Up: [[Embodiment - Ground Curriculum]] Created: 2024-11-12 Updated: 2026-01-10 I’ve changed this heading to be more narrowly focused than Kathleen Wiley would suggest. She uses “Developing the Will” which she takes to be about aligning with with our life force energy and being able to express it in the world. I’m more interested in working with experiences that are currently outside my window of tolerance. There are two extremes outside that window. There’s hypo-arousal, which means numb, shut down, blank, or foggy. And there’s hyper-arousal which means anxious, terrified, or overwhelmed. I want ways of giving myself energy for the former and calming myself for the latter. #### Try Something Different If hypo-aroused and feeling numb, rather than trying to will yourself to feel things, try to use different mediums to channel the emotion. For example, if you think you should be feeling sadness, watch a sad movie. _________ #### Soothe Difficult Feelings From *Narrative Healing* by Lisa Weinert Hold your two hands in front of you. Imagine that one of your hands represents what is troubling you. With the other hand, gently stroke it and metaphorically offer it whatever it needs. ________ #### Facts, Feelings and Interpretations From *Becoming Safely Embodied* by Deirdre Fay - Freewrite an experience where you are at the edge of your window of tolerance. - It can be past or present. Write it exactly as you experienced it. Include every detail. Don’t leave anything out and don’t clean anything up. - Notice your body sensations. As you write the full experience, what happens in your body? - What thoughts are going on? What feelings are there? - Then go through the story and circle all **facts** from the experience. Remember that whatever you are feeling (i.e. anger) is not a fact. - Then underline the feelings and interpretations. - Read just the facts. Read them five times. What happens in your body? - Then “The feelings I have about those facts are…” and read all of the underlined text. What’s happening in your body? ________ #### Physical Release — Shake the Knots Out Do this to release pent up emotions. It can also be a way to quickly handle the activation of a [[Complex]]. Stand up. Shake your body all over, like a dog after a bath. Shake everything including your voice. As you shake, visualize that every stuck emotion or obsessive thought is shaking free, breaking up, and floating away. After shaking, go to stillness with a soft gaze. _______ #### Box Breathing to Stay Calm and Focused in Tense Times from James Nestor in *Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art* - Inhale to count of 4; hold 4; exhale 4; hold 4. Repeat. Also in [[Breathing]] __________ ### Naming and Witnessing - See also the techniques listed in [[Mind Awareness]] - [[Witness]] - [[O'Malley's Four Questions]] - [[SIBAM, a Somatic Experiencing Process]] — This is a favourite. Good at any time, but especially when a complex is activated. - [[SIFT - A Shorter SIBAM]] - [[Be the Watcher]]