the child inside me, and distinctly remember that past world. What I didn’t realize right away, was that I hadn’t fully processed that longing and loneliness. Perhaps we never do as humans. That song, though, that beautiful catalyst unearthed a depth of experience that had been held deep in my cells from such a young age.

What I didn’t expect from that experience what the depth of rage I would feel after those ancient memories were unearthed. A day after I heard and remembered my love for this song, I felt a depth of anger I hadn’t felt for a very long time. It took me by surprise, descended like a storm and swept these bits of unprocessed emotions up to the surface.

At the time I had no idea why I was so enraged and feeling emotions I hadn’t for so many years. What I did, though, was let it move through. I warned my loved ones, reassured them none of what I was feeling was about them, and gave myself space to experience what was happening. I didn’t need to talk, I needed to feel and notice. At the same time, I brought my experience into a wider consciousness, which is incredibly powerful. As I felt a piece, only then would I bring my mind in and let myself name what I was feeling. (side note – there are times we aren’t able to do this because our experience is pre-verbal)

This whole experience is what I would call Processing. When we allow ourselves to experience, without judgment and shame, then we are able to open up space and allow our energy to naturally flow. When we stop and experience, we are literally stopping energy from moving, it gets stuck in our system and we end up repeating emotions, experiences, and cycles of habits. But it’s not just a mind thing. It’s a mind/body thing.

A day after my process, I finally had the awareness that the song was the trigger. It was really such a beautiful unfolding and emergent process that I could never have planned. Because of my experience with this sort of thing, I had a trustable ground of what was happening and leaned into it. I gave myself time and space to let it all unfold and unwind. If you’re interested in hearing more about this type of thing, click here for a wonderful interview I had with Geri Portnoy, founder of Yoga Del Mar and Yoga of Awakening.

My hands-on sessions allow people the opportunity to release stuck spaces similar to the above story. Clients gain freedom from releasing these places through their awareness of what they’re actually feeling as sensations and emotions. It’s an emergent process unique to each individual.

I’m now offering a new type of session that is hands-off through phone, Skype or Zoom. These are my new private session offerings — Alignment Sessions (click here for description).

Alignment sessions work at the intersection of body, mind, emotions and the non-physical or spirit aspect of us. This is the wider field of consciousness. If that last part repels you, no need to worry, that part has always been present in my work…meaning it’s not new. This is simply a more integrated offering. The only piece that’s really new is the option to work consciously with these parts of you directly in the offering. The non-physical is never pushy in my experience. It has no problem working subtly and quietly behind the scenes.

The benefits for working consciously in these ways are:

  • Habits and patterns of thoughts and emotions are noticed and able to shift
  • The body holds the patterns of thoughts and emotions (somatic work)
  • Most pain is held in soft tissue and is related to some event not being fully processed
  • Awareness makes the change first and foremost—working consciously on multiple levels allows for whole being alignment
  • Ways of hearing intuition and guidance are able to be consciously recognized, trusted, and leaned into
  • Life fills with more ease and grace
  • Sensitivity becomes the gift it is meant to be instead of a burden

While we’re in list mode, here’s some new creations of mine you may not have seen yet:

He is founding Editor-in-Chief of the research journal WATER and Director of the Institute for Venture Science. Dr. Pollack’s (award-winning) books include: The Fourth Phase of Water (2013), and Cells, Gels, and the Engines of Life (2001).

  • Interview with Geri Portnoy, founder of Yoga Del Mar and Yoga of Awakening. We talked about yoga, awakening, universal consciousness, relationships, kids, social change. Geri is one of my favorite people on the planet.
  • Good News July and other segments featuring people and businesses creating a more harmonious world.

Welcome to the next level of growth and change. Are you in? Let me know your thoughts here. I so look forward to working with you in these new ways.

Wishing you a fabulous rest of your summer, beautiful insight, kindness and love on your path,

Until next time,
Chris