Since birth, marketing, messaging, symbolism, imagery, and their associated habits and behaviors, can significantly influence people’s lives, whether they know it or not; relying on societal constructs rather than their own mind, body, and being, in order to navigate the complex structures of inner and outer realities.
Unconsciously and consciously immersed in a myriad of stories, symbols, imagery, and environments created by other people and themselves, people can seemingly live out hypnotic, trance-like states of being that take them away from their most authentic sense of selves, each other, nature, the outside world, and what is most meaningful to them.
Even if their habits and behaviors take away from their basic survival needs, health, well-being, relationships, and most of what is precious to them, and destroy existence as we know it.
Regardless of if we like it or not, what we do is linked to the preservation and continuation of the planet, and possibly the Sun and solar system.
Despite doing as much as we can to survive and overcome the obstacles we face, we may lose the values, relationships, supply chains, farming and food frameworks, water infrastructure, beverage production, military defenses, educational institutions, emergency services, public safety systems, wildlife habitats, environmental biodiversity efforts, healthcare institutions, societal foundations, financial systems, production of innovative technologies, energy production (electricity, gas, solar, and other forms of energy), communication systems, city and housing structures, computer data centers, transportation networks, waste management, legal systems, entertainment, scientific research, and other crucial aspects of life we’ve worked so hard for, in one fell swoop, and experience immense pain, suffering, and danger, in forms that make past disasters look meager, paltry, and even tolerable in comparison.
Thin-slice, snap judgments can be the death of us all as we endure thinking patterns, behaviors, habits, physical sensations, and psychological states disconnected from what we need to do to adapt to adversities, challenges, shocks, and traumas.
Evil or not, no one can fight competently and survive the dangers of nature while deeply immersed in wounded outlooks, platitudes, clichés, dogmas, banal value systems, self-fulfilling prophecies, willful ignorance, and biased ideology, disconnected from their natural animalistic instincts and intuitive sense of inner-knowing; acting out their psychological traumas on others, and attempting to influence them into a similar state of mind.
All it takes is one cataclysmic event to create massive upheaval, agony, and irreversible damage for humankind, the other organisms on the planet, and the planet itself.
Yet, it can be a natural defense and learning curve to confuse spectacle and fantasy over the substance of survival, adaptation, and collaboration with other people.
Literature on the illusory truth effect suggests that people may believe repetitive messages, including lies and misinformation, even with facts laid out right before their eyes.
Investing in mistruths, no matter how much evidence, data, information, empirical observations, experience, shocks, and traumas they encounter that suggests that they need to change as soon as possible and adjust to what’s happening, or else.
Regardless of training, fortitude, knowledge, wisdom, and awareness, people can seem to get pulled in by the autosuggestions of a sort of illusory truth effect; acting out lies without realizing it, and potentially hurting other people.
As a result, hyperbolic rhetoric, cons, ploys, and lies are passed off as proven theories and facts and emphasized over honestly working with and confronting reality to adjust to, manage, and overcome the challenges, adversities, and wounds we face.
Currently, we face the possible dangers of: storms, floods, droughts, oceanic and water level changes, deforestation, climate change, volcanic eruptions, solar flares, environmental radiation, invasive species, pollution, microplastics, soil degradation, food shortages, water scarcity, resource depletion, overpopulation, species extinctions, physical threats like fights, the spread of diseases, bioterrorism, antibiotic resistance, genetic engineering mutations, cybersecurity threats, economic instability, psychological destabilization, nuclear warfare, electromagnetic pulses, rogue nano-tech, artificial intelligence, alien lifeforms, space debris, asteroids, nuclear reactions, fission reactors, fusion reactors, particle accelerators, colonizing new planets (NASA is currently searching for planets to inhabit within and outside the solar system and galaxy, including attempting to find exoplanets; planets that orbit stars other than the Sun), as well as other threats which are unraveling into novelty, chaos, new forms, inventions, and ways of being.
With so many potential risks, we must learn to improvise and create new resources (such as spaceships that can handle the blows of reality, as well as medicines, and tools), identify who and what is on our side, how to avoid getting trapped in unnecessary suffering and pain, and when to accept abduction under others for survival, collaboration, and evolution; living out an ethnographic approach of assessing human culture, and improvising on what happens in real-time to improve the current situation and adapt.
Without the ability to learn how to remain mutable, flexible, open, and adapt to adversities and traumas, we can end up atrophying our ability to survive and get stuck in scenarios we may have otherwise prevented.
Which is why it’s critical to continually train through different possible disaster scenarios and be open to losing all of our possessions, money, relationships, careers, health, psychological well-being, shelters, environment, resources, progress, and possibly everything we claim to know and love; regardless of circumstances and how safe, at ease, and comfortable we may assume we feel and experience.
What’s Inside: Table of Contents
What you are reading is a self-study guide to help you become a more authentic and adaptable version of yourself who can better adjust to life’s challenges, shocks, and traumas, while learning how to learn on the fly, survive and manage adversities as they appear, and find ways to suffer less tomorrow.
Think of this handbook as a compendium of peer-reviewed literature, articles, and books we can use together to learn how to build, manage, and maintain more power, wealth, strength, resilience, intellectual abilities, prowess, objectivity, and flexibility to life’s challenges, stressors, and pressures.
- Leading Mass Humanity with Marketing
- Psychological Triggers: Conditioning Behaviors
- Deconstructing Deceptive Methods
- Customer & Profit Creation Tools & Strategies
- Interpreting & Working with Body Language
- Seeing & Addressing Abusive Behavior
- Building Relationships: Who Are Your Allies?
- Managing Control Tendencies
- Accessing Creative States with Forms
- Instinctually Navigating & Mapping Reality
- Psychological & Scientific Research Definitions
- Shadow Work: Integrating Hidden Aspects
- Models of the Human Psyche
- Archetypal Forms & Philosophy
- Defense Mechanisms: Blocking Out Pain
- Healing Trauma & Deepening Physical Awareness
- Working on Childhood Wounds
- Training & Survival Protocol
- Foraging Wild Foods & Medicine
- Methods for Assessing Health
- Reharmonizing Yourself with Nature
- Balancing Meditation for Stability & Focus
- Bodywork Method for Releasing Tension
- Contemplating Life & Death
These resources are meant to bolster, embolden, and strengthen your core ego functions, the mediator between what’s unconscious to you, your persona (your perceived notions of self and how you present yourself to others), and what you experience with your conscious mind and being.
What you do with the practices inside will depend on where you are starting right now, the amount of effort, energy, time, and resources you are willing to put into the methods therein, what you find from outside sources, the shocks and blessings you are delivered along the way, how you work through the challenges that appear, among other factors.
These practices are designed to help you expose your false sense of self to yourself, and get you closer to a more powerful, mutable, clever, aware, and genuine sense of who you are becoming; what Polish psychologist, Kazimierz Dąbrowski, (1902 to 1980), referred to as positive disintegration.
The methods inside will require you to confront and expose whatever is holding you back in order to get over the stumbling blocks, frustration points, associated aggression, negative emotionality, physical and psychological wounding, and responses to the upheavals of life (positive or negative), to come through the other side and work with what you are experiencing in the present-moment, with a more robust skillset, an ability to harness natural talents, and a more flexible character, that’s able to respond to threats in the real-time and manage what’s comes up from day-to-day (a process Victor Frankl called response-ability).
Life delivers challenges, and we follow the data, observations, signals, and outcomes we aim for in our missions, and improvise through adversities to get closer to our goals, and meet our needs, desires, and find a sense of meaning and fulfillment.
What we do with what happens may not be up to us as much as we may want to think.
Whether our existence is colored by fate, where we are compelled to follow through with situations, or we create our own adventure, a mix of these scenarios, or another variation, is unclear.
And that does not have to be a problem we need to figure out, but a methodology, journey, and learning lesson to transform with, for good or bad, pleasure or suffering, trauma or healing, and whatever else may appear.
These lessons may lead us through career changes, financial wins and losses, health challenges, new shelters and environments, novel travel plans, relationship upheavals, innovative discoveries, creative projects, and other achievements, triumphs, acquisitions, failures, shocks to the system, wounds, and other avenues, pathways, and adversities of unbecoming that open us up to the myriad complexities of life on planet Earth and beyond; living in tough, yet fragile human bodies that need to constantly fend off dangers and fight for their lives, while finding more efficient, effective, profitable, and resourceful ways of getting what we need and want.
Leading Mass Humanity with Marketing
In the 20th century, Edward Bernays, the grandson of the Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, Dr. Sigmund Freud, introduced “the engineering of consent.”
One of the shifts in influencing people on a mass level came in the 20th century when Edward Bernays, the grandson of the Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, Dr. Sigmund Freud, introduced “the engineering of consent.”
Bernays’ marketing process involved creating and implementing strategies that get people to support and help develop ideas, habits, rituals, worldviews, value systems, and physical and psychological states of being.
And then, have influential people help spread these movements and improvise on what’s already been produced and lived out by the creators and followers of these trends, to develop these cultural shifts into different forms and give rise to new ideas, offers, products, services, behaviors, philosophies, and other alterations of reality based on feedback from audience members, leaders, economic changes, societal movements, governmental policies, the tides of nature, and other relevant factors.
The engineering of consent and the byproducts of other marketing and media methods impact what we know as life on Earth, from clothing to housing to farming to politics to film to medicine to health to psychology to science to technology to academia to literature to music to finance to sports to reproduction to travel to fashion to gaming to relationships to entertainment to law to seemingly countless other areas of life.
Bernays’ marketing strategies are highlighted in books like The Engineering of Consent, Public Relations, Propaganda, and Crystalizing Public Opinion.
*Example of widespread influence: To illustrate, as the story goes, the phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” comes from Bernays’ campaign for the Beech-Nut packaging company that intended to sell more bacon and influence societal norms.
After realizing that Americans ate a small breakfast consisting of items similar to coffee, a roll, and orange juice, he got about 4,500 physicians to sign a petition saying that a protein-rich meal of bacon and eggs helped provide energy for the day.
Consequently, the campaign sold and passed down the practice that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” to the next generations.
Through his marketing strategies, Bernays helped pass laws requiring hair nets at workplaces, ran cigarette campaigns, governmental campaigns, campaigns for Ivory soap, and other marketing efforts, working with his wife, Doris Fleischman, on some strategies.
Modern examples of the engineering of consent include: social media, academia, politics, legal systems, media biases, television programming, theatre, music, sports, exercise, military and defense strategies, environmental campaigns, fashion, beauty, city planning, architecture, food, beverage, dining, finance, medicine, museums, technology, the network models of Microsoft and Apple as well as Android and iPhone and their embedded reality tunnels.
*Manipulation refers to influencing someone, something, or a situation towards an outcome through skillful intent, physical maneuvering, psychological methods, conditional rewards, the influence of other people, camouflage, deception, exploitation, coercion, fraud, fear, social isolation, abuse, flattery, physical battery, and a conglomeration of approaches.
Manipulation and mimicry are natural survival strategies, like the hiding techniques of a leafy sea dragon, or Venus fly trap, which use camouflage to hide themselves, and find prey to eat.
As Depczynski and Gagliano describe in their 2013 article, Natural-born con artists and counterfeiters: Who is being deceived here?, some examples of deception in nature include: Aggressive mimicry: predator hides as prey, such as a tree ocelot imitating a tamarin baby monkey call to get a meal. Batesian mimicry: prey hides as a predator, like a Malayan octopus mimicking a toxic sea snake. Müllerian mimicry: prey mimics a harmful defense, i.e., a stingless bee that appears to have a stinger but doesn’t.
*Abracadabra propaganda: Propaganda means “to propagate or spread” and refers to disseminating stories, information, and misinformation supporting a particular worldview or bias, as messaging, symbols, and imagery act as a sort of spell book of incantations that trigger behaviors and habits that people live out, improvise on, and develop as new cultural, personal, societal, and environmental shifts emerge and grow.
Manipulation and propaganda can take advantage of people through fraudulent methods, but contrary to the fear of this word, not all manipulation is underhanded, detrimental, and harmful.
For instance, a doctor can influence patients toward an outcome that helps them get what they need and want; peering through what they say they desire, bypassing where they may be incorrect, and providing a strategy for managing their symptoms and health.
All humans manipulate others by directing them towards an outcome to get what they need and want, whether done consciously or unconsciously.
Sometimes, swaying people, animals, other organisms, and circumstances towards a desired result may be necessary for survival, even if we despise doing so, and have to seemingly use every fiber in our being to manipulate the situation to achieve our goals.
However, manipulation at the cost of others can be unjust, harmful, and corrupt, and knock down the underlying foundations of an immense part of what the human species and other organisms have built for millennia.
As deceptive behavior spreads, it can become a planetary infection and endemic, leaving us vulnerable to unimaginable threats, harm, and suffering; exposing us to pain, danger, and catastrophe we may never return from, and taking us all out in one fell swoop.
Psychological Triggers: Conditioning Behaviors
One way marketing gets people to take action towards an outcome and triggers a cascade of desired behaviors is through what psychology calls introjects, internal states of being, maps, schemas, inner voices, and ideas unconsciously incorporated into personalities without consent.
Introjects may be engrained through messaging, symbolism, imagery, stories, history, environmental cues, changes in habitual frameworks, the influence of other people, rewards, value systems, social pressures, psychological and physical traumas, abuse, work, research and learning, media programming, technology, and a host of other methods.
Some popular methods of training in new habits and behaviors towards a desired outcome, include the classical conditioning of Russian experimental neurologist and physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849 to 1936), and the operant conditioning of American psychologist B.F. Skinner (1904 to 1990).
Operant conditioning refers to when programmatic modifiers, “operants,” train behaviors, utilizing “reinforcers” to modulate actions with consequences that influence the outcome.
For example, a shock collar for a dog keeps them within a property’s boundaries, or else they experience pain that deters them from trying again, until they modify their behavior to stay inside the property lines.
Similarly, Pavlov’s classical conditioning refers to when automatic, unconscious processes are associated with external stimuli, such as the classic tale of ringing a bell for dogs to come get to food.
Different names for kindred processes.
Likewise, American psychologist and marketer, Dr. Ernest Ditcher, mapped out how to tap into, manage, and manipulate human psychological and physical buttons, which he called “targets,” to get people to invest in programs, products, services, outlooks, philosophies, and other offers, frameworks, and value systems; speaking not only to the reasonable, rational, and logical aspects of how one thinks and feels, but their emotional desires, needs, wants, urges, and how they experience life down on the ground, during day-to-day physical survival and psychological development.
For instance, moving people with physical and psychological drivers like love, compassion and empathy, dating, children, friendship, community, feeling seen, belonging, adventure, discovery, creativity, resilience, adaptability and survival, ideal health, health challenges, trauma, shocks, physical and psychological abuse, death, spiritual wisdom, equal rights where warranted, criminal justice, law, freedom, passion, play, celebration, innovation, conflict resolution, humility, the grit and grind of work and accomplishing missions, war, comedy, environmental protection, silence and solitude (e.g., the still and calm presence of quietude in nature or meditation), hunting and being hunted, risk, educating oneself and learning to hone talents and build skills that one can capitalize on, heritage, tradition, dreaming (and linking dreams to daily life and creative pursuits), philosophy, scientific procedure and argumentation, and other relevant issues and triggers.
The engineering of consent and other marketing strategies can be applied to the psychological triggers above, along with other methods, and help spread messages, values systems, and new ways of living and creating.
But, some use any means necessary to gain power, wealth, resources, and devotees without considering the cost to themselves, others, the planet, solar system, and beyond.
Knowing what manipulative traps to look for can save us money, time, energy, health, relationships, and life we can never regain.
Deconstructing deception and the breakdown of self:
*Erosion of self: Break people down bit by bit, until the victims are amenable to manipulation.
*Taking advantage of vulnerabilities: Seek out vulnerable people to install guilt trips, and exploit traumas, skills, mistakes, strengths, positive attributes, emotional investments, relationships, and anything they can use to get others in a web of cognitive dissonance (feeling a sense of disharmony and conflict over new experiences, information, and sensations that upstage previous ways of being), and break down their sense of self to make them more susceptible to influence, control, and deception.
*Outright lying, denying, and redefining reality: Whether that lying is intentional, or unconsciously done through confabulations (which are false memories or interpretations of events that people live out and impose on others unknowingly).
*Logical fallacies and fake languages: Made-up principles and verbiage not based on reality, facts, data, or information (also known as delusion), using hyperbolic pseudo-languages to communicate with other group members who use the same incorrect points of reference, and fail to use a linguistic framework that acknowledges reality as it unfolds, and experience life through multiple lenses and states of being, remain open to what happens, and avoid getting stuck on the current definitions, hypotheses, theories, and information as absolute truth; holding a viewpoint that what we know, can and does change, in one fell swoop. For instance, what we know as grounded physical objects, like people, chairs, and coffee cups may float in this moment if gravity changes; or, what we know as stable and solid may split and break apart, like a wooden chair, or a house.
*Time pressure to create anxiety, fear, paranoia, dysregulation, and impact decision-making, and attempt to force people into choices, value systems, states of being, habits, routines, decisions, and ways of being.
*Intermittent reinforcement: Switching between pleasure and pain to provoke a trauma bond, and create identity erosion to lessen people’s ability to make choices, and make them more amenable to suggestion; attempting to induce what’s called Stockholm syndrome, where captors bond with their abusers, and may find it difficult to break that bond.
*Forced coercion and atonement: Unnecessarily expunging people, pets, things, shelters, careers, habits, behaviors, and situations to get people embedded in a fantasy ideal of what’s right and wrong; a morality play that gets people confused on what’s important to them, and their role in life itself.
*Incitement of doubt: Intentionally get people to doubt themselves with techniques like lying, shaming, blaming, minimizing, projecting, denying, isolating, triangulating (using other people), guilting, mocking, withholding, battering, deceiving, giving the silent treatment, and anything they can use to twist reality and gain favor over others.
*Double-binds: Create no-win, no-escape zones where choices lead to bad outcomes that hurt people, and put them in a double-bind to generate disintegration anxiety, dissociation, derealization, dysregulation, and other factors that can bring about a breakdown of who and what they think they are, and make them easier to control and influence on the manipulator’s terms (as defined below in the section on defense mechanisms).
*Decoys: A decoy that leads to a trap, also known as a honeypot strategy, which can include methods like phony healers and medical treatments, debt relief cons, lottery ploys, fake checks, sham stores, rental scams, ideological journals with disinformation, hyped up and oversimplified income claims (investment cons), employment grifts, counterfeit tech support, tax fraud, romance ploys, humanitarian ruses, victimhood hoaxes, phishing (baiting someone to reveal personal information), making an offer and taking something, and other entrapment methods.
*Extortion: Gaining, obtaining, and acquiring through force.
*Identify theft: Stealing personal information to scam someone and take their social security number, credit card data, or other private information.
*Tying physical movements to psychological states: Link physical movements to emotional states, and habits, to ingrain certain states of being, viewpoints, and behaviors.
*Bait-and-switch: Hook people in with one offer, and switch to a less desirable option after they buy into the offer.
*Mirroring and impersonating: Mimicking someone’s behavior to get their guard down, and influence them to get them to think the manipulator is on their side.
*Imposing an unrealistic self-image that generates a sort of halo effect that people buy into: Position themselves to be stronger, wealthier, more famous, flexible, beautiful, charismatic, intelligent, and powerful than they are in real life, and get people to buy into their image, instead of who they actually are on a personal level.
*Implanting grandiosity: Disarm people by making them feel as if they are omnipotent, almighty, and all-powerful, which can include false exclusive meetings to make them feel special.
*Tribalizing: Getting people to think they are the same tribe through similar habits, behaviors, outlooks, deceptive practices, and abuse.
*Sandbagging: Posing as worse than one is to manipulate.
*Addiction: Find ways to get people hooked to what they offer while implementing practices to prevent them from getting a fix for their addictions and force them to quell their suffering with more of what they are hooked to, including foods, drinks, drugs, shopping, objects, physical movements, psychological states, sex, viewpoints, philosophies, habits, routines, environments, people, groups, trauma, pain, suffering, deception, wrongful conclusions, and other addictions and fixations.
*Scare tactics: Conning people by bringing about fear, anxiety, panic, and emotional dysregulation.
*Gathering obsequious and gullible people who affirm their views, protect their mistruths, and turn against those who do not follow along with their scripts and imposed value systems.
*Banishing and welcoming back loop: Kick out people, derange and dysregulate them, and then, let them back in and act caring and kind, and chaining them to imposed states; honeymoon phase to abuse and back again and again.
