Speaker 0 00:00:03 Welcome to the doctors week show where I show you how bad States of mind, difficult life issues. Aren't pathological, but rather signs of personal growth trying to happen. All right, let's get into it. Hey people, thanks for tuning in today. It's 3:00 AM. I'm downstairs in my house, surrounded by many friends, Gibsons, fenders, guilds, Martins, marshals, and even a groovy Gretsch cocktail drum kit. Each one of them has a powerful personality. I'll introduce you to all of them in a future episode today, I've got a great awareness exercise for you. It's similar to the previous exercises we did, where we didn't focus on your problems yet, but rather on learning the basic awareness skills you'll need for processing them. So grab a drink if you want, get comfortable and let's do this. Oh, and please don't do this exercise while you're driving, operating machinery or doing anything that requires your attention.
Speaker 0 00:01:24 I want to begin by telling you about a flight I was on from Portland to Los Angeles. The guy sitting beside me was fully immersed in his digital reality. He was typing on his laptop, texting on two phones at once listening to something on headphones and watching a movie all at the same time, he was a master multi-tasker and I envied him because I can't walk and chew gum at the same time for me, life is about directing my focus to singular activities and going deeply into them. But I wondered what he was like when he wasn't connected to five devices at once. It reminded me of how rare it is these days to see someone standing or sitting alone, who isn't looking at their phone. It made me think about how our society is in the throws of a serious addiction, accompanied by a profound denial about it.
Speaker 0 00:02:24 The fact is digital media has taken over our consciousness by controlling our impulses, attention and awareness. We spend our days in perpetual distraction, mistakenly interpreting it as immersion because digital media is so compelling as were pulled from one piece of media to another. We think we're in control of what's happening. It's like a drug addict who says he's got things under control, but obviously doesn't only, this is way more subtle and insidious because we also get so much benefit from it. And this blinds us to our addiction, human awareness likes to be occupied because it always seeks creative engagement and growth, but the more you occupy it just to not have to be with yourself, like using your computer or phone as a babysitter, the more your capacity for self awareness diminishes, what would have happened to my friend on the plane? If all his devices had suddenly failed, what would he have experienced?
Speaker 0 00:03:34 I'm quite sure he would have had a moment resembling panic, followed by his mind, frantically searching for something to focus on. And if he didn't lock into something quickly, maybe he'd order a drink. You think I'm exaggerating try a 48 hour detox off your computer and phone. And you'll see what I mean. All sorts of restless energy and unlived parts of yourself will surface. And you might not know what to do with them. One of my clients described his experience of a one day detox as a horse escaping the stable all day. His mind bounced from theme to theme. He felt out of sorts, lost uncomfortable, and had the constant feeling that he was missing out on something. He lost his sense of self without realizing his ability to direct his inner focus and engage with his own process had atrophied. Now don't get me wrong.
Speaker 0 00:04:36 Human consciousness. Wasn't higher before we had digital media. In fact, in some ways it was lower because we had less access to information and therefore knew less. But what's changed is our capacity to inhabit our beings, to know what we really feel and to focus inwardly independent of the external world. There's been an explosive growth in rates of depression and anxiety in the last 10 years, especially among teens and young adults. And the reason is that people have lost contact with themselves without realizing it. We're living in a world, dictated and controlled by external forces that encourage us to abandon ourselves. But no worries. I'm going to show you a way to deal with all these changes that not only prevents you from disconnecting from yourself, but actually increases your self awareness. This will not only make you feel more grounded and centered, but also give you basic awareness skills. That'll help you process and transform your problems. Are you ready? All right. Put your phone away. Close the other windows on your computer. Power down your Bluetooth and your satellite intergalactic transporter. And let's return
Speaker 1 00:05:58 To earth to your body. To you. I'm going to lead you through a body scan. Find some are comfortable to lay down on your back and place the cushion under your head. Go ahead and turn off the podcast and get situated and turn it on again. When you're ready, begin by closing your eyes and taking three slow, deep breaths. The best way to do this is to breathe in through your nose. First, filling your belly and then your chest and out through your mouth. If that's not comfortable for you, do whatever feels right. Okay. Now direct your awareness to your feet, stretch and move them a few times. Wiggle your toes.
Speaker 1 00:07:37 Then just focus on your feet and notice what you experience. Are they hot or cold? Do you feel any tingling, tightness, or pain? Take a minute and focus there. Now. Move your awareness to your lower legs, tense and relax them a few times. And then focus there. Notice what you feel is there tension, relaxation, pain, heat cold. Spend a moment to just notice your experience. Now move your focus to your upper legs, tense and relax your thighs a few times and notice what you experienced there. Feel deeply into them. Notice any subtle sensations you might normally bypass.
Speaker 1 00:09:59 Take a minute and do this. Now. Focus your awareness on your genitals, squeeze and relax the muscles. He used to stop the flow of urine a few times and focus on what you feel. There. Notice things like temperature, tension, tingles, relaxation, moisture, dryness, excitement, numbness, pain, and so on. Spend a minute doing this. Now. Move your awareness to your belly tense and relax your abs a few times and focus on what you feel inside. Notice any pressure pain, relaxation movements, hot and cold, or even sounds. Take a minute and focus on this. Now. Move your attention to your lower back tense and relax the muscles a few times and notice what you experience.
