By Jordan Nicholas Sukut, 2022.10.22 (updated 2022.10.22)
A post in Above The Chaos.
Hello Friends and Allies,
We have been navigating through the Chaos for a while now, and have had to do deep work to understand how to deal with the grip of existential fear and anxiety and rise Above The Chaos.
I have recently been learning some new things that shed light on the physiology and psychology of anxiety, and how we can better understand and interpret our brains, our bodies, and their communication, while identifying the acupuncture points / nodes of system control to escape the grip of anxiety and resume advancing together towards our Best Possible Future.
This blog starts with a basic understanding of the Autonomic Nervous System and its energetic states, moves up to its relationship to our Mind and Consciousness, provides a pathway out of paralyzing anxiety and into action, and ends with a pointer back to a plan of action big enough that it might actually work to meet the needs, solve the problems, and capture the opportunities inherent in this moment in human history.
The Autonomic Nervous System is part of the nervous system of systems that regulates involuntary and subconscious physiological processes.
These include elements such as heart rate, respiration, digestion and gut activity, and sexual arousal.
The Autonomic Nervous System, like all systems of the body, operates on a Flow of Energy.
That Flow of Energy in the Autonomic Nervous System should ideally be balanced and optimized for the Reality we are experiencing at any given point in time.
This can be thought along two basic scales:
Ideally, our level of calmness or alertness, and anxiety vs. exploration, should be balanced appropriately relative to the level threats or opportunities in our environment at a given time.
Often, we experience our Autonomic Nervous System as either under-energized or over-energized in a way that feels inappropriate or disproportionate to the Reality that is at hand.
The foundation of relating properly to our Autonomic Nervous System is to organize and integrate our Selves properly relative to a Worthy Aim, and to begin advancing towards it in whatever small way we can.
Integrating our Selves in service of advancing towards a Worthy Goal is not a secondary issue. It is the first moral decision and our only hope of experiencing sustain positive emotion.
This is because we are inherently Beings In Motion. It is impossible to remain Where We Are.
Just as it is extremely difficult to balance on a bicycle or surfboard that is not moving, so too is it virtually possible to be a balanced being if we do not know Where We Are Going and Why.
Understanding Where We Are Going and Why, and beginning to make some small progress Forward, no matter how small, is the key to establishing a foundational Balance of Being, that in turn will allow the Balance of Energy in our Autonomic Nervous System to regulate itself relative to our Progress and Environment.
Lets imagine our Selves advancing on our Noble Quest through the world.
At any given time, we can have three basic orientations relative to the threats or opportunities that Presence themselves to us:
In full advanced mode, we are curious and explorational.
In full retreat mode, we are overwhelmed with Anxiety and Fear.
As we advance towards our Valuable Goal, there are two basic systems that communicate with us to keep us alive and help us Navigate successfully.
The first is our Autonomic Nervous System.
The second is our Emotional System.
Human Beings are the most sensitive and advanced scientific measuring instruments in the world.
As we advance through the world, our bodies and minds take in and process an incredible amount of information. The vast majority of this information is processed subconsciously.
Based on the total subconscious processing happening on all mental and physical levels of analysis, our brains and bodies are in communication with one another and our Self.
Together, our Autonomic Nervous System and Emotional System cause us to experience a set of emotional and physiological states that act something like a traffic signal guiding us.
Remember, this Green, Yellow, Red System MUST be calibrated towards a Valuable / Worthy Goal or it cannot function properly.
There are three basic elements of body to brain signaling:
These systems use mechanical and chemical signals to communicate to the brain regarding the state and energetic balance of the Autonomic Nervous System.
The balance of energy in the system can be conceptualized along a continuum that runs from full calmness to full alertness. In a state of alertness your entire being is primed for action and ready to move. In a state of calm your entire being is relaxed.
At one end of the continuum is pure, deep, relaxed, uninterrupted sleep.
At the other end of the continuum is what we experience as a Panic Attach.
Our Current Best Understanding is that these signals are received and mediated in the Prefrontal Cortex of the brain by the Insula (or Insular Cortex).
The Insula appears to operate like a hub that mediates between somatic signaling and the Prefrontal Cortex, which is often thought of as the seat of Conscious Awareness. It also mediates signals relating to systems of threat detection and fear, emotions, and the general homeostasis of the body.
The body uses these mechanical and chemical signals to communicate its state to our Conscious Awareness, with the Insula acting as the mediating hub between Consciousness and the total somatic signaling of the body.