*Joke baiting: Use humor and comedic ploys to get people to lower their guard and bait them in, keeping them laughing to remain open to attacks, battery, manipulation, and lies.
*Inflaming people: Getting people riled up to spread messages, and grow whatever is in favor of those deceiving.
*Kinship and community: Taking advantage of trust within a group to con people, such as deferring to those deemed to be the experts of the community, or people with the most seniority.
*Confinement of normalcy: Impose a trance-like state of common experiences where people live out habits, behaviors, environmental patterns, and other modes of being, and become disconnected from a more authentic sense of self, making them easier to control.
*Inducing altered states: Bringing about a sort of hypnotic trance through meditation, movement, technology, traumas, and substances that put people into altered states, and make them porous and open to influence and suggestibility.
*Evasive and fallacious scripts: Provide a list of inorganic, lifeless, and rout scripts to provide evasive answers to questions.
*Flirtation: Use love, affection, beauty, seduction, charisma, and other means to flatter and influence someone.
*Feigned support structure: The presentation of an imitation family bond to hide misdeeds, and attempt to tie people to a sense of bonding that’s connected to trauma and abuse; an enmeshed unit that lives through defense mechanisms, dysfunction, and deception where maltreatment is avoided in favor of fantasy.
*Create an “us versus them” scenario and turn people against perceived enemies and each other to keep them in line, fighting against one another instead of focusing on what they need to do to survive, grow, and invent to adapt to change.
*Playing both sides: Strategically revealing disinformation to pin members against one another, and make them doubt their own judgment and sanity.
Analyzing marketing methods:
– What are their methods? And why might they work over others?
– What is the difference between coercion versus influence?
– Are they reality-based or leading people into fantasy for profit?
– How did they become well-known as opposed to other alternatives?
– How can you defend yourself from manipulative strategies?
– In what ways have you been conned and lied to, and how?
– What stigmas and taboos are people scared to break?
Searching for old marketing and advertising methods online or in libraries and archives can also provide perspective.
Customer & Profit Creation Tools & Strategies
*Marketing: the messaging and symbolism that leads someone to the sales process, with a few questions to make sure the solution is right for them.
Marketing involves identifying people’s problems, pains, needs, desires, perspectives, objections, linguistic styles, and other relevant factors and communicating in a way that helps them see, feel, and experience why a solution an offer provides can help them overcome their challenges and achieve their goals.
*Sales: making an exchange for a commodity, someone, something, or a situation that’s valuable, wanted, and needed.
Marketing brings people from being unfamiliar with an offer, to investing in a solution that solves their problems and fulfills them; educating them about what they don’t know about to leading them through the learning process of a program, product, service, idea, viewpoint, or another offer and becoming a customer from the new knowledge and wisdom.
The sales process can include coming to a salesperson with a few questions to ensure the solution is right for them, identifying what they are investing in, highlighting what they need and want on a deep level, bringing up what they feel, see, and experience and what they will do regarding the next steps towards their goals.
Getting them to make decisions from their own experience without pushing them into a choice they cannot work to solve themselves.
Marketing and sales tools: salesperson, letter, chat box, email, text, ad, direct mail, events (online or in-person), social media, content (blogs, audio, videos, media), and others.
*The offer is the overall solution, containing all the criteria for what they will get and how it can help them solve their problems, satisfy their desires, and create transformation, such as a steak, asparagus, and mushrooms to nourish oneself and address hunger; a computer to develop software, communicate and create through the internet, manage transportation and space aviation, and other innovations; an advertising agency to run ads on social media to generate prospects and customers, and other examples that meet people’s needs and desires.
*Copywriting is a form of specialized persuasive writing, referred to as copy, that aims to get people to take action on a particular offer and invest. Marketing messages contain signs and symptoms of an underlying problem or challenge appearing in people’s lives, a syndrome, or a set of two or more symptoms.
*Branding refers to the character, positioning, and image built around a company and its offers, including symbolism, images, logos, typography, colors, designs, sensory experiences, voicing, value systems, frames of reference, packaging, copy, stories, music, costumes, mascots, celebrity endorsements, slogans, regional adaptations, and other related factors relevant to the brand, which shift as marketing changes based on feedback from leads (interested), prospects (qualified), and customers (invested), company changes, the economy, societal movements, the environment, and other associated components.
*Positioning refers to arranging messaging, symbols, behaviors, and outside reality to have a particular effect on people and how they see a program, product, service, worldview, value system, business, person, group, and other elements synonymous with the marketing campaign and process of engineering consent.
*Advertising refers to spreading messages through mediums and media like: internet search engines, social media, ads, email, websites, blogs, mobile apps, direct mail, online influencers, videos, retail displays, television, magazines, radio, podcasts, signs, posters, billboards, transportation (cars, trucks, buses, trains), merchandise (clothes, shoes, bags, pens, stickers), food, drinks, technology, event sponsorships.
It does not matter how skilled and talented a company or person is, how innovative their solution is, or how efficient the operations side of their business is if their message is not heard and cared about by the people they help.
Marketing and advertising are ways to get messages heard by the people who have the need and desire for the solution a business offers when they need it.
Channels for leads, prospects, and customers:
– Organic traffic from search engines like Google or Bing
– Ads on search engines such as Google or Bing
– Ads on social media like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
– Events, workshops, and groups
– Physical ads in newspapers and magazines
– Outreach to get partners and share offers
Businesses own marketing mediums, and government regulations can change quickly, too.
If we focus only on one channel for prospect and customer generation, we can think we are standing on a stable foundation, only to watch things fall apart and scramble to pick up the pieces, and put our company and lives back together.
*Operations are the processes and systems making up a business’s different parts, broken down into standard operating procedures (SOPs) that can act as seamless parts of a machine as possible, leveraging assets as best one can.
Systems are the interconnected parts that work together to form a whole, and processes are the steps to achieve a particular goal.
Standard operating procedures are created and delegated by whoever oversees the operations management of a business, and are used by the people who work at a company as well as new staff to train them on the skill sets, systems, and processes and keep the parts of the machine moving without needlessly redoing what’s already been done.
Operations also include creating hiring criteria and guidelines that leverage a business’s assets and people to find, hire, and manage autonomous people who can learn from the company’s assets and help create new training that can be used over and over with as little cost as possible until they are no longer relevant.
Systems and processes work most efficiently, effectively, and profitably when kept simple and straightforward.
Every new part of the machine adds something else to do, possibly requiring time, energy, work, money, training, hiring, and other drains on resources.
*Market research involves going through existing content in a given market (articles, books, videos, training, forums, ads, feedback, and other assets) to get a feel for leads (interested), prospects (qualified), and customers (invested), needs, desires, fears, wounds, traumas, excitements, passions, objections, paths they have attempted to take, and other research methods and means.
Getting to know customers is a form of detective work, doing what is necessary to get to know them, see, feel, and experience through their eyes, and peer through what they hide from themselves and others unknowingly.
Aside from research, having conversations and experiences with people looking for solutions helps us hone our offer, messaging, and marketing strategy and gives customers what they yearn for and want to solve now.
Marketing campaigns also feed research. As a campaign develops, lead, prospect, and customer feedback are reworked into the messaging in an innovative way that helps them relieve the pain of their problems and get what they want.
*An audience/list contains leads, prospects, and customers, which can symbolize the ideas and movements of the times and the waves of supply and demand, changing as time progresses and themes, memes, and cultural troupes change.
Lists are not static and unchanging. They reflect the needs, desires, values, thoughts, memories, sensations, impulses, habits, behaviors, imaginations, states of being, and what people embody and live out.
An audience is only worthwhile if the people on it are engaged.
Depending on the moves marketers, advertisers, and business owners make, list members can drop interest and go elsewhere.
Marketing and sales are an exchange between parties, where people only stay if they get value.
That’s why it’s vital to generate leads ready to invest, repel those unable to do the work without attempting to push a sale (and even encourage them to say no and take another course of action by emphasizing what they need and want), and attract people who can achieve the intended result.
*List marketing (email, text, mail, social media, etc.) refers to sending messages to lists of leads, prospects, and customers that help them see and feel how they can transform their lives.
Businesses can send messages to lists with offers, and sales are closed through mediums like the phone, email, text, chat, ad, or sales letter.
Each message is a test. If one piece of content does not bring in sales, that does not mean it failed. That message, and the messages sent afterward, may help build a relationship with the audience and lead to a customer or connection later on.
Akin to how musicians listen and respond to each other and the audience, marketing uses call-and-response: send messages, see reactions, and tweak.
Be open to feedback and create messaging, symbolism, habits, and marketing assets that address their challenges based on the way they experience and communicate them.
Mix facts, stories, symbolism, creativity, scenarios, and whatever is needed to create experiences people can see, feel, and sense.
*Marketing acts as a qualification process for sales, filtering people through specific criteria to bring in those who are the right fit for the programs, products, services, and offers. Ads, messaging, symbols, physical materials, and other means can draw in people or ward them off, which can help businesses draw in, connect, and work with those who can be ideal customers without sorting through a significant amount of unqualified leads.
When working on a marketing and sales campaign, identify the specific qualifications people must meet and filter and divide them into prospects and customers lists using applications, sales letters, emails, text messages, direct mail, or other factors, which can include qualifying criteria such as:
The amount of income a business makes, monthly sales and revenue, what they envision doing when they achieve their goal, real estate criteria, health conditions and outcomes, budget constraints, and other information relevant to what they need and want.
*Sales conversations that bring up inner desires and needs: Like getting a diagnosis from a medical or psychological professional, a sales conversation brings up a potential customer’s underlying needs, motivations, problems, obstacles, objections, and other relevant elements so they can see and feel if the situation is applicable to them, and will help them achieve their goals.
Empathetic and compassionate conversations and questions can help get to the core of what customers need and want, and what it will look like for them to face the adversities in front of them.
These talks (done over online chat, text, email, phone, or in-person) can help marketers and prospective buyers see if they can fulfill their goals without wasting time on needless conversations.
Highlighting what potential buyers want, paying attention to how they feel and where they are at in the conversion process from marketing to sales, and leading through the discussion in a way that brings up associated emotions, feelings, thoughts, visions, dreams, and action steps toward their goals and propels them to take action in a way that benefits them most, even if they go elsewhere and someone else makes a sale.
While, at the same time, setting boundaries that are clear for both the prospective customer and the salesperson, and ensuring people that it’s okay to say no and follow another course.
Below are some sales questions, paired with questions from a peer-reviewed journal article on teaching empathy to doctors, linked in the references.
*Questions digging into people’s needs and wants:
– Can you describe what [personalize] would be like?
– How do you feel about [personalize]?
– What would life look like without [personalize]?
– Why do you want to [personalize]?
– What’s stopped you from getting [personalize]?
– What does [personalize] bring up for you?
– What happens if you don’t get [personalize]?
*Mirroring:
– Oh, I see, so you are [personalize]…
– So, you want to [personalize]. Anything else?
– I can imagine what that feels like. What other challenges… ?
– I want to make sure I get what you are saying…
– I don’t understand. Can you please rephrase that?
(Be sure to emphasize what they need and want in a way that they understand, personalizing each message in as simple a way as possible so that they can comprehend what you are saying; working with the most efficient means possible, for instance, not using the phone when a text, chat, or email will suffice).
Like conversations, no one sales process can be packaged into a cookie-cutter script that inexperienced people can follow in a systemized and procedural fashion.
Practice is necessary to become competent and proficient in reading people’s emotions, feelings, intentions, and overall state of being, and guiding them toward what will work for them, even if a sale is lost because they are not qualified for that offer, or potential customers, sales, and profits are lost.
Without training and ingraining a variety of sales processes and systems until they operate on an innate level that flows naturally and realistically, it can be challenging for the salesperson to identify if an offer will meet the potential customer’s needs and desires, and the wrong people can invest, like those who are overzealous, uncommitted, and incapable of doing the work to get the results they say they want.
When considering a marketing and sales strategy, walk through all the steps the potential customers are taking, the challenges they will experience on the way, and where they may experience stress, pressures, frustration, traumas, and lose potential profits, sales, customers, and conversion to the offers they are making and viewpoints they are attempting to get across; a process that requires modifying based on feedback.
Interpreting & Working with Body Language
Words only say so much. When we can read and sense body language, we don’t need to wait for overwhelming evidence before taking action and working to restore safety and confront the challenges before us.
We can see and sense emotions, feelings, thoughts, intentions, sensations, circumstances, environments, and other elements related to situations and maneuver from there.
Over time, we can build up inner representations of psychological and physical states, and how to sense when to move towards or away from them based on what we intuit.
That said, it’s important not to rely on any one outlook.
If we only look for physical prompts and emotions bubbling up, we can miss out on what people are good at hiding, even if they don’t realize.
Humans can cloak, disguise, and camouflage themselves and put on a front in a variety of ways.
What we perceive as someone’s emotional baseline, familiar body language, and overall state of being may be covering up aspects they do not want others to see, conscious or not.
We are deceiving ourselves if we think we can spot people’s feelings and read them through body language alone.
For example, some can have trouble expressing emotions and feelings, and it can be challenging to read them.
Others have been talented actors since childhood and know how to hide their dark sides, quirks, flaws, and traumas that prevent them from acting from a more genuine sense of self.
Reading people, animals, insects, plants, fungi, lichen, algae, mosses, and nature’s organisms goes beyond physical prompts and involves tuning into gut instinct, intuitive awareness, and the overall energy of the experience to identify what may be happening beyond what we assume to think is happening.
What we do not pick up can manifest in what people say, do, create, dream, and live out.
Pay attention to sensations, tensions, feelings, investments, speech, behaviors, movements, states of being, creative outputs, and other motifs, and how people deviate from habits.
Questions to ask to develop intuition and learn to scry and divine from inner and outer realities; that is, working with the signs and signals that appear along the way:
- What do your instincts, intuition, and senses say?
- Does their body language give away any clues?
- How is your body responding?
- Where does their gaze and body go?
- Do they mimic you?
- How do they react to what happens?
- What kind of state do they give off?
- Do they feel healthy, vibrant, sick, or injured?
- How does their behavior change in various situations?
- Are they reality-based or living in fantasy?
- Are they competent or incompetent? How do you know?
- Do you sense danger? (If you feel like prey, you may be).
- How can you further develop the ability to detect threats?
- Do their actions match up with what they say?
- Does it feel as if they are hiding anything?
- What seems unnatural and out of place?
- What causes them to get dysregulated?
- What is the style of their shadow and defenses?
- Listen to their voice: Is it sincere, feigned, dead, alive?
- How do they respond to you? And vice versa?
- What masks do people wear, and what is innate?
- What behaviors can you rely on in others, for good or bad?
- Imagine feeling what someone does. What do you experience?
- Dial into people without looking. What happens?
- How do people test boundaries and defenses?
- How does halo-effecting influence behavior?
- How can you clear yourself out after interactions?
- How can you test intuition and instinct with observations?
- How does imagination influence your mind, body, and being?
- How do people look if you view them like they are wild animals?
- How do unconscious cues show up in people’s behaviors and what you feel, sense, imagine, and dream based off what they do?
- Where do you feel the most comfortable? Are these places actually safer than others based on outside evidence, or does past trauma make you feel comfortable in dangerous places because they seem familiar?
What’s hidden in plain sight can easily be overlooked.
Read between the lines. If your body and intuition nag you to pay attention, listen, and act accordingly; knowing you might need to hit the brakes, reevaluate, and do what’s necessary to adapt.
Also, be mindful of how you present yourself when reading another, ensuring you manage conscious and subconscious realizations and sensations, so as not to set people off and trigger an attack on yourself, or other people.
To put it lightly, not everyone wants to be in touch with reality and can experience the truth as painful, mean, intolerable, triggering, off-putting, weird, strange, and even evil, and attempt to take out what they perceive as a threat, whether real or imagined; including physical and psychological abuse.
People have traumas, triggers, defenses, and ways of avoiding and blocking out pain to maintain what they see themselves, others, and reality to be.
Understandably, seeing and sensing what others hold in their unconscious and making it conscious in yourself can unleash the stench of people’s repressed darkness, weaknesses, failures, eccentricities, and quirks, triggering some, to say the least.
To try to fend off what they experience as danger, they can make you out to be a problem.
People can apologize for years, and come back to attack, dominate, and even murder those who saw through their lies, instead of facing themselves when they find their pain uncomfortable.
That’s why a keen intuition, instinct, and awareness must be treated with respect for the powerful tools they can be, and action must be taken when threats are detected.
However, sometimes people need to be told firmly and tactfully about the flaws, errors, and hurtful ways of behaving that impact others negatively, even to the point of retributively abusing them to protect oneself and others.
List of different emotions and feelings:
With practice, we can start to see how the different emotions and feelings show up in people, such as:
– Joy & happiness: smiling, open-heartedness, warmth, a glowing sensation, euphoria, invigoration, jubilance, effervescence, feeling uplifted, sparkling eyes, laughter, radiating energy.
*Playful movement, jumping up and down, clasping one’s hands and smiling, clapping hands, dancing, singing, feeling gratitude; leaning in, and smiling with a hand on the heart and grabbing someone’s hand.
*Spontaneous acts of kindness, feeling connected, celebrating, sharing good news, contentment (a feeling of peaceful happiness, calm demeanor, relaxed, tranquil, a light smile), satisfaction, fulfillment, pride.
– Sadness, grief, & trauma: sorrow-filled eyes, pouty lips, tearing up, crying, bawling, putting a hand (or hands) up on the face and crying, feeling choked up, sunken-in chest, clouded heart.
*Crying with one’s hand on their chest, lowered head, slowing down, feeling as if one is in a fog, roving eyes.
*Feeling heartbroken, getting a tense heart that’s difficult to release (broken-heart syndrome, takotsubo cardiomyopathy; which can lead to heart attacks).
*Feeling miserable, drained, downtrodden, bogged down, lethargic, numb, depressed (ranging from a low and depressed mood to emotional flatline and lacking feelings).
*Feeling tense, frightened, anxious, embarrassed, restless, guilty, shameful, regretful, remorseful; emotional outbursts, emotional catharsis; dissociation (derealization and depersonalization).
*Feeling trapped, feeling an impending sense of doom, feeling the terror of the trauma coming back again; regressing to previous coping mechanisms, defenses, and post-traumatic symptoms.
*Engaging in repetition compulsions in an attempt to heal traumas (see the section on defense mechanisms); escaping trauma by leaving areas where it happened.
*Traumatic flooding from memories; outside triggers (items, places, people, situations, states of being), and intentional abuse from other people; isolating oneself.
*Obsessions to overcome grief, and restabilize one’s sense of self; fighting to fix situations related to one’s trauma, going to spots (for example, walking in nature) to heal.
*Addictions to avoid feelings, perfectionism (pushing away work, out of fear of making mistakes), embarrassment, blushing.
*Low self-worth, avoiding responsibilities, making mistakes more than usual, difficulty making decisions, acting out sorrow through anger towards what made them sad, complaining.
*Tight throat, tense arms and hands, tense abdomen, upper chest, and other body parts; slumped shoulders, sighing frequently, hopelessness, helplessness, futility, lack of motivation, feeling time moving slowly, getting heavy limbs.
*Getting physical symptoms and syndromes like stomach pain, body aches, rapid heartbeat, hot flashes, chills, sweating, panic attacks, nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, vertigo (the spins), headaches, dry heaving, vomiting, digestive issues, diarrhea, constipation, ulcers, strokes, heart attacks, weight fluctuations, rashes, hives, frequent urination, incontinence, becoming overheated, grinding teeth, clenching fists, rapid heartbeat, frequent illness, chronic disease.
*Waking up in the middle of the night crying, waking up in a hot sweat and panic; waking up feeling as if you are in a different place, and don’t know where you are.
*Breathing shallow, hyperventilating (gasping for air), breathing in an uneven fashion; gasping for breath, and crying (sometimes screaming).
*Becoming clumsy, misplacing coordination, getting dysregulated more easily, ruminating, hypervigilance, overwhelm, paranoia, loss of concentration, memory lapses.
*Catatonia: a psychomotor disorder with slowed movement, a foggy reality tunnel, stupor, rigid postures, frozen states, speech impediments, resistance to commands; echolalia (repeating the phrases of others), echopraxis (mimicking the movements of others).
*Increased physical and psychological sensitivity, hypersensitivity, and possibly a misophonic response where sensations, emotions, noises, and visual stimulation can become overwhelming and damaging to the body and psyche.