Speaker 1 00:12:56 Do you feel stiffness, pain, relaxation, heat, cold focus on what you feel there. Now focus on your upper back, wiggle your shoulder blades a few times so you can connect with this part of your body. Then focus on what you perceive there. Hone in on whatever subtle perceptions you might normally bypass. Now move your awareness to your chest area tense and relax your PEX a few times. Notice your experience in your chest muscles, your breasts and your lungs. Take your time and observe your of temperature, tension, relaxation, tingles, prickles, pressures, weight, and so on. Now put your awareness on your shoulders. Move them around a few times and then focus your attention there. Notice any pain, tension, relaxation, temperature, stiffness, numbness in any other sensations.
Speaker 1 00:16:23 Now move your attention to your arms tense and relax the muscles a few times and shake them out a bit. Are they tight, relaxed, heavy, light, hot, cold Tingley, painful, numb cramped notice, whatever sensations you experience. Now focus on your hands, make fists a few times and shake them out. Notice what they feel like. Do they tingle? Are they hotter, cold tense or relaxed? Notice what you experience. Now put your awareness on your neck, move your head back and forth and side to side a few times. Then notice what your neck feels like. Be aware of stiffness, relaxation, hot and cold pain cramps, and even sounds when you move it, <inaudible> now direct your attention to your face tense and relax your face muscles a few times. Then focus there.
Speaker 1 00:19:30 Notice subtle sensations of hot and cold and tension and relaxation, especially in your jaw. Also notice if there's any tension around your eyes or in your forehead, you can also put your attention to any sensations you have inside your eyes. Are they moist, cold, dry burning, itchy. <inaudible> now place your focus on your skull, move it around against the ground or cushion, and then notice what you feel there. Your sensations might be very subtle. So it goes slowly over this area. Do you notice any tensions, relaxation, hot or cold tingles or prickles pressures? Other sensations, take a moment and focus on this.
Speaker 1 00:21:38 And lastly become aware of the energy surrounding your body. How do you experience this? Is it heavy or light, subtle or obvious? Does it pulsate or is it still, does it cradle you or press in on you? Is it vibrant and electrical or quiet and still spend a moment exploring this now, gently and slowly. Open your eyes. Take a moment to notice your state of mind and body. And when you feel ready slowly, sit up, spend some time just being aware of how you feel. If you need to turn off the podcast and turn it on again, when you're ready,
Speaker 0 00:23:49 Great work. You've just learned how to do a guided body scan. You did this by lying down and taking three deep breaths slowly and methodically placing your awareness on each area of your body, going from your feet to your head and noticing every sensation you feel. Here's some questions for you to ponder. Was it easy or difficult for you to spend so much time meditating on your physical sensations? Did certain areas of your body feel less accessible to your awareness than others? For example, was it easy to feel into your thighs or your hands, but difficult to notice what you felt in your belly or your face?
Speaker 0 00:24:55 Did you notice anything in your body you hadn't been aware of prior to doing the exercise? What's the difference between your state of mind and body now and your usual state? How could this new state of mind and body help you in how you deal with your problems? Take as much time as you need to absorb what we just did. If you feel like hearing some bonus material where I share some of my client's experiences doing the body scan, that's coming up next. Here are some of my client's experiences doing the body scan. I always find this interesting because there's no goal in this exercise except to just be aware. But of course being consciously aware is a powerful force in itself and it can have surprising effects. A 42 year old client became aware of all sorts of aches and pains. He hadn't noticed before doing the exercise, his joints hurt. He experienced a mild headache and he felt pressure in his ears. I asked him how he could possibly not have noticed these things before. And he said he lives his life on caffeine and alcohol in order to not feel these kinds of things. I explained to him that pain and discomfort are important signals to pay attention to their alarms, calling you to yourself, telling you to focus on your mental and physical health. This was the beginning to him learning to take better care of himself.
Speaker 0 00:27:02 I had a 22 year old client who suffered from pretty bad asthma, but on this particular day she said, she felt okay. When we got to the part where we focused on the chest area, she suddenly began wheezing. Sometimes just putting your attention somewhere can unlock an underlying process. After finishing the exercise, I helped her work on it. We amplified the tight feeling in her chest by having her purposely tense up her whole body. She did this for a few minutes and on the verge of exhaustion suddenly had a memory of being sexually abused as a child. This began a really deep process of working on this terrible abuse she had experienced. Oftentimes the experience of abuse gets repressed. And so monetized transduced into a mysterious physical element. Your nervous system retains the information, but it's no longer accessible to consciousness unless you process the symptoms like we did notice how we amplified her symptom instead of trying to reduce it. This is how to make a process conscious. I'm going to show you how to do this. In future episodes. I had a 61 year old client who had a more common experience. He said the exercise made him feel incredibly relaxed and centered with a clear one pointed focus. He said it connected his mind and body in a way he hadn't experienced before. Okay. Folks wishing you a great rest of your day or night, and I'll see you next time. Stay aware.
Speaker 0 00:29:10 You can follow me on social media at doctor's wig and you can sign up on the mailing
[email protected], where you'll receive discounts on private coaching events and merchandise starting in 2021 weekly personal growth tips and lots more be well.