When learning how to escape from the grip of Fear and Anxiety, it is critical to remember that the Autonomic Nervous System is by default switched "on".
The brain then "turns down" the dial as it believes appropriate given the Internal Context and External Context. This is directed by the Prefrontal Cortex, via the Vagus Nerve, which is the main communication superhighway between brain and body.
To aid us on our Quest towards our Worthy Goal, our Prefrontal Cortex uses this information on our Embodied State of Being, along with the total Perception of our environment, to to help us envision various abstract Potential selves, futures, and patterns of action we might take to advance towards our Goal.
These various imagined and envisioned futures represent multiple Potential Plans of Action or Plays that could be implemented.
And the Plans of Action are of course relative to our Worthy Goal.
This is why Wise elders have said that without a Vision the people perish.
The function of our Conscious Agency is then to analyze this Total Set Of Potential Futures in the Abstract realm, and make a conscious decision to attempt to Realize the one that seems most likely to Achieve Success and Avoid Failure.
This allows bad ideas and faulty plans of action to die in the Metaphysical realm without resulting in our failure / death in the Physical realm.
It allows us to assess likely outcomes and potentials of various patterns of action prior to the implementation of our chosen Plan of Action.
The total somatic signaling of both our State Of Embodiment, and State Of Environment / Context, is critical to making Wise Right Plans of Action that "fit" all dimensions of our present Reality.
The Conscious Decision of which Future / Self to manifest then informs the Set Of Boundaries And Rules that are set by the Prefrontal Cortex.
This decision is made based on dialogue between the Insula and the Prefrontal Cortex about which Set Of Boundaries And Rules is most appropriate relative to the total Context, State Of Embodiment, and Goal.
When a Threat or Opportunity presences itself to us, if we are in a lower state of Consciousness, we can be gripped by a lower order response to the Threat or Target Of Opportunity.
When this occurs, the Autonomic Nervous System grabs control of the executive functioning of our Embodiment and causes us to manifest very simplified and unsophisticated behaviors.
When we are gripped by the Autonomic Nervous System, it is as if we regress to a far lower and more elementary state of consciousness.
Unable to conceptualize a Wise and Sophisticated Way forward, we regress to a primordial state and open our selves up to be seized by any of the Idols Of The Pantheon who lie in wait to possess us.
When we are gripped by any of these Primordial Drives (flight, fear, war, rage, etc.), we lose higher order conscious direction. We lose access to the infinite stores of information, memory, pattern languages, sets of rules, and courses of action that would otherwise be available to us.
These lower order and less conscious responses to stimuli usually causes us to act in a way that actually hinders Progress towards our Goal, or affords far less Progress than a more Conscious and Sophisticated approach.
If we can stay present and not allow the Autonomic Nervous System to gain control of us, we open up the tremendous potential to access and consciously choose between a vast array of potential futures.
When one becomes capable of remaining conscious, aware and present in the moment, we gain Conscious Agency by creating for our Selves to optionality to choose among many potential courses of action and rule sets.
When we begin to access and assess alternate Futures / Selves / Rule Sets, our Mind sends signals back "down" to our body that begin to lower our heart and breath rates.
Our Consciousness is able, with Practice, to grow exponentially in its ability to Conduct and Orchestrate all elements of our Being and Embodiment.
This Orchestration and Conducting that allows the Properly Ordered Symphony to manifest is not one of control, but of integration and alignment in service of an overarching and uniting Goal.
The various avatars (future selves) that could manifest themselves to Enact various patterns of actions (plans) are processed as Forward Looking Stories.
Once we can articulate various Forward Looking Stories, the possibilities and potentials of which are nearly infinite, we can pause in order to Consciously Decide which of them we will attempt to Realize and Enact.
This allows our dysfunctional stories to fail and die instead of us.
As a human species, we have come to the edge of the Chasm, and we are faced with whether we continue accelerating along our present trajectory and fail / die...
...or whether we allow some of the stories we are telling our selves to die instead, so that we can progress onwards together towards Flourishing And Abundant Life.
We understand approximately how to do this individually.
The question is: How can we do this collectively, before it is too late?
Our individual and collective Consciousness is absolutely able to transform and heal itself through such a process.
And such a process can be completed within the next 3.5 to 7 years for All, without exception.
We have been working to Co-Create the Provisional Conditions under which such a universal realignment and movement could occur.
We have set up a comprehensive System of Systems to facilitate all aspects - see the Lionsberg System.
I hope this helps. It might work.
Much Love,
~ J