*Fear, anxiety, & panic: Getting a rapid heartbeat, feeling the heart pumping, getting chest pain, getting a tense heart that’s difficult to release; putting a hand on one’s heart, and turning from side to side to look for safety, looking to others for help.
*Tight throat, tense arms and hands, tense abdomen, tense upper chest, tense groin, overall tense body; pulling shoulders up, pulling one’s tongue inwards, gulping, opening the eyes in shock.
*Flared nostrils, tingling hands, kicking legs up when sitting, shakiness, trembling, hands on the side of the head.
*Feeling trapped, feeling an impending sense of doom, feeling the terror of the trauma coming back again; regressing to previous coping mechanisms, defenses, and post-traumatic symptoms.
*Frequently checking out the sources of what causes fear, hypervigilance, overwhelm, paranoia, loss of concentration, memory lapses.
*Stumbling over words, urging someone (or oneself) to take action, screaming, phobias, a feeling of impending doom.
*Along with the other symptoms of grief and trauma above.
– Guilt, regret, and shame: uneasy, distressed, lowered head, sullen face, red cheeks, avoidant eyes and behavior, fidgety, sunken-in chest and gut, furrowed brow, hands on the face, hand on the forehead.
*Sinking feeling and hand on the gut, crossed arms, crying, nausea, headaches, dizziness, indigestion, rumination, disappointment, sorrow, downward facing eyes.
*Shaking the head from side to side, hand on the head, tense expression, sighing, muttering, pensive about one’s wrongdoing; can mix with the guilt and shame expression above.
– Embarrassment: blushing, nervousness, acting awkward, laughing, red cheeks, lowered head, a look of shock, tense gut, avoidant behavior.
*Hiding and attempting to escape one’s wrongdoing, reasoning away the embarrassment, indigestion, and nausea.
*Crying, furrowed brow, hands on the face, sinking feeling and hand on the gut, crossed arms; feeling humiliated, weak, mistaken, or fake; at the extreme, vomiting.
– Frustration: Pursed lips, intense eyes, furrowed brow, fixed posture, tapping fingers, tapping coffee cups, short fuse, irritation, tense belly, fire in the belly.
*Spills into aggression if the obstacle of frustration is not overcome, which can also turn into hopelessness, helplessness, sorrow, grief, and eventually depression if the frustration is not overcome.
– Anger: furrowed eyebrows, pursed lips, intense eyes, clenched fists, crossed arms, fixed posture, tense body, stomping.
*Gut rumbling, tense belly with a feeling of intensity and irritation (fire in the belly), becoming short-fused, throwing stuff.
*Whipping with the mind, acting destructive, fighting, complaining.
*A need to redirect the force of the anger (which can include course correcting, asserting oneself, scolding, yelling, fighting).
*Ranges from irritation and annoyance to anger and aggression to shaking and volatile rage, fury, violence, hatred; pointing a finger, saying no, and spitting on the floor.
*Like frustration, anger can also turn into hopelessness, helplessness, sorrow, grief, and eventually depression if one gets stuck in a rut.
– Indignance: Offended, angry reaction to immorality, scorn, tense belly with a feeling of intensity and irritation (fire in the belly).
*Putting those who offended in their place (or wanting to); feeling as if the situation is unfair, unwarranted, and unethical; pointing a finger, saying no, and spitting on the floor.
– Disgust: wrinkled nose, pursed lips, nasal deflation, sighing, crossed arms, roving eyes, frowning, scowling, sneering, grimacing.
*Getting angry, shaking the head from side to side, avoiding eye contact, waving away sources of disgust.
*Turning away, leaning away, pushing away, taking shallow breaths, gasping, gagging, covering one’s mouth, saying “gross.”
*Holding one’s breath, getting goosebumps, putting a hand on the belly, upturned stomach, vomiting.
– Contempt and disdain: dismissing, smirking, crossing arms, staring down, snarling, turning away, walking away, waving away with hands, feeling one is unworthy of consideration.
– Jealousy and envy: narrowed eyes, wrinkled nose, pursed lips, clenched face, tensed belly, staring down, crossed arms, foot stomping, resentment, frustration, getting angry, acting out, wanting what one does not have (or assuming they do not).
– Hatred: mix of frustration, anger, indignance, disgust, contempt, jealousy, guilt, sadness, fear, arrogance, and other emotions, which can tip into retroactively abusive behaviors.
– Surprise: wide eyes, raised eyebrows, gasping, open mouth, hands up, uprising feelings, attentiveness, hand on the gut, expressing the feeling of surprise vocally.
– Excitement: intensified energy, smile, wide eyes, head shaking from side to side, hands on the face, hands up on the cheeks, hugging, moving towards what excites more enthusiastically, acting on impulse, fast movement, moving more than usual.
– Awe: wide eyes, raised eyebrows, mouth open, open jaw, wonder, reverence, sparkling eyes, face softens, elevated heartbeat.
*Feeling inspired, time slowing or standing still, feeling connected to a greater force (like nature) as if part of a larger whole, speaking softly, feeling joy.
*Placing a hand on the heart and admiring the sublime aspects of life, nodding in acknowledgment, hands clasped together.
*Goosebumps, feelings of inspiration, standing still in astonishment, feeling humbled.
– Gratitude: feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, warmth in the heart, expressing appreciation and thanks, smiling, making eye contact and acknowledging, shaking hands and nodding.
*Putting a hand on the heart, giving hugs and handshakes, giving back to those who inspired feelings of gratitude, going into a state of reflection, contentedness.
– Confident: smiling with satisfaction and pleasure, dignified, holding the head high, self-respecting; standing upright with shoulders back, ready to confront the world.
*Bold chest, crossed arms, relaxed posture, walking forthright, sitting with poise.
*Speaking assertively and remaining on point, acting resilient and adaptable, embodying leadership, inspiring others.
– Humility: modesty, awareness of one’s abilities and shortcomings; a viewpoint, and state of being that remains open to blind spots and the unknown.
*A capacity to take feedback, and adjust oneself and their outside life; teachable, reflective, respectful; knowing when to be submissive, and when to be dominant.
*Grateful for what happens, honest, do the work to survive and help (as opposed to for attention).
*Oriented towards helping others, supportive, find being conceited off-putting, approachable and understanding, patient.
– Arrogance: Grandiose face, vainglorious bravado, braggadocious, ostentatious; attention focused towards the brow in an overly assured manner.
*Fixated on a false sense of self (persona identified), pursed lips, snide, puffed out chest, immature, flashy, gaudy, tacky, glitzy, clenched fists.
*Brash behavior and movement, impatient, impulsive, judgmental, abusive, prone to anger and blowing up, violent.
*Prone to dysregulation, dominating, controlling, thumbing, standoffish, distant, jealous, envious.
*Exploitative and discompassionate (empathy directed towards manipulating others and wanting obsequious and gullible sycophants, shills, and groupies who easily fall for cons).
*Promiscuous stare, paired with a sense of entitlement towards what the arrogant abuser is prowling, while also caught red-handed for their wrongdoing.
*Insecurity, squishiness, embarrassment, shame, guilt, sorrow, anxiety, panic, and other negative emotions underneath a haughty, conceited mask.
*Self-important masks (which are also associated with acting out defense mechanisms, in order to avoid feelings), gullibility due to thinking they know more than they do.
– Evil: Maniacal scowl, volatile anger, rage, venomous eyes, clenching fists; prone to revenge, whether deserved or not.
*Murderous intent, a storm cloud of aggression that’s prone to bubbling over and stabbing out, creepy smiles and expressions, lack of a sense of safety for oneself and others.
*Numb to pain (can handle prolonged physical and psychological abuse), anxious, dysregulated.
*Feel deserving of lackeys doing their bidding, and outraged and vengeful when they do not; sic members on others.
*Killing sprees, going on blind rampages and murdering whatever is in their path, looking down on other people (disdainful); villainizing morality, and anything they disagree with.
*Lack remorse and justify their actions.
*Cannibalistic (consume others psychologically), sadistic (enjoy hurting others and derive sexual pleasure from inflicting or witnessing pain).
*Can be hidden within a cavalier, regal garb; or colloquially placed in mundane jobs.
– Power: Strong embodied energy and outlook, forthright, secure within oneself, firm handshake, courageous, brave, mutable, adaptable, resilient, have a natural sense of presence.
*Resourceful, grounded, assertive, dynamic, tenacious, driven, steadfast (grit out work and the path towards their goals), mission-focused, charismatic, visionary, influential, capable of managing fear.
– Submission: hands joined in front of sacrum, firm outlook, attentive, waiting for details to meet the outcomes of the mission, yielding to leaders, surrendering to a greater force.
– Obsequiousness: submissive posture, hands joined in front of the sacrum, eager to please, anxious, roving eyes looking for the next step to help those who they are obsequious to.
*Trying too hard to please, running around to meet the needs of others, so as not to feel the underlying anxiety and dysregulation.
*Waiting for a hand out (begging), angry when they don’t get what they are pleading for, hurt over inoffensive behaviors.
*Easily destabilized, embarrassed they fail (or think they do); off-putting smile, and inappropriate hyena laugh (guffaw).
*Hands joined in front of the sacrum, eager to please; running around to meet the needs of others, so as not to feel the underlying anxiety and dysregulation.
*Anxious, easily destabilized, embarrassed they fail (or think they do); off-putting smile, and inappropriate hyena laugh (guffaw).
*Sycophantic bragging, behavior to gain the attention of their leader(s); meekly bowing to those who they appoint as commander (conscious or not), talking too much to gain favor of those they are attempting to manipulate.
– Curiosity: Leaning towards what one is interested in, questioning look, raising eyebrows, biting lips, pursing lips, biting a pen, intensely focused, tilting the head, inquisitive stance, skeptical with a raised eyebrow.
*Hand on mouth, hand on chin, hand on forehead, hands hips, wrinkled lips, head tilted, scoffing, nodding, feeling eager and engaged, asking questions, exploring environments.
*Observing as many details as possible, touching, examining, listening intently, doing experiments.
*Tapping fingers (or objects) in anticipation of finding, talking with others, reflecting, recalibrating.
– Desire: Dilated eyes, leaning in towards what one wants, intense looks, longing, craving, lip biting, excited movements like jumping up and down.
*Increased heart rate, a sense of urgency towards what one desires, flushed cheeks, reaching out to get what one desires.
*Rapid breathing, feeling warmth in the heart, putting a hand on the heart and opening one’s mouth, raising eyebrows.
*Swallowing hard, feeling butterflies in the stomach in anticipation of getting what they desire, rubbing hands together, clapping when they get what they want.
– Compassion: tuning into another person or organism, and considering how they feel (empathy); open-heartedness, tender feelings, acting gentle, concern for one’s misfortune, focused listening, acting patient.
*A willingness to help where possible, spending time to support another, acting kind and caring, smiling, making eye contact.
*Checking in on other people’s well-being, showing forgiveness, making sure the other person feels seen, standing up for others, creating safety for those less fortunate, sorrow and grief for the pain of others.
– Affection: fondness, feeling bonded, smiling, recognition of another, warm and tender heart towards those whom they like.
*Touching one’s heart when they feel moved, longing, feeling excited to be with those they have affection for, a sense of trust and belonging, walking in tandem, holding hands, expressing care.
– Love refers to a deep sense of connection and affection with another; paired with an intense interest, and investment in who or what is loved.
*Pleasure in related to the object of gratification, adoration, cherishing those they love, devotion, flirtation, dating, and romance.
*Soft eyes (watery eyes, flower eyes), touching, holding hands, hugging, kissing, soft voice, skipping, touching gently.
– Other emotional states to map out: Admiration, benevolence, disappointment, elation, fascination, helplessness, insecurity, longing, optimism, resentment, satisfaction, serenity, empathy, sympathy, amusement, apathy, aversion, confusion, bewilderment, bliss, disgust, gratitude, euphoria, impatience, melancholy, remorse, trust, tenderness, bitterness, calmness, defeat, glee, horror, inspired, intrigued, mistrusting, triumph, uneasy, suspicious, conflicted, embarrassed, nostalgia, loneliness, cynical, broody, determination, boredom, relief, pleasure, elation, dispersion, hope, pride, angsts, humiliation, ecstasy, desperation, yearning, contentment, suspense, vindication, reverence, misery, forlornness, jealousy, exasperation, liberation, dread, empowerment, obsession, awe, comfort, pride, solemnity, wistfulness, zeal, affection, distrust, evil, and so on.
Body language of attraction and flirting: feeling chemistry in the air, becoming aroused, dilating eyes, holding eye contact, giving doe eyes, feeling caught off guard, wide-eyeing who they are attracted to and blinking; putting down glasses, and looking at someone as if they’ve never seen them before.
*Hand(s) up on the face in shock, giving subtle glances, turning and glancing back, bumping into a potential mate and doing a double take, smiling, getting excited, laughing, hitting and laughing, teasing and giggling, tickling, laughing at jokes and flaws, touching and patting playfully.
*Feelings of affection and love with an open heart, putting a hand on the heart, becoming vulnerable, acting cute and playful, behaving in a sensual and loving manner.
*Acting compassionate and understanding, showing empathy and sympathy, mirroring behaviors, flicking hair to one side, twirling hair, opening their palms to show one is honest, complementing, looking for feedback; moving one’s hand from top to bottom, and saying one is an all around a good mate.
*Open body language as well defensive body language, kissing in their mind, feeling a sense of longing, hand to the head to show you are stressed and may need help, adjusting routines to become available to the potential lover, expectantly peeking over the crowd towards whom they like.
*Popping bubbles; feeling the need to prove one’s worth, and showing they are a suitable candidate in a humble way; cleaning the room and looking at them with a smile, patting who they like in the air in a nurturing way, sitting close.
*Making up excuses to be near someone, hand to the heart and pointing back and forth to indicate they want to pair up, stepping inside a prospective date’s bubble, offering help, asking for help.
*Protecting, standing up for someone and becoming indignant, giving heart and helping (which can result in getting more heart); feelings of recognition shared between the eyes, heart, and entire being.
– Primping: beautifying and creating a romantic aura and atmosphere around oneself, cleaning up, grooming, putting on make-up, dressing up, picking clean like a primate, decorating and waving hands to show the room is clean, fixing hair, dusting off the apron, adjusting clothes, tanning, putting on lotion and smelling oneself, spraying on perfume; hairstyles like bunny ears, ox horns, ram horns, pigtail, buns, puppy ears.
– Seduction: winking, using objects (pens, glasses, jewelry), lipsticking, glancing at someone with a “woah, you’re cute” look, enticing way, numbering, pursing, school booking.
*Putting one’s hand out for a ring and kiss, standing with flowers in hand, revealing intense eyes, tantalizingly growling, turning their head, locking eyes.
*Pawing their prospective date’s hand or arm, picking up their dress and doing a curtsy, puckering lips, biting lips, moving the tongue, licking teeth, licking fingers.
*Side-eyeing in a provocative way, raising one’s leg to the back and smiling, dancing out their feelings, pulling their tail, showing off their tail, throwing a person they like the keys.
*Putting a baby in the belly of their possible mate; walking away with a child and smiling.
– Anxious behaviors: acting coy and alluring, fidgeting, acting nervous, letting out a big sigh to prepare to talk, putting a tail between the legs and getting anxious to talk to their potential mate, tapping a body part or object in anticipation, feeling insecure, acting awkward, almost fainting; swooning, patting themselves down, and actually fainting.
– Physical symptoms: becoming hot, sweating, getting clamming hands, feeling queasy (butterflies in the stomach), becoming nauseous, getting a headache if stressed enough, vomiting from nerves.
– Postures: adjusting one’s posture and stance, standing tall and confident, leaning in, positioning oneself like a swan to flirt and look alluring and sensual, putting a hand on the belly with a baby in it; patting one’s belly for a baby, and putting a hand on their back, to indicate how heavy it feels.
– Evaluating mates: sniffing out, and assessing body language and how to approach the person and situation, gauging one’s health and fitness, checking the behaviors and social groups of the person you like, evaluating for abusive behaviors and red flags, challenging behaviors that test mate selection, looking for another mate and acting out (known or not) when a relationship is failing.
– Dating and courting routines: dinners, picnics, movies, hikes, exercising, playing together, cheering glasses, giving gifts, kissing, hugging, holding hands, walking in tandem, dancing, shared habits and routines, going to treasured places and memories.
*Protective and potentially negative behaviors, such as: becoming fickle, acting out, waving away, running away, growling away, and crumpling up numbers.
*Deflecting away with their hand, putting a hand on the gut in disgust, stringing away, spraying repellent, fisting out anger, hiding tools.
*Putting them on a leash, manipulating them to go away, attempting to make other mates jealous, pitting people against one another to upset them (triangulating), and so on.
Assess your body language, state, and behaviors:
– What is your overall stance, outlook, and center of focus? How do you carry yourself? Can you improve your stance to stay alert in a balanced way without triggering others?
– How do you think you might be coming off to people? What does real-world feedback tell you, despite what you may want to think otherwise?
– How does your state of being fluctuate in response to others?
– How do you react differently depending on mood, dysregulation, weather, stress, traumas, overstimulation, or other factors?
– Can you shift your body language and state to create a more beneficial flow in yourself and others?
– What triggers throw you off balance, no matter how mundane? Can you create healthy responses to those triggers?
Seeing & Addressing Abusive Behavior
Abuse refers to the mistreatment of another person or organism and shows up in many ways, including but not limited to:
Dysregulating, manipulating, lying, neglecting, enabling, bullying, mocking, humiliating, teasing, criticizing, insulting, blaming, shaming, belittling, devaluing, deranging, dismantling, ridiculing, undermining, invalidating, marginalizing, defaming, oppressing, terrifying, frightening, vandalizing, attacking, brutalizing, slandering, gossiping, patronizing, antagonizing, berating, ransacking, ambushing, nagging, mauling, rampaging, battering, assaulting, raping, exhausting, depleting, denying, ignoring, overreacting, confusing, distracting, isolating, undermining, minimizing, withholding, dismissing, deflecting, nullifying, giving the silent treatment, stonewalling, throwing away, being disrespectful, acting flippant, trivializing, silencing, guilting, gaslighting (reality warping), crazymaking, brainwashing, threatening, intimidating, forcing, foisting, extorting, blackmailing, conning, scamming, exploiting, deceiving, sabotaging, trapping, thwarting, subverting, quicksanding, stalling, robbing, holding hostage, colluding, conspiring, cheating, triangulating (pitting people against one another), objectifying, obsessing over (limerence), spoiling, pampering, doting, gloating, misleading, distorting, misrepresenting, misinforming, idolizing, grooming, pedestalizing, instrumentalizing, smothering, clinging, infantilizing, enmeshing, engulfing, overprotecting, betraying, discarding, abandoning, ghosting, alienating, villianizing, ostracizing, excluding, intruding, harassing, stalking, invading boundaries, spying, torturing, enslaving, possessing, endangering, paralyzing, fatiguing, draining, parasiting, infecting, blinding, clinging, spinning up, dizzying, accusing, fear-mongering, unfairly incriminating, traumatic flooding, feigning ignorance, making hurtful sarcastic remarks, love bombing, tantalizing, wrongfully seducing and charming, peer pressuring, hazing, exaggerating weaknesses, trauma bonding and creating dependency, triggering insecurities, mind and memory snatching, begging for attention, victimizing, headaching, heart attacking, stroking, dizzying, nauseating, and interfering with one’s growth and individuation.
Abuse generates physical, psychological, mental, and energetic dysregulation that throws off the trajectory of people’s lives, and is considered a form of domestic violence (a punishable offense worthy of lawsuits, recompensation, and jail time).
Without learning how to protect ourselves, identify maltreatment, and neglect, we can expose ourselves and others to wounds that may never be healed, and cause immense suffering.
Abuse may not be about other people but the abuser’s reaction, their broken sense of self, and corresponding injurious behaviors, habits, and lifestyles, which seem to take over the abuser’s sense of self and get offloaded onto other people, organisms, and the environment; as if possessed by an outside force akin to demon possession, with the use of voodoo dolls, curses, hexes, spells, charms, amulets, talisman, crystals, and other related magical terms.
Abusers seem to either lack empathy and compassion, or can be empathetic and compassionate, but flip into destructive states when hurting another.
*With roots in the German word “einfühlung,” meaning “feeling into,” empathy refers to reading what another person is emoting, feeling, and sensing; being aware of and sensitive to another person, organism, environment, or situation.
*Sympathy refers to experiencing a shared feeling of common understanding and sorrow for their misfortune.
*In contrast, compassion refers to feeling concerned for someone’s well-being and wanting to help relieve pain, discomfort, and trauma where it makes sense.
Rather than focus on healing, abusers can attempt to trigger wounds, frailties, neediness, and traumatic flood people to force them into becoming numb, dead objects that they can hurt and use again and again, even if they make them suicidal or actually kill them; convincing their victims that they are to blame no matter how much evidence the abusers are confronted with.
These harmful behaviors are enforced by those who enable, aid and abet, and make excuses for destructive and damaging behaviors, no matter how much cost to themselves, other people, other organisms, the planet, the solar system, and beyond.
If it weren’t one person, organism, environment, or situation getting damaged and destroyed, possibly to the point of no return, it would be another.
Attempting to influence dangerous humans with love, reason, wealth, connections, healing, or other methods can be an unwise investment, hurting us and those we care about.
Abusers seem to have an impaired ability to regulate themselves and can rely on others to take out their inner turmoil on, especially when they decompensate as their defense mechanisms and coping strategies no longer hold them back from abuse; reacting from a dysregulated inner locus of control, a capacity to maintain themselves without outside factors they attempt to use as anchors.
Object constancy refers to the ability to map out what psychologists call inner and outer objects, as in the objects outside of us and our inner templates, maps, and schemas (schematic templates for navigation) for them; developed from Freudian psychology and the work of Austrian-British psychoanalyst Melanie Klein (1882 to 1960) as she relates object constancy to infant development and how it manifests in later life as one ages.
Cluster B personality disorders: Beyond abusers without diagnosable psychological conditions, a few types of diagnosable conditions that can manifest in abusive behavior include:
*Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a condition where someone emphasizes grandiosity, omnipotence, superiority, and haughty behaviors paired with an emphasis on the exploitation of others, getting attention (positive or negative) to regulate oneself, diminished empathy and compassion, pathological envy, and an outlook that they deserve to be part of an elite, special group.
NPD is a Cluster B personality disorder described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), referring to extreme and prolonged conditions of dramatic, erratic, and dysregulated psychological and physical responses.
*Anti-social personality disorder (ASPD), commonly called psychopathy or sociopathy, is a condition where someone is overly defiant to social norms and laws (including jail time), prone to lying and manipulation, impulsiveness, aggression, irritability, lack of remorse, overlooking safety and harm, and irresponsibility.
*Borderline personality disorder (BPD), another Cluster B, refers to a condition that contains the following criteria: a distressed reaction to abandonment, a pattern of idealization and devaluation in relationships that tend to be intense and built on shaky ground, identity disturbance (unstable sense of self), self-mutilation and suicidal behavior, psychological and physical dysregulation, feeling a gnawing void within, paranoia, and dissociation (depersonalization and derealization).
*Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a condition where someone finds themselves uncomfortable when they are not the focus of attention, are prone to overtly sexual behaviors, rapid shifts in emotion, an overemphasis on appearance, evocative or bland language, vulnerable to manipulation, and see relationships as more intimate and deep than they are.
Denying mistreatment, danger, and suffering: Betrayal trauma, a term described by Dr. Jennifer Freyd, is a type of trauma where someone denies suffering after their trust is breached, infringed upon, and violated.
Breaking trust with someone, something, or a situation can leave deep scars, prompting us to attempt to reach back out to those who abused us to try and fix the relationship.
If we don’t know any better, we can learn the hard way that some people don’t care about health, survival, or the lives of others; and some will even use pain, suffering, chaos, crisis, and life-threatening disasters and traumas against us, or actually enjoy inflicting harm and torture (sadists).
Don’t be fooled by sweet and charismatic smiles, or beauty, skills, talents, connections, resources, money, or other tangential benefits.
Dangerous, destructive, and damaging people can be skilled and talented actors who know how to hide their traits and go unnoticed, until it’s too late and we are at the mercy of their abuse.
Remove the rose-tinted glasses and overly compassionate heart, and replace them with a healthy suspicion towards assessing people, organisms, environments, worldviews, value systems, and situations as they happen in real-time.
Everyone is a potential danger until proven otherwise.
And even when you think you know someone, remain alert, and look for evidence of how to adjust to what happens within relationships; regardless of how deep you thought the bond was.
It does not matter if someone acts kind, understanding, loving, generous, and fun a portion of the time.
Abuse still hurts and can cause irreparable damage to physical and psychological health, finances, career goals, relationships, living environment, and other areas of our lives.
Developing an escape plan: Do what is necessary to escape with minimal harm. Hurting abusers on the way out can lead to more harm, with some damage and battery that may be irreversible.
Revenge can feel worth it, but it can cause more pain in the long term. The chance that abusers will change and stop battering can be slim to none, or may trigger them more into retaliation and harmful behavior (including physical abuse and murder).
Only force retribution and express your point of view or fight back with the truth if necessary, or you may have to endure the consequences and suffer more pain; pain which may be unchangeable and take out the foundation of your life.
Building Relationships: Who Are Your Allies?
Comparable to a tuning fork, we can resonate with other people and take on their states of being, perspectives, and physical states.
In fact, research indicates that human brains can synchronize when people listen and talk to each other.
That’s why it’s essential to surround ourselves with supportive people we resonate with, who enhance us, not diminish us.
A few questions to ask when finding allies:
- What do you each contribute?
- Do you share values?
- Can you be vulnerable with one another?
- Do you feel safe?
- Can they take care of themselves?
- Can they ask for help if they need it?
- Can they admit weakness and failure?
- Do you feel seen and understood?
- Do they challenge you?
- Can you set and maintain boundaries?
- Are they empathetic and compassionate?
- Can you accept each other’s dark sides?
- Do they reach out when you’re down?
- Are they happy about your accomplishments?
- Do they respect those who deserve it?
- Do they support you without enabling you?
- Do they listen and see you?
- Do problems get resolved?
- Do they surround themselves with moral people?
- Does spending time with them fulfill you?
- Can your intimacy grow and develop?
- Can you be yourself?
- How can you assign roles based on competence?
Managing control tendencies:
*Control: influencing other people, lifeforms, events, and scenarios.
Reflect on what control means and how it may show up in your life. Is there anything you can actually control?
The most control we may be able to get, is learning to manage the inner steering wheel of our psychological and physical being; which can break and lose connection, if we go through life challenges that create psychological traumas and physical problems that need to be managed, or fixed.
Learning to emotionally invest in people, things, goals, situations, ideals, dreams, and other components of life, without getting overly attached (which may be unavoidable) is necessary, or else we can suffer needlessly when change occurs, which is inevitable.
Meditation, walks, nature, movement, creativity, work, relationships, and other coping mechanisms and practices, can help us accept what’s happened, and clarify what’s worth fighting for, and what is worth letting go of and reengineering.
So can those nowhere-to-go occurrences, where we are pressured into releasing what we thought was reliable and stable and able to be influenced, managed, and done in a certain way.
– How can you manage impulses, and let go of attempting to control the outcome, and focus on caring about what matters most, without becoming overly rigid?
– Where do you attempt to control the organic flow of life? And where do you avoid what you feel you cannot influence? What are your patterns?
– Where are you stuck on past mistakes, failures, errors, wounds, and traumas trying to fix the unfixable?
– Where can you emotionally invest to add to your life (gain energy), and what and who emotionally drains you? How can you tweak habits, behaviors, and lifestyle choices to suit those needs based on present circumstances?
– How might fear, anxiety, paranoia (over-the-top mistrust and suspicion), and dysregulation, influence attempts to control those areas of life that cannot be influenced or managed?
– What does it feel like when others try to control you? How can you tell if you are correct or not?
Accessing creative states with forms:
Write, speak, or act as though you are channeling and embodying someone’s different states of being; allowing them to communicate and move through you without forcing them, or becoming fixated on understanding what you are saying as you write, channel, and embody these states of being; navigating the various states as you create and live them out.
Allow the experience to emerge and flow through you, and see what verbiage, shifts in perspectives, creative fodder, and physical, psychological, and imaginative states they bring about.
Tap into a seemingly limitless web of being, and write, speak, or act without restricting what you say, and see how your vocabulary and states change, and influence what you feel and experience.
Channeling other states may feel wobbly at first, and requires letting go of attempting to control the flow of logic, and allowing words, experiences, mental processes, emotions, feelings, and physical sensations to move in an open and flexible manner; knowing when to be fixed, assertive, and constrained in your intent, and how to modulate physicality, emotion, and awareness to allow creativity to move through you, as you work through different ways of communicating and channeling embodiments.
Transcribe and feel what’s in and around you, as if interacting with a living, breathing force of energy, moving through the finer threads that appear; no matter how odd they feel or seem to the logical mind.
As you channel different forms, listen to and feel out the voices and forms you trust, which ones you don’t, and how different people, archetypal forces, incarnations, and configurations can act as a supportive inner counsel, helping in ways that we may have trouble seeing for ourselves; while others can serve as adversaries, enemies, and protagonists; among other relevant lessons, and ways of embodying forms and archetypes.
Note the differences between fact and fiction; how more than one viewpoint, sensation, or state may hold value and importance; how contradictions, absurdity, exaggeration, and abuse that exposes how cruel the world can be, can serve as a way to break up habitual frameworks, provide clarity and perspective, and open our physical and psychological awareness, and provide other meaningful learning examples.
Also, look for ways to test assumptions, bias, rigidities, modes of thinking, communication frameworks, states of being, and experiences generated from intuitive communication and archetypal embodiments; as well as finding methods to explore the shadow sides of them, too.
Once you can work with one voice, form, or configuration, switch to weaving together different aspects of yourself and others, including different archetypes that appear, do not appear, and may never, i.e., mom, dad, brother, sister, teacher, psychologist, survivor, scholar, CEO, secretary, manager, writer, researcher, doctor, nurse, detective, chief, villain, comedian, actor, monk, shaman, magician; or juxtapositions like anger and peace, serious and goofy, relaxed and anxious, lazy and determined, mutable and rigid, feminine and masculine, happy and sad, excited and indifferent, calm and agitated, loving and hateful, hopeful and hopeless, empathetic and disempathetic, grateful and unappreciative.
Along with channeling multiple people’s voices and beings at once, ancestors, film characters, cultural archetypes to learn from their different styles, nature’s organisms, imaginary forms like cartoon characters, characters from video games, and other creations and improvisational methods.
(More examples of these practices are provided in the meditation section below).
Instinctually Navigating & Mapping Reality
Intuition refers to a sense of inner knowing, and can relate to the nervous system wires within our solar plexus, gut, brain, spine, and body, as well as our base animal instincts.
As well as intellect, heart, emotion, feeling, vision, taste, touch, smell, sound, movement, sensation, dreaming, creativity, and whatever other senses and faculties may exist.
Intuition can act like a roving transceiver (transmitter and receiver), sending and reading information and experiences without attempting to figure out what they mean and define them in present-time, following threads and seeing where they go without buying into maps we thought were right.
It takes training to see, feel, and sense the who, what, when, where, and why of what is harmonious and resonant, when the music doesn’t sound quite right, or conflicts in an unhealthy way and causes irritating and harmful frictions, and the different vibrational oscillations, notes, chords, and harmonies.
Besides tuning into our own first-hand experience, reading literature and watching other people, animals, and insects can help us hone our instincts and intuition.
Notice how the senses can appear throughout the day:
– In what ways do your senses tune you in?
– How do you sense intuition and gut instinct?
– Do dreams or visions act as premonitions?
– Do you sense what’s going on before realizing it?
– What feels right, even if it’s against what seems logical?
– How have your senses helped you avoid danger?
– How does intuition and instinct link with nature?
– How can you pick up on unconscious bodily hints?
– Do you feel people’s emotions, states of being, and health?
– Do you sense their defenses and impulses?
– Do you sense when people or animals pass away?
– What helps you develop your senses?
– What enhances you? What drains you?
– How can you maintain boundaries?
– How do you release feelings and energies?
– Dial into someone. What do you see and sense?
– How can you distinguish between senses?
– How does nature influence intuition?
– How do traumas and blind spots influence seeing?
– How can you break and create trances?
– How does outer reality symbolize inner reality?
– What imaginative overlays and images do you see?
– How can you distinguish between pontification and truth?
– How does instinct and intuition change when still and quiet?
– How does what you do influence the finer energy threads, emotions, and physical sensations of what happens?
We can hone our senses through meditation, movement, breathing, immersion in nature, gardening, work, creativity, art, music, habits, writing, research, learning, mentorship, relationships, intimacy, travel, and other practices that challenge our preconceptions and sense of self, and tune us into a more direct and immediate sense of reality, each other, the environment, and the realms found within and between a computer screen and phone.
But, we do not control what happens and do not always read senses and signals correctly. The more we attempt to influence perception, the more elusive our senses can be.
Psychological & Scientific Research Definitions
*Scientific method: Hypotheses (ideas, thesis, assumptions, and suppositions that lead to more investigation) are generated and tested through experimentation in a systematic, methodical, and empirical fashion to see if they can be reproduced with experimentation, falsified, and refuted.
When scientific experimentation yields enough evidence, data, information, repeatability of experiments, falsifications of these experiments, confrontations of the antithesis of a thesis, and then, a theory (principles, ideas, notions, and prepositions based on repeated data and testing) may develop and get used in further testing and evolution of previous research.
The scientific worldview carries a mindset and state of being that lives out “I don’t know until proven otherwise, and even then what we know as true, proven, and solid can change,” and remains skeptical and assumes not to be dead certain; no matter how much they think they may have figured out or how much proven, irrefutable, and repeatable data and evidence they assume to have.
*Empirical: Based on observation and sense experience.
*Reason, rationality, and logic: Reason (our inner faculties and sorting mechanisms to navigate, map out, and quantify the known and unknown), rationality (the overarching schema and framework for reason and logic), and logic (the rules and algorithms, such as conditional logic which follows a sequence of “if” this “then” that, found in logical thinking and computer programming).
Without learning to observe inner and outer realities and make arguments and debate for what seems to be fact and fiction, we can speak and act in ways that are out of line with what may be truth, impose lies and mistruths on others, and create dangerous models, methods, and physical materials that harm the planet and it’s lifeforms immeasurably.
*Argumentation: A sentence, or set of sentences, that aim at forming a conclusion for or against a viewpoint, hypothesis, or theory; a way of deducing what may be and may not be.
*Literature and science: Psychological experiences do not have specific parameters like scientific experiments, and are not able to be recreated due to their spontaneous and variable nature since there cannot be a control to experiments; at least not with current tools and methods.
So, what’s left is observation, communication, and working with these experiences as they manifest to achieve a more beneficial outcome, empirical literature, not science.
Before making assumptions and wedding ourselves to theories, there is still more to learn about how the physical and psychological impact one another, what claims that seem ridiculous are true, and other relevant points we do not see.
*Anti-bias: Looking and living through a lens that attempts to be aware of the different parts of a person, situation, or thing without allowing prejudice or rigid bias to obscure what may be happening; an open and flexible bias that allows for uncertainty and change.
Inflexible thinking can show up as overusing the word “is” as if life is absolute and can be pinned down in definitive terms, as well as phrases like never, always, everything, everyone, and other fixed terms that don’t reflect reality.
*Dichotomous thinking: Black or white, with no shades of gray, where one invests in fallacious views despite evidence and experience, a delusion with no room for middle ground, relating to a defense mechanism called splitting.
*Gut instinct refers to the feeling in our solar plexus and stomach that links with body and being and is used to feel out and sense situations; signaling potential dangers (even those we haven’t yet figured out), and helping us steer when we can’t see the next step.
Gut instinct can help us make decisions and follow instinctual threads when we feel as if outside maps, information, observations, our own mental processes, or our intuitive sense of inner knowing, does not quite provide us with the next steps.
In terms of physical anatomy, the gut is full of nerve fibers called the enteric nervous system, which is part of the peripheral nervous system that extends outside the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to the rest of the body, environment, and organisms therein; taking in, processing, and communicating experience, information, and energy.
Also, the nervous system contains neurons that send signals throughout the body, acting on electrical impulses and branching out like tree limbs, and aiding in moving, sensing, thinking, emoting, eating, digesting, communicating, reproducing, and other functions.
*Psychic: Referring to difficult-to-understand and mysterious experiences and perceptions like clairvoyance, mediumship, automatic writing, lifeforce, and other psychical phenomena; stemming from the Greek word psyche, which they described as soul, spirit, and mind; having to do with the human psyche and being.
Names for claimed psychic types throughout history include: seer, mentalist, augur, sage, rishi, shaman, monk, prophet, sorcerer, wizard, sibyl, soothsayer, oracle, prognosticator, diviner, vaticinator, fortune teller, prophesizer, forecaster.
*Synchronicity: what Dr. Carl Jung referred to as meaningful coincidence, like experiencing relevant symbolism in the outer world that links with inner experiences.
*Consciousness: Awareness, perception; becoming conscious.
*History of psychology: Around 1882, William James, known as the father of psychology and the founder of the American Psychological Association, worked with the Society of Psychical Research, studying psychical phenomena like thought-transference, clairvoyance, mediumship, hypnotism, Franz Anton Mesmer’s Mesmerism (magnetism affecting life), lifeforce (Reichenbach’s odic force which is akin to Henri Bergson’s élan vital, Wilhelm Reich’s orgone, the Indian term prana, the Chinese term qi, the Japanese ki, the Māori term mauri, the Greek pneuma, Aristotle’s vitalism as opposed to Democritus atomism, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz term panpsychism), and other hard-to-explain and define experiences that may or may not exist.
Members included Edmund Gurney, Wundt, Frederic W.H. Myers, Henry Sidgwick, Eleanor Sidgwick, William Fletcher Barret, Edmund Dawson Rogers, as well as Oliver Lodge, William Crookes, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, J.B. Rhine (who coined the terms parapsychology and extra-sensory perception, ESP for short), Louisa Rhine, and others. Dr. Carl Jung and Dr. Wilhelm Reich also explored psychical phenomena in their work.
An opposing party of psychologists had a different outlook and attempted to develop a more theory-based, scientific model of psychological research, which included Dr. Sigmund Freud, Dr. Wilhelm Wundt, the father of experimental psychology, Edward B. Titchener, G. Stanley Hall, James McKeen Cattell, and other researchers and thinkers of the time.
Shadow Work: Integrating Hidden Aspects
We all have aspects of ourselves we don’t want to face or don’t know how to, such as dark sides, blind spots, eccentricities, weaknesses, unwanted, unnecessary, and disparate sides of ourselves and states of being we would never act out or invest in, along with amplifications, derivatives, sub-selves of these states, and even trickster elements, that we slip up on.
These states of beings and their associated dramatizations, personifications, and archetypal forms, can be counteractive to what we value, and are conflicting, upsetting, and traumatizing to face, work with, and confront, especially when the floodgates of the psyche open up, and force us to confront reality.
The German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz called the unconscious and semi-perceivable parts of ourselves “petites perceptions.”
Due to life’s stressors, shocks, traumas, adversities, and natural inborn defenses, we can all be more mistaken about life than we want to think, admit, or experience.
Although, that does not have to be seen as a problem, but a natural part of survival, growth, and development.
Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr. Carl Jung (1875 to 1961) called the unconscious parts of us the shadow, the sides of ourselves we deem as painful, unacceptable, uncomfortable, dark, and unpleasant.
Without accepting and working through these inner and outer experiences, we can lose touch with ourselves, and act out what we have yet to work through.
The longer we deny our shadow, the larger it can grow, to monstrous, terrifying, repulsive, bewildering, shocking, and chaotic forms and seemingly innumerous shadow doppelgangers that can take us over, become unconscious, and live us out.
Sometimes these complexes live out until the end of our lives, whether they are still alive naturally when we die, or we fail to humble ourselves and confront, dismantle, and manage them to their depths, on a personal and collective level (which is inevitable with some darker, more fragile, vulnerable, and unrecognized aspects of ourselves).
Shadow examples: Arrogance, entitlement, grandiosity. Shame, guilt, sorrow, helplessness. Anger, rage, aggression. Not feeling good enough. Fears, anxieties, phobias. Perfectionism. Imposter syndrome. Greed. Vulnerability issues. Envy. Obsessions. Addictions. Harsh judgments. Procrastination. Urges. Passive aggression. Prejudices. Victim complexes. Self-destructive tendencies. Immature and childish reactions we thought we moved on from. Pleasure, laughter, and happiness we repressed. Suicidal ideation and attempts (Freud’s death drives), which can also be turned to the outer world as aggression towards others.
What we do not want to be honest about, can be more apparent than we think or would like to admit, acknowledge, and incorporate.
We can learn about unconscious parts of ourselves, and others, through actions, speech, writing, movement, dreams, excitements, resistances, fears, and other aspects of life.
Notice the lessons situations contain, no matter how mundane, taboo, boring, tedious, frustrating, or seemingly obvious.
But be careful about what you wish for.
Some experiences are more painful than we could have imagined, and require what feels like endless tweaking and retooling to adjust to and manage, while slipping up on dangerous slopes that lead to break-ups, divorce, family conflicts, social isolation, loneliness, job loss, career shifts, financial struggles, habit changes, addiction confrontations, moving to new shelters and environments; confronting psychological and physical issues, traumas, and wounds we have repressed and suppressed.
Life falls apart, and it’s impossible to return to how we lived before because those doors are closed, never to be reopened.
And we must piece ourselves, our survival priorities, habits, emotional investments, relationships, careers, shelters, and the rest of our lives back together one step at a time; a process that cannot be forced or controlled, and requires continual adjustment and confrontation of what holds us back.
Breaking down, confronting, and dismantling aspects of ourselves can drag out a lot longer than we’d prefer and unravel new parts of ourselves, habits, and lifestyle changes, that we would have deemed out of reach, taboo, or even mad, before our new states of being are lived out, to experience what they are all about; as we improvise and shift into new forms and creations.
Experiencing ourselves through multiple lenses, contradictory states of being, oppositions, polarities, chaos, and novelty, and working through challenges that come our way (addressing our system on all levels, not merely changing how we think).
Even if the situation feels negative, goes on longer than we want and feel we can handle, or ends up as our deathbed.
Exposing the contradictory nature of our being can show up not only throughout our daily lives, but also by confronting them in psychological settings, or staged rituals, where people pit parts of themselves against inner and outer oppositions, polarities, extremes, disparate, and juxtaposed aspects of themselves in an attempt to learn more about who and we have been, could be, and are in the process of becoming.
For instance, experiencing love and hate, anger and peace, trust and betrayal, joy and sorrow, freedom and restriction, flexibility and rigidity, order and chaos, courage and fear, success and failure, passion and indifference, light and dark, generosity and selfishness, loyalty and disloyalty, knowledge and ignorance, hope and despair, humility and arrogance, empathy and insensitivity, forgiveness and resentment, patience and impatience, honesty and deceit, curiosity and indifference, independence and dependence, resilience and fragility, ambition and sloth, perseverance and laziness, balanced and dysregulated, relaxed and chaotic, compassionate and cold, gratitude and entitlement, innovation and uninventiveness, assertive and submissive, clarity and confusion, simplicity and complexity, generosity and greed, confidence and insecurity, decisive and indecisive, humility and vanity, adaptable and inflexible, serene and tense, orderly and unorganized, mindful and unaware, acceptance and resistance, enthusiasm and apathy, warmth and cold, involvement and detachment, discipline and chaos, strength and weakness, gratitude and ingratitude, activity and passivity.
The oppositions, extremes, and experiences of different states of being can generate an influx of position emotions, elation, and ecstatic rapture, as well as uncertainty, frustration, boredom, aggression, depression, helplessness, hopelessness, and other pressing, challenging, and negative emotions; which serve us best if they are treated as transient, creative states to live through and work with, confront, and manage; not states to be feared, avoided, complained about, or treated as so precious that we get stuck with them.
To sum up, shadow work involves facing these hidden, unseen, disparate, unwanted, and unnecessary aspects of ourselves, others, and the world at large, seeing and experiencing them for what they are, and coming out the other side with a deeper understanding and sense of who and what we may all be as human organisms; working through these different states of being, whether they are repressed and suppressed parts of ourselves, or shadow sides that are part of a larger aspect of human consciousness and the consciousness of other organisms and life itself.
Models of the Human Psyche
*Jung proposed that the ego, our mediator with reality, our inner world, and what we are unconscious of, serves the Self, the human psyche, the totality of our psychological being, which influences our physical body, what the Greeks called soul, mind, or spirit.
The unconscious is described as a repository of all possible experiences, memories, images, and repressed aspects of oneself and the group collective, similar to the occult Akashic records.
Active imagination is a term Jung used to describe a method of engaging the contents of the unconscious, which can burst forth into the conscious mind, and prompt changes in the personality through a breakthrough in the complexes people are invested in.
He defined complexes as the groupings, themes, and compilations of emotions, feelings, thoughts, and related sensations, what he called “splinter psyches.”
In the positive, active imagination can help people grow and expand their sense of self and how they interact with the world, others, and themselves, as they work through complexes, inner phantasmagorias, and misperceptions of themselves, others, and the outside world.
And, in the negative, releasing unconscious content to the conscious mind and being, can result in going through previous traumas (even those we thought we had overcome), and at the extreme, experiencing micro or major psychotic episodes, including delusions, extreme fluctuations in mood and perception, major depressive episodes, schizophrenia, and other highly dysregulated states of being (as defined below in the section on defense mechanisms).
Hence, why Jung suggested working with a trained psychotherapist when working through your shadow and what’s unconscious to them, which is a lifelong journey, not a one-stop destination where we finally put ourselves together and reach a so-called enlightenment.
Examples of complexes include the scapegoat complex (seeing ourselves in others and projecting our darkness onto them), power complex (grandiose fixation on obtaining power and control over others), parental complex (healthy nurturing and destructive parenting styles), anima/animus complex (ideal lovers), rescuer complex (saving others at a cost to ourselves), guilt complex (unjustified and overwhelming guilt).
Last, Jung called the persona, the mask people wear and the act they put on, an assumed state of being and ideal, which people unconsciously and consciously impose on themselves and others.
*Freud: On a similar note, Dr. Sigmund Freud broke down the structures within humans with his trilateral model in his 1923, The Ego and the Id.
- Id: primal impulses; the horse.
- Ego: mediator; rider of the horse.
- Superego: rule maker and enforcer; person instructing how to ride and dictating the principles.
After Freud, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget used the word schemas to describe internal maps, structures, and states of being; what Dr. Philip Bromberg referred to as self-states.
Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Eric Berne describes different schemas, self-states, or states of being into what he calls “tapes,” including the child, adult, and parent, as a means of identifying the various states of being within us that we operate from; figuring out how to recognize where we are out of balance, and bring ourselves to a more balanced state.
*Personality may be a collection of the parts of ourselves, and their related behavior in the outside world that change as we grow; a juxtaposition of different states of being, internal structures; what American psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Philip Bromberg referred to as self-states.
*Individuation is the process by which a person distinguishes oneself with their own unique style, yet contributes to the larger group in ways that give back to others as they unfold into themselves and grow into mature adults.
Without individuation, what we know as the conglomeration of the self-states of our personality can become stifled, stagnant, underdeveloped, and traumatized from the lack of personal growth, self-confrontation, and adaptation.
Archetypal Forms & Philosophy
Archetypes refer to the characteristics of a particular form, including physical and psychological traits, like the different forms found in animals, plants, fungi, stars, and other configurations and models within nature’s creations, such as story characters, films, cartoons, mythological deities, artwork, and other improvisations and creations.
Archetype examples: parent, mother, father, child, brother, sister, artist, craftsman, scientist, chemist, biologist, physicist, mathematician, warrior, teacher, student, priest, philosopher, gardener, botanist, mycologist, messenger, writer, marketer, advertiser, manager, employee, hero, villain, martyr, genius, fool, jester, predator, prey, doctor, healer, trickster, psychologist, counselor, yogi, monk, sage, shaman, magician, psychic, detective, police officer, lieutenant, chief, criminal, master, slave, innovator, inventor, comedian, explorer, ruler, creator, caregiver, rebel, lover, spy, visionary, assassin, nomad, politician, advisor, guardian, pioneer, savior, mediator, watcher, mentor, champion, protector, seeker, adventurer, naturalist, dreamer, strategist.
Mythologies from different cultures have archetypal themes, such as Greece, Rome, Sumeria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Japan, Russia, Scythia, India, Africa, Iran (Persia), Israel, the UK (Celtic), Italy, Africa, Mongolia, Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Australia, and the Americas.
For example, the Greek and Roman deities: Helios/Sol (Sun), Selene/Luna (Moon), Hermes/Mercury (messenger, trickster), Aphrodite/Venus (love, beauty), Gaea/Tellus (Earth).
*Ares/Mars (war, fighting), Zeus/Jupiter (weather, lightning, eagles), Uranus/Caelus (heaven), Cronus/Saturn (agriculture, work required to sow seed), Poseidon/Neptune (water, trident).
*Hades/Pluto (underworld), Hyperion (father of the Sun, Moon, and dawn), Oceanus (ocean), Rhea (fruitfulness of nature).
*Themis (justice, wisdom), Mnemosyne (memory, mother of the Muses), Apollo/Phoebus (purity), Hera/Juno (marriage, childbirth), Artemis/Diana (ferality, vegetation, the hunt).
*Eros/Cupid (desire, love), Chaos/Khaos (primordial chaotic void of creation, or Tartarus (the Abyss, lower depths of the underworld), Erebus (dark part of the underworld).
*Cerberus (three-headed dog guardian of the underworld), Echidna (half woman, half serpent), Typhon (monster with multiple dragon’s heads who was thrown into the underworld, volcanic forces).
*Chimera (female monster; part lion, part goat, part dragon that breathes fire), Hydra (snake with nine heads), Nyx/Nox (night).
*Aether (bright upper sky/light), Hestia/Vesta (hearth), Athena/Minerva (wisdom, warfare, artisanship, craftsmanship).
*Hephaestus/Vulcan (blacksmith, fire, craftsmanship), Dionysus/Bacchus (wine, pleasure, fertility, ritual madness).
*Nike/Victoria (victory), Eos/Aurora (dawn), Iris (rainbow, messenger), Pan/Faunus (nature, fertility, flocks).
*Asclepius/Aesculapius (medicine, healing), Hygieia/Salus (health), Hypnos/Somnus (sleep), Tyche/Fortuna (fortune/luck), Nemesis/Invidia (retribution, revenge), Thanatos/Mors (death).
*Demeter/Ceres (agriculture, grain), Persephone/Proserpina (spring growth, underworld, bargaining, abduction, pomegranate).
*Heracles/Hercules (heroism, strength), Chiron (noble centaur, mentor), Minos (ruler of Crete).
*Europa (embodiment of Europe), Daedalus (inventor, sculptor, architect), Pasiphae (mother of the minotaur), Icarus (foolhardiness, flew too close to the Sun).
*Minotaur (half-man, half-bull), Medusa (winged beautiful female gorgon with snakes for hair who turned people to stone by looking at them).
*Perseus (mythological hero who killed Medusa), Andromeda (beautiful woman who was sentenced to death because her mother, Cassiopeia, the queen of Ethiopia, boasted).
*Cepheus (King of Ethiopia, had to give up his daughter Andromeda to be sacrificed by a sea monster, until she was saved by Perseus and married him).
*Pegasus (mythological white horse who became embodied in the stars, symbolizing the immortality of the soul; served Zeus).
*Psyche (love, beauty, immortality; the Greeks viewed the soul as a butterfly, using the word psyche to represent spirit, soul, mind).
*Greek name first, Roman/Latin name second.
Egyptian deities: Nun (primordial waters of creation of which Re-Atum arose; void, darkness), Re-Atum (Sun, creation; human, hawk), Amon (air; ram and goose).
*Mut (motherhood, sky deity; vulture, lioness), Khonsu (Moon; baboon; son of Amon and Mut), Apopis (demon of chaos, evil, enemy of Re; cobra-headed serpent).
*Osiris (underworld, death, rebirth, fertility, agriculture, flooding of the Nile and the growth of crops as Sirius became visible in the night sky; abis bull; Orion), Isis (motherhood, fertility, grief, death; cow; Sirius).
*Horus (sky deity, hunting, war; falcon), Hathor (motherhood, fertility, childbirth, greeted the Sun as it set in the west, symbolic of the passing into the afterlife; cow).
*Seth, Set (war, chaos, storms, deserts; aardvark, jackal), Nephthys (death, darkness, hawk, sycamore), Maat (truth, justice, cosmic order, judge of the dead in the weighing of the heart rite; ostrich).
*Thoth, Tahuti, Djhuty (wisdom, learning, literature; ibis and baboon), Ptah (builder; apis bull), Geb (Earth), Nut (sky), Tefnut (moisture), Bastet (felines, hunting; cat).
*Sekhmet (war, protector of Re, healing, medicine, disease; lioness), Anubis (rites of death and judgment to the otherworld; what the Egyptians called the Duat, a starry realm).
*Ammit (eats the dead who do not balance their heart on their journey through the underworld).
*Taurt, Taweret (motherhood, childbirth, protector of the young; hippopotamus, crocodile, lion).
*Nekhbet (defender of Upper Egypt; vultures), Selket (death, scorpion, guardian of the canopic jar which contained intestines of embalmed bodies), Seshat (scribe, gauger or measurements).
*Khepri (morning Sun, scarab beetles; dung beetle, a type of scarab, rolling balls of dung from which beetles arose like the Sun).
*Sah (the constellation Orion; astral form of Osiris), Sothis (the constellation Sirius; astral form of Isis).
Vedic deities (India): Brahma (creator, from which all life stems), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva/Śiva (destroyer, cosmic dancer, ascetic, monastic, yogi, tantric; Rudra/Maruts was an incarnation of Śiva, father of the storm deities, healer, holy archer with arrows of death).
*Indra (King of the deities; weather, lightning, war), Agni (fire, rituals), Varuna (sky, defender of morality and cosmic law).
*Surya (Sun), Soma (fertility, plants, soma plants), Yama (death), Vayu (wind, divine messenger), Ashvins (doctors of the deities).
*Ushas (dawn), Bhairava (guardian from demons and death, tantra), Manu (forefather, ancestor of the human race).
*Sarasvati (learning, the arts, music), Savitr (Sun), Savitri (study, mentorship, worship), Ganesha (elephant “lord of the people,” symbolizing beginnings, absolver of obstacles; bandicoot rat).
*Lakshmi (wealth, abundance, beauty), Kali (death, time, blackness, sexuality, violence, nurturing).
*Rama (royalty, morality, archer; incarnation of Vishnu), Sita (purity, wifely faithfulness, trial by fire, banishment, swallowed by the Earth).
*Hanuman (leader of the monkey army, powers were revoked due to foolhardiness and eventually given back when earned, devotion).
*Ravana (demon king with ten heads and twenty arms).
*Sacred Vedic texts include the Vedas, Ramayana, and the Mahabharata (including the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita).
Nordic deities (Scandinavia): Odin (A kingly deity, catalyzed creativity and realization, poetry, strength, emotionally charged, instigated fighting, became receptive to Yggdrasill, the cosmic tree, to earn wisdom, sacrifice, ritual, magic, death; eagles, wolves, ravens, spears; Mercury).
*Frigg (marriage, fertility), Höd (night and dark, blindness; son of Odin and Frigg), Jörd (giantess, Thor’s mother, Odin’s mistress; oak trees), Thor (sky, storms, thunder, lightning, hammers, hero-type, fighter, role model for the common people; chariots, goats; Jupiter).
*Balder/Baldr (temperance, premonition, initiation), Njörd (sea), Freyja (wealth, fertility, love, death, war, greed, magic; rode a pig with golden hair, as well as a chariot led by cats, necklace “Brísinga men”).
*Freyr (Sun, fertility, tranquility), Heimdall (watchmen, guardian of Asgard, which housed the deities or Aesir; harbinger of the end of the world, which they called Ragnarök by blowing his horn named Gjallarhorn; progenitor of humankind).
*Loki (cunning trickster, shapeshifter, non-conformist, impulsive inventiveness, aided and deceived the deities, devious, thief).
*Angerboda (giantess; bore children with Loki – Hel, Jörmungand, and Fenrir), Hel (death), Jörmungand (serpent who surrounded the world; adversary of Thor).
*Fenrir (wolf), Sleipnir (Odin’s eight-legged flying horse with runic teeth), Tyr/Týr (sky, war, justice; Mars), Bragi (oration, poetry), Dwarves (craftsman, blacksmith).
*Niflheim (underworld ruled by Hel), Midgard (Earth), Asgard (realm of the deities), Yggdrasill (giant ash tree that links the nine realms, including Niflhelm, Midgard, and Asgard; a sort of tree of life).
*Valhalla (heavenly abode for triumphant warriors where they feasted and fought), Ginnungagap (primordial void from which life was created), Nidhogg (dragon); sacred texts include the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda.
Mesopotamian/Sumerian/Assyrian/Babylonian deities (Fertile Crescent): Tiamat (primeval feminine salt waters of creation; chaos), Apsu/Apzu (freshwater underneath Earth; killed by Marduk and created the universe; dragon).
*Kingu (humans were created from his blood), Lahmu & Lahamu (first twins born of chaos; silt, snakes), Anu/An (sky; progenitor of the deities; bull).
*Ishtar/Inanna (love, sex, war; Venus), Shamash/Utu (Sun, justice; staff, dagger, ring; swept across the heavens at night in a chariot).
*Sin/Su-en/Nanna (Moon, fertility, changes in the tides; boat, cowherd), Ereshkigal (queen of the underworld), Anshar (sky), Kishar (Earth), Ninazu (underworld, “water-knower”).
*Namtar (evil demon, death, liberated evil spirits with magic rituals), Enki/Ea (cunningness, water, purification, “lord of the Earth” who made humankind from his blood; Enlil’s twin brother).
*Tammuz/Dumuzi (herder; wild bull), Nin (nurturing mother cow, birthed human offspring), Enlil (storms, air, agriculture; betrayed his counterpart, Ninil, by raping and impregnating her and was banished to the underworld, where she followed and was raped two more times; Enki’s twin brother), Ninlil/Belit (destiny, grains).
*Ninhursag (desert, rocks, motherliness), Shulpae (feasts, good times), Haia (merchantry), Damu (vegetation, tree sap, fertility).
*Lamashtu (demon who ate people; lion or bird on a donkey), Pazuzu (king of the wind demons).
*Ningal (reeds), Marduk/Bel (thunderstorm, heroes, fertility, vegetation; horses, dogs, dragons; lightning bolt and weapons in hand, war chariot; Jupiter).
*Gilgamesh (hero archetype), Enkidu (hero archetype in search of immortality, feral man, “lord of the reed marsh” or “Enki has created”), Nabu (wisdom, writing, prophecy).
*Mushhushshu (dragon), Nedu (guardian of the underworld), Neti (scribe of the underworld), Nidaba (writing, astrology).
*Nin-agal (forge, craftsmanship), Nin-ildu (carpentry), Nirah (snakes), Nusku (fire), Lilû (night monster).
*Anunnaki (a class of Mesopotamian deities, including Ishtar/Inanna, Sin/Nanna, Shamash/Utu, Enlil, Ea/Enki, Ninhursag, and others).
*Sacred texts include the Enuma Elish and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Mayan deities (Mesoamerica): Acan (alcohol), Acat (tattoos), Ah-Bolom-Tzacab (agriculture), Ah-Cancum (hunting), Ah-Chun-Caan (guardian at set and rise), Ah-Ciliz (solar eclipses), Ah-Cun-Can (snake charmer), Ah-Cuxtal (birth).
*Ahau-Chamahez (healing), Ahluic (wealth, merchantry), Ah-Mucen-Cab (creator god), Ah-Kin (manages drought and illness with the Sun), Ah-Mun (fertility, protection; Maize).
*Ah-Muzen-Cab (bees, air elementals, a term also used by Paracelsus, 1493 to 1541, to refer to nature spirits, an alchemical healer and pioneering metallurgist who introduced metals like mercury into healing in proper doses).
*Ah-Patnar-Unicob (water elementals), Ah-Pekku (thunder), Ah-Puch (death, disaster, regeneration), Ah-Tabai (hunter, protector).
*Ah-Uaynih (sleep), Ah-Uncir-Dz’acab, (healing), Ah-Wink-Ir-Masa (wild animals; deer), Ah-Xoc-Xin (poetry, music; aspect of the Sun).
*Ahau-Chamahez (healing), Ahau-Kin (underworld, jaguars, Sun), Ahmakiq (agriculture, cultivated crops), Ahulane (archery).
*Akhushtal (childbirth), Akna (fertility, childbirth), Alaghom-Naom-Tzentel (intellect).
*Bacabs (winds, directions that formed the foundation of the known world), Backlum Chaam (masculine sexuality), B’alam (jaguar guardians),
*The B’alams (four deities who aided in the creation of man), Bitol (one of the thirteen deities who aided in the creation of humans), Bolon-D’zacab (lightning, harvest).
*Bolontiku (underworld, regeneration), Buluc-Chabtan (war, fighting), Cabrakan (earthquakes, mountains), Cacoch (creator, creativity, communication).
*Cakulha (lightning, storms), Camalotz (force of correction), Camazotz (bats), Camaxtli (fate, war, hunting; bringing fire to the Earth), Chac (sky, storms, rain, agriculture, fertility).
*Chen (maize, magic), Cit-Bolon-Tum (healing), Cizin (death, earthquake), Colel Cab (bees, Earth), Colop-U-Uichikin (sky eclipses), Four Hundred Boys (alcohol, the constellation Pleiades).
*Gucumatz/Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent, Sun; creator, balancer of good and evil, the four elements; leader and mentor of literature, law, agriculture, creativity, healing, building, hunting).
*Hacha’kyum (astral deity, created the stars), Hunahpu and Xbalanque (hero twins).
*Hunab-Ku (“eyes and ears of the Sun,” “sole god”), Hun-Hunahpu (maize), Hun-Nal-Ye (salt water, sea, sharks).
*Huracan (creator of the Earth, storms, floods the Earth as a corrective force, gives fire to humans; “lord of the whirlwind”), I (water, sea, springs, wells).
*Itzamna (defender of priests and writers; mentor of literature, healing, creativity, agriculture, science, and sculpture; resurrects the dead; maize and cacao).
*Ixazaluoh (water, weaving), Ixazalvoh (feminine sexuality, childbirth, water, life, weaving, healing).
*Ixchel (rainbows), Ix-Tub-Tun (serpents, rain, precious stones), K (kingliness, royalty, righteousness), Kan-U-Uayeyab (cities).
*Kichigonai (creator of day, light), Kinich Ahau (Sun, healing; “face of the Sun”), Kinich Kakmo (Sun; macaw).
*Kisin (death, earthquake), L (evening, darkness), Maize (death and resurrection, rises from the underworld as corn), Mam (grandfather, travelers, magic, Earth and mountain spirits).
*Manik (sacrifice), Naum (mind, consciousness), Nacon (war), Nohochacyum (creator and annihilator).
*Och-Kan (shamanic experience of the vision serpent), Paddler deities (two deities who use a canoe to travel from the underworld into the sky, night and day, light and darkness, balance of polarities, creating the Cosmic Hearth at the beginning of creation; Milky Way), Poxlom (illness).
*Tecumbalam (retributive bird sent by deities to destroy corrupt humans), Tlacolotl (evil, earthquakes), Tohil (fire).
*Tzultacaj (mountain, valleys), Usukan (hatefulness, destruction of humans), Vision Serpent (snake who induced shamanic visions), Voltan (drums), Vukub-Cakix (massive bird with emerald teeth).
*Vukubcane (lord of the underworld), Ways (guardian spirits whose energy directs life), Itzam-Ye (serpent bird, celestial bird; perceptive; sits on the Ceiba Tree of Life/Yaxche).
*Ceiba Tree of Life/Yaxche (tree with roots in the underworld that has thirteen levels to go up through the Earth and into a heavenly abode; stems from a Cosmic Turtle).
*Witzob (divine mountain of the deities), Xamaniqinqu (merchants, travels; the north).
*Xecotcovach (retributive bird sent by deities to destroy corrupt humans), Xibalba (place where dark humans went).
*Xumucane and Xpiayoc (great grandparents of all humans, male and female respectively; parents of Hun Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu who were the grandparents of Hunahpu and Xbalanque, the hero twins; daykeepers associated with the Mayan sacred calendar, the Tzolkʼin, related to their number system).
*Xquiq (blood Moon; bore the hero twins until she gave them to their mother, Xumucane), Yaluk (main lightning and storm deity), Yantho (hatred towards humans, enjoying their pain), Yumbalamob (defender spirits; use obsidian for protection).
*Yum Caax (nature, hunting, cacao), Yumchakob (elders who aided in rain; cigars), Zotz (bats, caves).
*Quiche (thirteen gods who participated in the creation of human beings); sacred text, the Popol Vuh.
Astronomy & Astrology: Another example of archetypes can be found in Astronomy and Hellenistic Astrology (from the period 323 BC to 31 BC), which encompasses and encapsulates the work of the Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and links the zodiac constellations in the stars (meaning “circle of animals” in ancient Greek) to symbolic stories, seasonal activity, life’s organisms, and nature itself.
The zodiac circle includes: Aries (Ram), Taurus (Bull), Gemini (Twins), Cancer (Crab), Leo (Lion), Virgo (Virgin), Libra (Scales of Balance), Scorpio (Scorpion), Sagittarius (Archer), Capricorn (Goat), Aquarius (Water Bearer), Pisces (Two Fish). Along with Orion, the hunter, and Canis Major, the dog that sits nearby.
The twelve zodiac include:
– Aries (March 21 to April 19): Cardinal fire; the beginning of a season; the springing forth of the Sun in the spring and the related flora and fauna coming up. The Ram. Associated with Mars; a red planet, symbolizing fighting, war, and blood.
– Taurus (April 20 to May 20): Fixed earth; seasonal embodiment. The Bull. Associated with Venus; symbolizing love, beauty, fertility, and sensuality.
– Gemini (May 21 to June 21): Mutable air; transition from season to season. The Twins. Associated with Mercury; symbolizing wisdom, learning, and communication.
– Cancer (June 22 – July 22): Cardinal water; the beginning of a season. The Crab. Associated with the Moon; symbolizing translucence and lunar cycles.
– Leo (July 23 to August 22): Fixed earth; seasonal embodiment. The Lion. Associated with the Sun; symbolizing heat, luminosity, and radiance; representing the Sun shining high in the summer.
– Virgo (August 23 to September 22): Mutable earth; transition from season to season. The Virgin. Associated with Mercury; symbolizing wisdom, learning, and communication.
– Libra (September 23 to October 23): Cardinal air; the beginning of a season; the brisk fall air, and the changing colors of leaves. The Scales of Balance. Associated with Venus; symbolizing love, beauty, fertility, and sensuality.
– Scorpio (October 24 to November 21): Fixed water; seasonal embodiment. The Scorpion. Associated with Mars; a red planet, symbolizing fighting, war, and blood.
– Sagittarius (November 22 to December 21): Mutable fire; transition from season to season. The Archer. Associated with Jupiter; symbolizing expansion and exuberant pulsations.
– Capricorn (December 22 to January 19): Cardinal earth; the beginning of a season. The Goat. Associated with Saturn; symbolizing upright stolidness, stoicness, and austerity.
– Aquarius (January 20 to February 18): Fixed air; seasonal embodiment; teamwork required to survive cold, harsh winters. The Water Bearer. Associated with Saturn; symbolizing upright stolidness, stoicness, and austerity.
– Pisces (February 19 to March 20): Mutable water; transition from season to season; the melting of snow and ice and rain in the spring. Two fish. Associated with Jupiter; symbolizing expansion and exuberant pulsations.
The Chinese astrology system differs in that they use archetypal animals and their qualities by the year, which rotate every twelve years: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.
Vedic planets and lunar nodes: Surya/Ravi (Sun), Chandra/Soma (Moon), Mangala (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu (Lunar north node; where the Sun and Moon’s orbit intersect), Jupiter (Guru/Brihaspati), Ketu (South node of the Moon).
Whether or not astrology symbolizes the light frequencies of the stars, does not matter, if these archetypal stories can help provide insights and realizations about someone’s life, and help them develop more creative projects, perspectives, and ways of living.
Alchemy provides another archetypal example, breaking down life into different forms. In their view, nature stems from the prima materia, the fertile grounds from which all of life is made; which breaks down into the celestial neters (hot and dry) and celestial salts (cold, damp, wet).
Alchemists also describe nature as grouping the “tria prima” into sulfur (aura, the overall atmosphere of a person, place, or thing; soul, emotional body; combustion and fire of the physical alchemical process), salt (physical, material, solid; ash of the physical process), and mercury (fluid, changeable; spirit, intellect; smoke of the physical process).
As well as the alchemical elements of earth, water, air, and fire, with quintessence or aether, referred to as the “fifth essence,” which was seen as lifeforce energy the other elements are composed of, along with physical and etheric reality.
Well-known alchemical texts include: The Emerald Tablet of Hermes, Corpus Hermeticum: The Divine Pymander, the Kybalion, the Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine.
*Similarly, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, for short) uses the terms yang (hot and dry) for the celestial neters and yin (cold, damp, wet) for celestial salts, qi as an underlying lifeforce, and a different set of five elements: earth, fire, water, metal, and wood.
In Wu Xing Chinese philosophy, they relate the five elements to animals such as tiger (fire), monkey (earth), bear (metal), bird (water), deer (wood).
*Likewise, the Hindu system uses the elements of earth (prithvi, bhumi), fire (agni), wind (vayu), water (jal, apas), ether-space (akasha); and the term prana, for a lifeforce that permeates nature.
In the Eight Trigrams model related to the Chinese I Ching (book of changes), there are eight elements: heaven, earth, thunder, water, mountain, wind & wood, fire, and lake; relating them to the seasons, states of being, and the trigrams.
*In addition, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) uses a system of three elements and relates them to their clan/tribal system: wolf, deer, bear (land), heron, snipe, hawk (air), turtle, beaver, eel (water).
Defense Mechanisms: Blocking Out Pain
In the 1920s, Freud developed the term defense mechanisms to refer to unconscious strategies people may deploy to avoid facing themselves, others, and reality in an attempt to manage pain.
Later on, his daughter Anna (mother of Edward Bernays) and others expanded on the psychological work on defenses.
All people may have defense mechanisms to block out suffering and discomfort.
Defenses can be normal human responses that people use to avoid pain and reduce the suffering, anxiety, fear, and psychological and physical discomfort, hurt, and agony that come with survival as a human animal.
Minimizing, reducing, and cutting off what we feel harms us (real or imagined) can be a healthy and natural response to keep adapting and moving through adversities when we are in shock, pain, and traumatized from life’s trials and tribulations.
Defense mechanisms become unhealthy and out-of-balance when they take over someone, to the point of developing wildly unhealthy coping mechanisms, losing touch with a balanced inner locus of control, and lacking healthy object constancy.
Defined as someone’s ability to meditate between inner and outer objects and realms and regulate themselves throughout day to day affairs, seeking whatever they can to attempt to find a steering wheel to navigate their lives and rebalance themselves, without grasping inner and outer mechanisms and realities to balance themselves.
As defenses continue to unravel, people can become psychotic, which is when someone loses their ability to tell the difference between inner and outer reality on an extreme level, including:
*Mass delusions, hallucinations, paranoid ideation, social withdrawal, dysregulated feelings or feeling as if one has no feelings, nihilism (considering oneself as dead), sleep disruptions.
*Trouble communicating, lack of personal hygiene, dissociation (depersonalization, detaching from ourselves; derealization, detaching from one’s surroundings).
*Immersions in a fantasy-like phantasmagoria, erotomania (thinking someone loves them when they do not).
*Synesthesia (hearing colors, tasting sounds, associating colors with musical notes).
*Glossolalia (chanting and uttering languages and sounds).
*Difficulty maintaining a normal life, and other symptoms.
While we may not be able to change some aspects of ourselves, becoming more aware of defenses, and learning to sense where we hold physical and psychological tension, can help some people develop self-awareness about themselves, and develop more sensitivity to their inner and outer realms and the outside environment to better navigate, adapt, and survive.
A coping mechanism refers to practices that help one manage stress, including: finding practical solutions to problems, walking, movement, meditation, breathing methods, writing, journaling, researching, learning, creativity, working, talking, laughing, listening to music, playing music, gardening, taking a break, and other behaviors that resolve tension, create harmony, and forward momentum.
Examples of defense mechanisms include:
– Compartmentalization: Separating conflicting emotions, feelings, sensations, thoughts, memories, and other psychological aspects, into different sections or compartments to reduce pain and discomfort.
– Isolation (of affect): Splitting off (isolating) and avoiding uncomfortable and painful emotions, feelings, thoughts, sensations, and experiences.
– Repression: Unconsciously blocking out unwanted emotions, feelings, thoughts, sensations, and impulses and holding them in the body and psyche.
– Suppression: Consciously holding down unpleasant and painful emotions, feelings, thoughts, sensations, and experiences.
– Denial: Ignoring reality and denying what’s happening, sometimes in the cleverest of ways.
– Passive aggression: Expressing hostility, aggression, and anger indirectly through backhanded comments, sabotage, bullying, procrastination, acting withdrawn (silent treatment), and other means of misplaced aggression.
– Projection: Putting emotions, feelings, thoughts, impulses, sensations, and unprocessed psychological content onto another person instead of experiencing them ourselves.
– Displacement: Throwing excess emotion and stress onto another, like having a bad day, and taking it out on someone and getting angry at them.
– Somatization: Emotions, feelings, and sensations are converted into physical symptoms without explanation (psychosomatic), such as suppressing tears and anger, which influence headaches, stomach aches, gas, bloating, tense shoulders, or another sensation.
– Rationalization: Creating twists of thoughts, words, reason, and logic to avoid reality.
– Intellectualization: Getting stuck on thinking to distance oneself from emotions, feelings, and sensations.
– Acting out: Engaging in behaviors that distract from stressors, i.e., temper tantrums, creating drama, and making a scene.
– Dissociation: Disengaging from one’s inner world or outer reality to avoid experience; appearing as depersonalization (detaching from ourselves) and derealization (detaching from one’s surroundings).
– Sublimation: Attempting to release unwanted sensations, emotions, feelings, thoughts, and impulses in a socially acceptable form, such as working out, creating art, decorating, or organizing.
– Regression: Going back to old coping patterns.
– Repetition compulsion: Repeating the past in an attempt to heal traumatic wounds.
– Idealization: Overvaluing a person, thing, scenario, idea, belief, or another element of life, and making them out to be more important than they are; caught up in an ideal of what we imagine they are, rather than what they are in reality.
– Devaluation: Making a person, thing, situation, thought, value system, or other element of life out to be worse than it is.
– Minimization: Downplaying, dismissing, lessening the effects of what happened or is happening.
– Withdrawal: Retreating away from others and isolating oneself.
– Learned helplessness: Believing one is incapable of changing their life, and falling into helplessness, hopelessness, frustration, aggression, and possibly, a pit of no-feeling, flatline depression.
– Distortion: Changing memories and perceptions to cope.
– Undoing: Attempting to undo what happened.
– Grandiosity: Acting superior, all-knowing, and all-powerful.
– Overcompensation: Trying to make up for a problem, weakness, or mistake, by going to the extreme to fix it.
– Anticipation: Continually preparing for stressors, and catastrophes, to try to prevent them from happening.
– Avoidance: Staying away from people, things, and places of discomfort, pain, grief, and trauma.
– Affiliation: Attempting to manage discomfort by getting help from others, which can swing to overreliance on them for support.
– Sexualization: Being overly flirty, seductive, and fixated on sex, to keep away from pain; which can show up in ways that objectify another person or organism, and treat them as an object and instrument to use.
– Humor: Avoiding pain with humor, laughter, goofiness, and foolhardiness.
– Altruism: Getting attention off oneself and focusing on others; helping and giving to distract oneself from problems.
– Fantasy: Relating to fantasy, and confusing a substitution and simulation for reality, e.g., too much creative debauchery, video gaming, entertainment, and other forms of unhealthy escapism.
– Introjection: Unconsciously taking on values, outlooks, habits, behaviors, and attitudes of other people, groups, and suggestions from outside sources.
– Projective identification: Projecting unwanted emotions, feelings, thoughts, sensations, impulses, and other unpleasant and painful experiences onto another person who unconsciously takes them on; interpolation, putting something into something else.
– Splitting: Seeing people, things, and situations as only good or bad, black and white, one way or another, lacking nuance.
– Reaction formation: Taking the opposing stance to one’s position, like hating a job, business, home, kids, spouse, or where you live, but pretending to enjoy it to cope.
Facing psychological rigidities, fixations, & wounds:
Doing shadow work, and facing defense mechanisms, involves seeing and experiencing what we have been living out unconsciously and consciously, and physically and psychologically retooling our lives toward what is most healing, meaningful, and satisfying, based on what we can manage and work with in present-time; dialing in, fixing, and working on relevant survival priorities, dreams, and what we find most fulfilling.
While there are a multiplicity of ways to face ourselves, we all must find our own path forward based on our needs, desires, traumas, pressures, and situations that we are faced with.
Attempting to heal in similar ways as others, or manage our lives as they do, can lead us on a path that does not serve us, wastes precious time, energy, and resources, and even hurts other people and organisms.
Methods of self-assessment: Acting out and mimicking defenses (role-playing), intuitive writing, journaling, acting, movements, meditation and the development of a more objective sense of self, breathing exercises, nature walks, spontaneous visions, noticing physical sensations and what they may indicate, dreams, learning how to learn and consistently feeding in new skills, therapy reenacting abuse and exposing dark sides, feedback from outside sources, analysis of the past, performance evaluations, interviewing others, creativity, and other forms of inner work.
Facing wounds requires commitment, fortitude, flexibility, openness, and a willingness to adapt to scenarios, and work to overcome obstacles as they come up; a process that is not so easy or simple, especially when wounds continue to appear.
Once pain and suffering inside us opens up, defenses can come to the forefront, and become more difficult to manage; opening up a new set of defenses, and their associated states of being and habits.
Without facing our defense mechanisms, and the defenses of others, they may become buried in our unconscious, and seemingly invisible to us as we act them out, in ways that may hurt us irreparably, creating blind spots and habits we need to change, or else.
Matters can be made worse, when others attempt to harm us for healing, because they get triggered due to our development.
Defensive practices are required, as we change and grow for career goals, relationships, shelter, diet, habits, creativity, movement patterns, breathing, psychological management, and other areas of life.
Self-evaluation questions:
– What dark sides, weaknesses, eccentricities, and wounds do you sense are emerging that you do not want to face? And how might you expose and face them, with as little suffering as possible, while honestly working through the pain and suffering?
– Are you meeting your needs? How might not taking care of basic needs, influence your defense mechanisms?
– When do you blame others to deflect your own feelings, emotions, prejudices, shortcomings, insecurities, and liabilities? How can you become more aware of how and where you blame?
– How does your body feel in interactions with other people’s energies, when facing their abuse, traumas, wounds, and defenses? What do you sense, see, envision, and dream?
– Take note of the age, and life timing, of your different pent-up emotions, feelings, thoughts, dreams, and other sensations that show up. What ages might they be? What insights are you getting? And how can you apply them to your present life?
– How might a fear of intimacy be showing up in your life? What might you be pushing away, or avoiding, to run away from feeling vulnerable and intimate?
– Where do you procrastinate and avoid responsibility, even in what seems like productive ways?
– Where can you practice humility and integrity, and avoid making excuses for mistakes, failures, weaknesses, blind spots, and dark sides?
– How might your speech expose what’s unconscious to you? (What Dr. Sigmund Freud referred to as Freudian slip). What do your habits, behaviors, movements, senses, overall lifestyle, and other factors, expose to you about what’s unconscious to you?
– Identify your territory and boundaries, and how you and others create and mark them. How do defenses influence you to go over these boundaries? And how can you improve on your boundaries, and work with the boundaries of others, without becoming overly dominating?
– How can you see where you and others preemptively strike back unnecessarily, and regain balance?
Where and how do you conform with others, and hurt people, to run away from pain, growth, and negative emotions? How can you redirect yourself, without creating unnecessary disharmony and strife?
– How can you discern between urges that prevent you from feeling and facing defenses, and refocus your will and intent, to move through the next obstacle?
– How can you expose, confront, and manage the fear of going insane from facing wounds and traumas? And what are the warning signs that you might need help from someone else?
– Look at where you have blamed yourself, for wrongdoing that was not your fault, and hurt yourself, and others, unnecessarily. How can you make amends within yourself and the outside world?
– What viewpoints, behaviors, habits, relationships, situations, contracts, and other factors, did you sign up for as a child that were incorrect, and need changing?
– How can you better identify people’s defenses, thought errors, incorrect verbiage, lies, manipulation, and decoys? And see how they are influencing behaviors within you, and others?
– How can you consult with the different aspects of your personality, like your child, for example, and protect them as a parent, and listen to their needs?
– How can you be mindful of the traumas faced by different races, cultures, ages, genders, and sexual orientations, and find empathy, compassion, awareness, and understanding?
– How might unconsciously hurting others and bringing up pain, wounds, traumas, wrongful conclusions, exaggeration, absurdity, and psychological content act as a learning tool, exposing defenses and shadow content in yourself, other people, and organisms?
– How can you develop compassion, empathy, and objectivity, in order to bypass negative, and overamped, emotionality, regain composure, find balance, and remain focused on present-time needs and desires?
– How do snap judgments, confirmation bias, and traumas, influence people’s ability to take accountability for their problems?
– How do you know when you have gone into psychological and physical shock? How can you work to identify and release these states? (Check out the examples of coping mechanisms above).
– How can you tell the difference between anxiety, which is a natural response to threats in the environment, and a healthy sense of anticipation of what may harm you if it happens; anxiety that is linked more to a paranoid style of thinking and behaving, which can be confronted, dismantled, and managed; and anxiety that stems from facing repressed and suppressed aspects of oneself, including not only negative emotionality but pleasure, happiness, joy, laughter, rapture, sexual ecstasy, and our feeling of being pulled towards confronting the challenges of personal growth and feeling the awe-inspiring aspects of life (what Dr. Frank Haronian called repression of the sublime).
Working on childhood wounds:
The wounds, habits, and ways of being that we received in childhood can be so deep, that working with them on an adult level, may not address the challenges we are dealing with because we are not addressing what happened at the level of child development.
And even with immense amounts of time and effort, we might be unable to heal some of those parts of ourselves.
Our children need their wounds taken care of, too, down to basic needs like moving, eating, nurturing, snuggling, relating, emoting, thinking, and other basic requirements.
Getting these challenging issues out can involve exposure therapy that brings up traumas, getting nurturing needs met, healthy encouragement, creative acts that engage our child and parent (music, drama, play, journaling, dance, art), somatic therapy, movement, immersing oneself in nature, meditation, life lessons, and other techniques.
As mentioned, how we address our needs and desires is highly individualized.
Even if someone jumped in to do the work for us, we still have to learn to steer our physical and psychological vehicles and navigate bumpy terrain.
No one else can do the work for us. Nor would we respect ourselves or learn how to survive and earn the skills and competence that come with adaptation if they did.
*What childhood needs might be calling out for you to work on? What signs do you see in yourself, or from others, that you need to heal and work on? How might you go about addressing these needs?
A few topics of interest:
*For those interested, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, from 1896 to 1980, pioneered some of the early work on child psychology.
*Carl Rogers’ 1961 book, On Becoming A Person, may also provide context on developing a more stable sense of self.
*Psychotherapy and schema therapy may also be an option for people who want to work through wounds and traumas and develop a more stable sense of self.
Healing Trauma & Deepening Physical Awareness
Trauma and grief are not merely stories, fantasies, or victim mindsets, that one can let go of, or will away; as if the pain doesn’t hurt, continue to cause suffering, and influence our daily lives, in debilitating ways.
As the title of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s book states, The Body Keeps the Score. Traumatic events can deeply impact the brain, body, psyche, and mind, and remain with us longer than we’d like; changing how we feel and experience reality, others, and ourselves, and making daily tasks much more challenging to carry out; leaving people feeling dysregulated, exhausted, shaken up, and acting abnormally to situations.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers to trauma from extreme shocks like war, assault, natural disasters, and other scenarios, that leave people with deep traumas and triggers that can take them back to the initial event.
On the other hand, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), a term coined by Dr. Judith Herman, refers to a series of different events that leave traumatic wounds, psychological and psychical dysregulation, and their associated coping mechanisms (for better or worse).
The effects of trauma and grief may not show up right away, manifesting months, years, or decades after wounds first appear, leading to: anxiety, fear, panic, hypervigilance, paranoia, restlessness, numbness, dissociation (derealization and depersonalization), despondence, depression, irritability, agitation, anger, aggression, defiance, overwhelm, indignance, rage, hatred, insomnia, hypersomnia (sleeping too much), nightmares, sleep paralysis, oversensitivity, guilt, shame, embarrassment, self-hatred, self-blame, self-destructiveness, fatigue, exhaustion, lethargy, fogginess, overthinking, ruminating, catastrophizing, memory loss, flashbacks, amnesia, forgetfulness, health challenges, fickle behavior, loneliness, trouble forming relationships, physical symptoms and syndromes like changes in breathing patterns (restricting breath and tensing up, shallow breathing, feeling choked up, crying and gasping; rapid breathing; breathing in an uneven fashion), broken-heart syndrome, rapid heartbeat, heart attacks, stomach pain, body aches, nausea, headaches, dizziness, vertigo (the spins), puking, diarrhea, constipation, strokes, weight fluctuations, compulsions to fight, fighting, reckless behavior, getting beaten up and bruised, suicidal ideation and attempts, cold sweats, becoming overheated, sweating too much, grinding teeth, clenching fists, frequent illness, chronic disease, addictions, increased physical and psychological sensitivity, catatonia (psychomotor disorder with slowed movement, a foggy reality tunnel, stupor, rigid postures, frozen states, speech impediments, resistance to commands; echolalia: repeating the phrases of others; echopraxis: mimicking the movements of others, and other symptoms (listed below in the section on body language).
Until we connect with what’s happening inside us, and how we are behaving in the outside world, we can live out whatever we have yet to face and incorporate.
*Bodywork involves movement, breathing, and tensing and releasing body parts to let go of stress, tightness, and blockages to help one become more aware of their psychological and physical defense mechanisms, which can involve facing old wounds, traumas, experiences, and defenses, we held onto, and avoided, because of pain; or continue to live them out because they are comfortable, and what we deem safe and familiar.
Freud’s pupil, Dr. Wilhelm Reich, called the tension that humans, and other biological organisms, hold in their body character armor (or muscular armor), in his 1949 Character Analysis; referring to physical, psychological, and energetic tensions, that turn into habitual ways of living, which guide people’s behavior unknowingly, leading them into choices they may otherwise regret.
Reichian therapy and other somatic therapies, like Alexander Lowen’s methods and Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing, The Feldenkrais Method, are ways of breaking up psychological and muscular armoring and bringing what’s unconscious to the forefront for people to process, along with releasing, transcending, and absolving tensions that do not require conscious processing to let go of, learn from, and incorporate into daily life.
A well-known form of bodywork is progressive muscle relaxation, in which one lies on a flat, firm surface and then tenses and releases body parts while breathing in a relaxed, steady rhythm.
Other ways of freeing up physical, psychological, and energetic tension and becoming more mindful and aware include: Massage, meditation, immersing oneself in water (showers or baths), physical exercise, Yoga (breathing exercises), Tai Chi, Qi Gong, self-defense practices, dance, walking, hiking, the Alexander technique, floatation tanks (sensory deprivation chambers for engaging a deeper sense of safety, as if in a womb, as pioneered by American neurophysiologist, psychoanalyst, experimenter, and writer), acupuncture, and other forms of movement, physical intimacy, and release.
Besides bodywork, moving outdoors and feeling our body deeply and intimately helps us release physical and psychological tension, and energetic stagnation and residue, stay in touch with our most creative selves, and experience a more authentic connection to life.
Without physical movement, we can feel tired, tense, and imbalanced, our bodies can atrophy, and we are less likely to adapt to and overcome challenges, adversities, stressors, and traumas.
That’s why moving throughout the day and managing our physical and psychological patterns is crucial.
(Methods for releasing tension and energetic debris can be found after the meditation section below. Be sure to read up until that point to understand what may show up within these somatic therapy sessions).
Training & Survival Protocol
Peace times don’t exist. Survival contains never-ending challenges, threats, dangers, and shocks to the system from birth to death and requires a pragmatic and practical approach that’s tied down to reality and leaves room for the unknown.
As Maslow’s hierarchy of needs mentions, physiological and psychological survival needs and safety need to be strongly emphasized for one to feel deeper stability.
Without practice, preparation, meticulous review, and drilling through base survival needs and disaster scenarios, we can become weak, vulnerable, and unable to adapt, manage, and overcome adversities, shocks, and traumas; draining and harming our health, well-being, and lives in ways we cannot recover from.
Look at your situation and how you can adapt to your specific circumstances, collaborating with people when necessary.
Refresh, assess, and comb over your survival protocol, keeping anxiety, fear, hypervigilance, and psychological and physical dysregulation in check for whatever the challenges call for.
*What you may need to protect yourself and train on and drill through to remain safe: survival supplies, threat assessment, counter arguments, finances, laws, insurance, transportation, surveillance, forensics, evidence gathering, knowing how to case out a scene and clean up for self-protection, boundaries with others, health care, adaptable food consumption, wildcrafting, herbal medicine, manipulation, diversion, decoys, subversion (undermining someone), self-defense, survival training, escape route navigation, conflict de-escalation, relationships, emergency support, first aid, orienteering skills, navigational tools, planning emergency routes, transportation and maintenance (automobiles, planes, watercrafts, motorcycles, bikes), sustainability, disaster preparedness, crisis intervention, dangerous organisms in different areas, protective animals, technology, frustration tolerance, negotiation and relationship skills, group work, bartering, gardening, shelter construction, firemaking, environmental awareness, waste and garbage organization, cultural awareness, weather, exercise, psychological management, emergency communication, sewing, hygiene, tool use and maintenance, resource allocation, security systems, cyber security, awareness of seasonal cycles, fire safety, document preservation, energy sources (electricity, gas, solar, and other forms of energy), languages, primitive skills, chemical poisons to avoid, and other means of taking care oneself and who and what you care about.
Shelter considerations: living expenses, housing, pollution, food, water, natural disasters, climate, employment opportunities, academics, transportation, community support, law enforcement, crime, hospitals, draught, internet, energy supply (electricity, solar, wind, and other forms of energy), phone, politics, languages, government assistance.
*Physics: Learning about electricity, light, magnetism, notes, tones, harmony, oscillations, vibrations, frequencies, amplitude, and other psychics lessons through the work of Newton, Galvani, Aldini, Maxwell, Volta, Faraday, Tesla, Steinmetz, Einstein, Lorenz, Poincaré, Heaviside, Plank, Bohr, Curie, Fermi, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Franklin, Thomson, Sir William Henry Bragg, Sir William Lawrence Bragg, Dirac, Bardeen, Szent-Györgyi, Becker, Hawking, Pauli, and others can help provide perspectives that help with physical and psychological adaptation as well.
So can learning about the work on the Sun’s heliosphere, Earth’s magnetosphere, the Schumann resonance, magnetoreception in organisms, as well as other planets, nebulas, and phenomena found in space, and their possible effects on biology.
List of survival supplies:
Below is a short list of supplies and tools. Manage, monitor, and cycle as necessary, adapting to your needs and desires.
Books
– Edible wild plant & fungi guides
– First aid book
Fats/oils
– Olive oil
– Coconut oil
– Butter
– Ghee
– Avocado oil
– Red palm oil
– Hemp seed oil
– Walnut oil
– Almond oil
– Hazelnut oil
– Sesame oil
– Pecan oil
– Peanut oil
– Flaxseed oil
– Chia oil
– Macadamia nut oil
– Pumpkin seed oil
– Lard
– Tallow
– Chicken fat (Schmaltz)
– Duck fat
– Goose fat
– Bacon fat
– Cacao butter
– Mustard oil
Animal products (Frozen, dried, cured, fresh)
– Beef
– Pork
– Chicken
– Duck
– Goose
– Turkey
– Lamb
– Goat
– Bison
– Buffalo
– Rabbit
– Venison
– Elk
– Quail
– Pheasant
– Tuna
– Sardine
– Anchovy
– Mackerel
– Salmon
– Mussel
– Shrimp
– Oyster
– Clam
– Scallop
– Herring
– Crab
– Lobster
– Squid
– Octopus
– Mahi-mahi
– Swordfish
– Perch
– Trout
– Bass
– Halibut
– Cod
– Tilapia
– Snapper
– Halibut
Nuts & seeds
– Walnut
– Almond
– Pumpkin seed
– Sunflower seed
– Sesame seed
– Poppy seed
– Chia seed
– Flax seed
– Brazil nut
– Macadamia nut
– Cashew
– Pecan
– Hazelnut
– Pistachio
– Pine nut
– Hemp seed
– Chestnut
– Tiger nut
– Wild jungle peanut
– Peanuts & peanut butter
Grain
– Rice varieties
– Oat (Rolled, steel cut, groats)
– Millet
– Buckwheat
– Amaranth
– Wheat
– Spelt
– Quinoa
– Barley
– Rye
– Cornmeal
– Couscous
– Kamut
– Farro
– Sorghum
– Teff
– Bulgur
– Einkorn
Vegetables (fresh, canned, dehydrated, fermented)
– Green bean
– Black bean
– Pinto bean
– Navy bean
– Garbanzo bean
– Lentil
– Bean sprout
– Corn
– Beet
– Broccoli
– Jalapeno
– Chile
– Brussel sprout
– Cauliflower
– Cabbage
– Turnip
– Parsnip
– Rutabaga
– Leek
– Pumpkin
– Carnival squash
– Acorn squash
– Delicata squash
– Sweet dumpling squash
– Pattypan squash
– Butternut squash
– Spaghetti squash
– Honeynut squash
– Yellow squash
– Buttercup squash
– Zucchini
– Eggplant
– Bell pepper
– Carrot
– Spinach
– Swiss chard
– Arugula
– Collard green
– Dandelion green
– Mustard green
– Turnip green
– Romaine lettuce
– Green lettuce
– Red lettuce
– Endive
– Kale
– Onion
– Garlic
– Garlic scapes
– Shallot
– Green onion (Scallions)
– Asparagus
– Bok choy
– Tatsoi
– Pea
– Snow pea
– Snap pea
– Romanesco broccoli
– Ginger
– Bamboo shoot
– Burdock root
– Celeriac (Celery root)
– Radish
– Daikon
– Fennel
– Okra
– Sweet potato
– Yam
– Potato
– Artichoke
Fruits (fresh, canned, dehydrated, fermented)
– Peach
– Pineapple
– Apricot
– Apple
– Blueberry
– Blackberry
– Strawberry
– Raspberry
– Cranberry
– Mulberry
– Gooseberry
– Elderberry
– Barberry
– Cherry
– Currant
– Kiwi
– Papaya
– Pomegranate
– Lychee
– Guava
– Passion fruit
– Persimmon
– Coconut
– Fig
– Tangerine
– Orange
– Clementine
– Blood orange
– Lemon
– Lime
– Starfruit
– Durian
– Dragon fruit
– Plantain
– Jackfruit
– Rambutan
– Tamarind
– Longan
– Loquat
– Medlar
– Jujube
– Date
– Plum
– Pear
– Quince
– Melon (Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, lemon drop)
– Apricot
– Grape
– Banana
– Avocado
– Mango
– Tomato
Mushrooms (fresh, canned, dehydrated, fermented)
– Baby bella
– Maitake
– Beech
– Lion’s mane
– Shiitake
– Portabella
– Porcini
– Oysters
– Crimini
– White mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)
Dairy
– Milk
– Cream
– Yogurt
– Cheese
– Sour cream
– Cream cheese
– Cottage cheese
Ferments
– Sauerkraut
– Kimchi
– Miso
– Kefir
– Kombucha
– Tempeh
– Natto
– Pickles
– Garlic
– Sourdough
Baking & sweeteners
– Baking soda
– Baking powder
– Cornstarch
– Arrowroot powder
– Cream of tartar
– Yeast
– Brown coconut sugar
– Molasses
– Honey
– Maple syrup
– Coconut sugar
– Stevia leaf
Herbs & spices
– All-spice
– Cinnamon
– Ginger
– Cumin
– Cilantro
– Cayenne
– Chili
– Pepper
– Bay leaf
– Clove
– Dill
– Oregano
– Peppermint
– Spearmint
– Licorice
– Nutmeg
– Basil
– Cardamom
– Fennel
– Turmeric
– Saffron
– Parsley
– Thyme
– Rosemary
– Coriander
– Tarragon
– Mustard seed
– Paprika
– Sage
– Star anise
– Lemongrass
– Fenugreek
– Caraway
– Horseradish
– Celery seed
– Chives
– Cicely
– Dillweed
– Borage
– Vanilla
– Cacao bean
Chinese, Ayurvedic, & Western Herbalism
– Rehmannia root
– Schisandra berry
– Astragalus root
– Ginkgo biloba
– Goji berries
– Jujube
– Licorice root
– White peony root
– Skullcap
– Dong quai
– Fennel seed
– Rhodiola root
– Tribulus terrestris
– Yohimbe bark
– Catuaba bark
– Muira puama
– Tongkat ali
– Panax ginseng (Red ginseng)
– Eleuthero root
– Pine pollen
– Gynostemma (Jiaogulan)
– Pau d’arco bark
– Holy basil (Tulsi)
– Shatavari
– Chaste berry (Vitex)
– Gymnema sylvestre
– Maca root
– Yacon root
– Bitter melon
– Goldenseal
– Cat’s claw
– Saw palmetto
– Moringa
– Cissus quadrangularis
– Eucommia
– Maitake mushroom
– Shiitake mushroom
– Reishi mushroom
– Lion’s mane mushroom
– Cordyceps mushroom
– Chaga mycelium
– Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi)
– Mucuna pruriens
– Valerian root
– Burdock root
– Slippery elm bark
– Neem
– Gotu kola
– Coleus forskohlii
– Ashwagandha root
– Guggul gum
– Amla (Gooseberry)
– Hawthorn berries
– Juniper berries
– Horehound
– Catnip
– St. John’s wort
– Motherwort
– Agrimony
– Echinacea
– Passionflower
– Fenugreek
– Hyssop
– Lovage
– Anise
– Bayberry
– Frankincense
– Myrrh
– Milk thistle
– Yellow dock
– Dandelion root
– Kudzu root
– Lemon root
– Olive leaf
– Chamomile
– Calendula
– Chicory root
– Cumin
– Elderflower
– Fennel
– Galangal
– Lavender
– Marshmallow root
– Nettle root & leaf
– Savory
– Senna leaf
– Yucca root
– Aloe vera
– Eucalyptus
– Hibiscus
– Kava kava
– Red sage (Danshen)
– Rose hips
– Lemon balm
– Sea buckthorn
– Ashitaba
– Rooibos
– Hops
– Wormwood
– Cloves
– Black walnut
– White willow bark
– Oak bark
– Pine bark
– Damiana
– Goldenrod
– Sarsaparilla root
– Bilberry
– Yarrow
– Wood betony
– Devil’s claw
– Uva ursi (Bearberry)
– Maral root
– Sheep sorrel
– Lemon grass
– Lemon myrtle
– Olive leaf
– Oregano oil
– Graviola (Soursop)
– Oregon grape root
– Prickly ash bark
– Stevia leaf
– Angelica
– Sweet cicely
– Hydrangea
– Red clover
– Witch hazel
– Black cohosh
– Blue cohosh
– Vervain
– Mugwort
– Mullein
– Yerba santa
– Wild cherry bark
– Celandine
– Butterbur
– Quassia bark
– Spikenard
– Tamarind
– Unicorn root
– Gentian root
– Hops
– Coffee bean
– Guarana
– Kola nut
– Yaupon
– Yerba mate
Seaweed & algae (for iodine)
– Kelp
– Nori
– Wakame
– Bladderwrack
– Dulse
– Kombu
– Sea lettuce
– Agar-agar
– Irish moss (Carrageen moss)
– Arame
– Hijiki
– Mozuku
– Laver (Porphyra)
– Sea palm
– Spirulina
– Chlorella
– Red algae
– Blue-green algae
– Sea grape (Caulerpa lentillifera)
Vodka or grain alcohol for sanitizers & tinctures
Salt, 10 to 20+ lbs per year per person
Water
– At least 50+ gallons per month per person
– 32oz to 64oz water bottles (stainless steel)
– 5 gallon carboys
– 55 gallon drums
Medicine
– Prescriptions
– Over-the-counter medications
Survival bag examples (multiple bags)
– Rope bundles
– Kevlar line
– Paracord
– Carabiner (2,000+ lbs)
– Fishing line & small tackle box with hooks
– Garbage bags, which can also be for ponchos
– Ponchos
– Knives
– Toolboxes
– Needle-nose pliers
– Vice grips
– Multi-wrench
– Screwdrivers
– Hammers
– Allen wrenches
– Mace or hairspray
– Emergency blankets
– Maps of the area
– Work gloves
– Tarp & bungees for shelter
– Compass
– GPS (Global Positioning System)
– Duct tape
– Electrical tape
– Flashlights
– Glow sticks
– Candles
– Headlamps
– Lantern (LED)
– Lantern (propane)
– Food bags, mesh
– Binoculars
– Whistles
– Signal mirror
– Sewing kit
– Foraging bags
– Insect repellant
– Trash bags
– Razors & spare blades
– Bandages (all sizes)
– Triangular bandages
– Butterfly closures
– Gauze roll bandages
– Elastic bandages
– Sewing thread
– Needles
– Iodine
– Rubbing alcohol
– Witch hazel
– Alcohol swabs
– Baby wipes
– Scissors
– Laxatives
– Suppositories
– Stool softeners
– Enema
– Lip balm
– Baking soda
– Thermometer
– Petroleum
– Essential oils
– Super glue
– Pens
– Index cards
– Envelopes
– Can opener
– Phone charger
– Hand-crank radio
– HAM radio
– Weather radio (hand-crank & solar-powered)
– Candles
– Wick for candles
– Walkie-talkies
– Drawstring bag
– Hatchet
– Zip-ties (multiple sizes)
– Matches & cases
– Lighters
– Ferro rods
– Wool blanket
– Fireproof blanket
– Burn cream
– Eyewash
– CPR face shield
– Cold packs
– Hot packs
– Medical tape
– Face masks
– Splints
– Salt for rehydration (oral rehydration salts)
– Water filter
– Water purification tablets
– Collapsible water containers
– Sunscreen
– Emergency contact list
– Duct tape
– Phone chargers
– First aid manual
– Emergency cash
– Bag with clothes & shoes for two weeks (if possible)
– Bag with food, i.e., canned fish, like sardines
Be aware of the dangers of batteries, matches, and lighters in bags, and where you put bags if you have multiple for quick access in the event you need to leave in a hurry and avoid predators, obstacles, and threats, and ditch a bag if you have to.
Shelter
– Tarps
– Plastic sheets
– Sleeping bags (-25F)
– Tents with duffel bags, stakes, ropes
Foraging
– Ax
– Hatchet
– Knives
– Sharpener
– Buckets (stainless steel, canvas, plastic)
– Bags
Hunting, fishing, & self-defense
– Wooden staffs (long enough for fighting)
– Guns
– Bullets
– Ammo case
– Pouches
– Earmuffs
– Cleaning spray
– Mace (hairspray)
– Throwing knives
– Slingshots & BB’s
– Bow, arrows, & quiver
– Finger & arm guards
– Fishing pole, reel, & line
– Tackle box with lures, sinkers, & bobbers
– Buckets (stainless steel, canvas, plastic)
– Snare wire for traps
Cooking
– Pots & pans
– Roasting pans
– Splatter pans
– Cast iron skillets
– Pizza trays
– Utensils (forks, spoons, knives)
– Metal & wooden cooking spoons
– Spatulas
– Ladles
– Tongs
– Disposable plates & utensils
– Mixing bowls
– Whisks
– Graters
– Zesters
– Peelers
– Meat tenderizers
– Potato mashers
– Garlic presses
– Can openers
– Wine openers
– Kitchen shears
– Mandolins
– Basting brushes
– Measuring cups & spoons
– Cutting boards
– Colanders
– Flour sifters
– Pour over coffee strainers
– Glass containers
– Mason jars
– Baking dishes
– Rolling pins
– Oven mitts
– Trivets
– Slow cookers
– Dutch ovens
– Pressure cookers
– Food dehydrators
– Toasters
– Sandwich presses
– Waffle makers
– Thermometers
– Tea kettles
– Electric mixers
– Immersion blenders
– Kitchen scales
– Camping stoves
– Propane
– Aprons
Light/heat/energy
i. Flashlights & lanterns
– LED lanterns
– Flashlights
– Headlamps
– Solar lanterns
ii. Batteries
– D batteries
– AA batteries
– AAA batteries
– 9V batteries
– Generators
– Rechargeable batteries
– Battery chargers
– Case for batteries
iii. Fire
– Ferro rods
– Matches
– Lighters
– Fire starters
– Fireproof blankets
– Fire extinguishers
iv. Light
– White light bulbs
– Red incandescent light bulbs
– LED light bulbs
– Solar-powered lights
– LED string lights
– Emergency candles
v. Energy Sources
– Solar panels
– Portable power banks
– Hand-crank chargers
– Wind-up radios
– Power inverters
Fire Safety
– Smoke detector & batteries
– Carbon monoxide detectors
– Fire extinguishers
Packs
– Sling bags
– Backpacks
– Duffel bags
– Drawstring bags
– Luggage & travel gear
– Other bags
Blankets
– Wool blankets
– Comforters
– Sheets
– Pillows
Cordage
– Rope bundles
– Paracord
– Kevlar line
– Fishing line
– Elastic bands
Navigation
– Compass
– Local maps
Cleaning
– Laundry detergent
– Dish soap
– All-purpose cleaning sprays
– Glass cleaner
– Wood polish
– Bleach
– Garbage bags (large & small)
– Paper towels
– Toilet paper
– Toilet brush & cleaner
– Sponges
– Scrub brushes
– Microfiber cloths
– Disinfectant wipes
– Dusting cloths
– Lint roller
– Vacuum
– Broom & dustpan
– Map & bucket
Hygiene, skin, & self-care
– Body soaps
– Shampoo
– Conditioner
– Lotions
– Shea butter
– Coconut oil
– Jojoba oil
– Macadamia nut oil
– Apricot seed oil
– Olive oil
– Deodorant
– Hairbrush
– Comb
– Washcloths
– Loofah
– Toothbrush & toothpaste
– Floss
– Floss picks
– Nail clippers
– Razor & cartridges
– Shaving creams
– Hand sanitizers
– Tweezers
– Hair ties & clips
First aid home-kit
– Bandages
– Gauze pads
– Triangular bandages
– Compression wraps
– Butterfly closures
– Gauze roll bandages
– Elastic bandages
– Antiseptic spray & wipes
– Antibiotic ointments
– Tweezers
– Antihistamines
– Petroleum jelly
– Nitrile gloves
– Safety pins
– Scissors
– Hydrogen peroxide
– Thermometer
– Sewing kit
– Candles
– Cotton balls & swabs
– Razors & spare blades
– Sewing threads
– Needles
– Iodine
– Rubbing alcohol
– Witch hazel
– Alcohol swabs
– Baby wipes
– Scissors
– Laxatives
– Suppositories
– Stool softeners
– Baking soda
– Trash bags
– Super glue
– Enema
– Burn cream
– Eyewash
– CPR face shield
– Cold packs
– Hot packs
– Medical tape
– Face masks
– Splints
– Salt for rehydration (oral rehydration salts)
– First aid manual
Tools
– Toolbox
– Bungee cords
– Allen wrenches
– Measuring tape
– Needle nose pliers
– Vice grips
– Adjustable wrenches
– Hacksaw & spare blades
– Bowsaw & spare blades
– Hammers
– Crowbars
– Duct tape
– Electrical tape
– Zip-ties
– Extension cords
– Work gloves
– Shovels, small & large
– Winter shovel
– Dust masks
– Nails
– Screws
– Floodlight
– Screwdriver set
– Socket & wrench set
– Chains
Clothes
1.) Daily
– Socks
– Underwear
– Jeans
– Khakis
– Shorts
– T-shirts
– Hoodies
– Sneakers
– Boots
2.) Winter
– Hat
– Gloves
– Lightweight gloves
– Fingerless gloves
– Balaclava
– Wool socks
– Snow pants
– Long-john bottom & tops
– Coats for 0F weather
– Winter boots
– Sunglasses
Automobile
– Jumper cables
– Window-glass breaker
– Oil quarts
– Funnel
– Wiper fluid
– Tire-pressure gauge
– Wrenches for tires (at least 2)
– Maps of local area
– Spare tire
– Car jack
– Ice scraper
– Windshield shades
– Flares
– All-purpose tires & snow tires
– Spare batteries for keys
– Spare car battery at home
– Tow strap
– Bag with extra flashlights, first aid supplies, lotions, clothes
Communication
– Laptop, chargers, case + spares, & extra memory (RAM)
– Phone, chargers, case + spares, & extra memory (SIM cards)
Documents
– Safety lock box
– Social security card
– Birth certificate
– Passport
– Will
– Recent pay stubs
– Tax returns
– Property deeds
– Marriage certificates
– Other important documents
*Supplies vary based on income, lifestyle, environment, and needs. Find what works for you.
Foraging wild foods & medicine:
For as long as we know, humans have eaten and made medicine out of the nature around them, from plants to fungi to lichen to seaweed to animals to flowers to salts to ferments to insects and anything they could render usable food and healing substances.
For example, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) of modern New York traditionally ate foods and made medicine from organisms such as:
Animals: Bear, deer, beaver, muskrat, rabbit, duck, geese, partridge, owl, quail, frog, and eel.
Plants: Wild plants like fruits, greens, barks, roots, fungi, saps, resins, aquatic plants, and cultivated plants like corn, beans, and squash (which they called the three sisters).
Like the Haudenosaunee, Indians, Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, Romans, Mayans, Chinese, Australian Aborigines, and ancestors before them also obtained food and medicine from the organisms around them.
To give an example that still exists in modern times, the Hadzabe of Tanzania (the eye of the elephant), known as the last hunter-gatherers of Africa, eat a diet of meat (baboon, eland, giraffe, lion, bush baby, elephant, hornbill, mongoose, porcupine, bat), tubers (Kudzu root), berries (baobab), plants, and honey, honeycomb, pollen, royal jelly, and bee larvae (which makes up a substantial portion of their diet).
They also prepare their food with corn flour they get from the local government to help sustain them.
In fact, they use bird calls to get the attention of the Honeyguide bird (Indicatoridae) and follow them to honey, which they share with them, a symbiotic relationship.
The Hadzabe also use plants for medicine and healing wounds, like the groups mentioned above.
(One method of hunting animals includes making a poison putty out of shanjo (Strophanthus eminii), and panjube (Adenium obesum), that they use on arrows to hunt and neuter pray).
*Nutrient-density: Consuming wild food (lifeforms that are not domesticated and modified from how they appear in nature) can provide a wider variety of organisms that support our health.
Foraging can also help us connect more intimately with nature, tuning us into its cycles.
Here are some recommendations to get started:
– Look at the diet of the people native to the area around you and see what they ate, along with other places around the globe.
– Pick up a field guide for your local area, like a botanical (plant) guide like Steven Foster and James A. Duke’s Peterson Field Guide To Medicinal Plants & Herbs Of Eastern & Central N. America, and a mycological (fungi) guide like Timothy J. Baroni’s Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada.
There are books for different regions that discuss the types of fungi: mycorrhizal (symbiotic), parasitic (kills host), saprophytic (feeds on dead growth and breaks it down), and endophytic (fungi that live in plant tissues).
As well as the mycological labels:
*Fungi: spore-producing organisms that consume organic matter, such as mushrooms, molds, yeasts.
*Spore: a reproductive unit that gives rise to life without sex.
*Hyphae: filaments that create a mycelial network and are produced from spores.
– Use local databases, like the New York Flora Atlas, to look up plants by county: https://newyork.plantatlas.usf.edu/browse/county
– iNaturalist, a website, and app, gives you the exact locations of plants, fungi, algae, seaweeds, lichen, mosses, animals, insects, and other forms of nature; people post finds, and you can visit the spots they share. Also, this app helps show the different environments, organisms, and seasons that plants, fungi, and other lifeforms grow around; as well as their uses, like whether they are edible, inedible, or poisonous.
– Mushroom Observer is a great resource for identifying fungi and helping mycologists map the fungi on the planet.
– Google Lens lets you photograph nature and search for species.
– Go to a botanical garden or herbarium to see plants, fungi, and databases. Some parks have wild food areas with name tags.
– Find local foragers, botanists, mycologists, farmers, and others with food training and groups. Some people sell wild foods and medicine.
– Explore similarities with plants, fungi, and other lifeforms in Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Western herbalism, Tibetan medicine, and other methods.
– Move with your instinct, heart, and intuition, and go to the spots that call to you. Maps are helpful, but tuning into what we feel, regardless of contradictory feelings, thoughts, and data, can lead to some of the most exciting finds.
– As you walk, tune in with your body and being and get a feel for the various lifeforms, their characteristics, and overall state of being, while keeping an open mind and seeing life as a collection of resources, tools, and gadgets to be used at any given time.
– Take note of the different footprints, eating strategies, and paths left in the forest by animals, insects, and other humans, and learn to track and follow the patterns of the different organisms as you forage. Also, observe the growth, deterioration, and death (senescence) of the plants, fungi, lichen, and other life forms and how humans, animals, and insects interact with them at different times of the year.
– Learning about the perspectives of Darwin and Mendel on evolution and the adaption of hereditary survival traits as a means of enduring and outlasting the challenges, pressures, and adversities of life can also help elucidate nature’s biological rhythms and mechanisms and how mutations and alternate routes and strategies can help to aid, embolden, and enliven humans and other organisms. Carl Linnaeus’s work on taxonomy also lays out the naming system of plants and fungi, binomial nomenclature: kingdom, phylum (plural, phyla), class, order, family, genus (plural, genera), and species.
– As you walk, listen to the birds, animals, insects, and other organisms around you and follow them to see where they lead if you feel called that way. For instance, observe the different noises squirrels make when you forage oyster mushrooms, which they also consume. Or, follow bird calls to different mushrooms and see where they lead. The insect consumption of birds may indicate where mushrooms could be. (Research also indicates that biological organisms help spread spores and promote the growth of fungi, along with the wind).
– Aside from working with nature’s forms using intuition and instinct, it can help to explore the different potential healing properties of plants, fungi, and other organisms, including:
*Analgesic (pain relieving; willow bark, turmeric, ginger), anthelmintic (anti-parasitic; wormwood, papaya seeds, garlic), antibacterial (kills and manages bacteria; echinacea, goldenseal, tea tree), anticoagulant (helps prevent clotting; ginkgo biloba, turmeric, ginger), antidepressant (aids in mood regulation; st. john’s wort, lavender, saffron), antidiabetic (aids in blood sugar management; bitter melon, fenugreek, cinnamon), antiemetic (induces vomiting; ginger, peppermint, chamomile), antifungal (kills fungus; tea tree, garlic, oregano), antimicrobial (kills microbes; bacteria, viruses, yeasts, molds; thyme, lemon balm, rosemary), antipyretic (reduces fever; willow bark, feverfew, echinacea), antioxidant (reduces cellular degradation; green tea, blueberries, pomegranate).
*Antiseptic (kills microorganisms on the surface of the body; tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender), antispasmodic (relieves spasms; peppermint, chamomile, fennel), antiviral (kills viruses; echinacea, elderberry, garlic), astringent (contracts body tissue; witch hazel, oak bark, blackberry leaves), carminative (aids digestion; peppermint, fennel, cardamom), cholagogue (stimulates gallbladder production to reduce bile; dandelion, milk thistle, peppermint), demulcent (relieves inflammation by creating a soothing protective film from a mucilaginous, which is a gooey substance; marshmallow root, aloe vera, slippery elm).
*Diaphoretic (promotes sweating and detoxification; elderflower, yarrow, peppermint), diuretic (promotes urination and detoxification; dandelion, nettle, parsley), emmenagogue (stimulates menstrual flow; ginger, parsley, blue cohosh), hepatoprotective (aids liver health; milk thistle, turmeric, artichoke), hypnotic (trance-inducing, promotes sleep and relaxation; valerian, passionflower, chamomile), immunomodulatory (modulates the immune system; astragalus, echinacea, reishi mushroom), laxative (stimulates bowel movements; senna, aloe vera, cascara sagrada).
*Masticatory (organisms that are chewed for nutrients and medicinal properties; betel nut, licorice root, frankincense), narcotic (treats pain, induces drowsiness, promotes insensibility, catalyzes altered states; opium poppy, kratom, wild lettuce), psychedelic (brings about altered states; psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, ayahuasca), rubefacient (dilating blood vessels and creating inflammation in the skin to relieve pain, which makes the skin red; mustard seed, cayenne pepper, ginger).
*Sedative (promotes sleep and relaxation; valerian, lavender, hops), stimulant (increases physiological activity in the body and brings about alertness and speed; coffee, guarana, ginseng), vasodilator (dilates blood vessels or hinders them from constricting; hawthorn, garlic, ginkgo biloba), vulnerary (aids in healing wounds, internally or externally; comfrey, calendula, aloe vera), tonic (taken frequently for wellness; ginseng, ashwagandha, rhodiola).
While research is still in progress, learning how to make medicinal tinctures, infusions (steeping in warm water below boiling), decoctions (boiling water), salves, ferments, vulneraries, and other natural methods can also help one learn how to heal.
For example, some of the foods and medicines in the Northeast:
*Wild edible & medicinal plants: Dandelion, garlic mustard, lamb’s quarters, stinging nettle, wood nettle, clearweed, false nettle, purslane, ramps (leeks), ostrich fern, onion, spicebush, onion, garlic, mugwort, mulberry, brambleberry, thimbleberry, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, shadberry, chokecherry, chokeberry, chasteberry, black huckleberry, winterberry, autumn olive, spicebush, grapes, hawthorn berries, bear berries, orpine, rhodiola, asparagus, ginger, beech, birch, pine, spruce, hemlock, balsam fir, douglas hickory, basswood, locust, maple, sycamore, oak (bark, acorns, leaves), sassafras, poplar, aspen, hazelnut, chestnut, sweet chestnut, water chestnut, walnut, black walnut, tulip tree, ginkgo biloba, blue vervain, oxeye daisy, mayapple, bergamot (bee balm), two-leaved toothwort, cut-leaved toothwort, Virginia waterleaf, cattail, elderberry, pokeberry, white wood aster, blue aster, beggar ticks, jewelweed, Joe-pye weed, boneset, teasel, butterfly weed, milkweed, swamp milkweed, bishop’s goutweed, butter and eggs, St. John’s wort, American vetch, curly dock, bitter lettuce, prickly lettuce, miner’s lettuce, sheep sorrel, shepherd’s purse, fireweed, dame’s rocket, broadleaf arrowhead, Jerusalem artichoke, lemon balm, peppermint, spearmint, watermint, mountain mint, watercress, bittercress, motherwort, wintergreen, partridge berry, basil, oregano, American ginseng, dwarf ginseng, self-heal, sarsaparilla, ghost pipe, barberry, yarrow, chicory, comfrey, chickweed, rose of sharon (hibiscus), red clover, burdock root, morning glory, angelica, crab apples, high bush cranberry, coneflower (echinacea), black eyed susan, mullein, moth mullein, coltsfoot, ground ivy, goat’s beard, hops, parsnip, chervil, mountain wood sorrel, Solomon’s seal, false Solomon’s seal, marsh violet, marsh marigold, day lily, nasturtium, epazote, broadleaf and narrowleaf plantain, white sagebrush, smartweed, water smartweed, Carolina spring beauty, trout lily, rose hips, hog peanut, buckthorn, black and blue cohosh, witch hazel, cinquefoil, sow thistle, evening primrose, agrimony, field horsetail, rough horsetail, wild carrot, sweet fern, wild rice, red osier dogwood, thistle, ground cherry, goldenrod, sarsaparilla, cleavers, sweet flag, blue flag iris, corn smut, spotted touch-me-not, pawpaw, staghorn sumac, duckweed, resins from such as pine, spruce, fir, cedar, juniper, yew, larch, sweetgum, birch, aspen, alder, saps from trees like maple and birch, and different pond lilies.
*Wild edible & medicinal fungi: Chanterelle, chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, lion’s mane, comb tooth fungus, bear tooth fungus, coral mushroom, morel, oyster, fall oyster, hemlock reishi, chaga, turkey tail, lumpy bracket, red belted polypore, artist’s conk, birch polypore, resinous polypore, deer mushroom, enoki, wood ears, amber jelly rolls, honey fungus, mica caps, ink caps, wine caps, shaggy mane, dryad’s saddle, snow fungus, orange jelly fungus, yellow brain fungus, dog slime vomit, milk caps, salmon waxy caps, blewit, black trumpet, stinkhorn, hedgehog, matsutake, lobster, parasol, hoof fungus, willow bracket, umbrella polypore, blackening polypore, beefsteak fungus, the blushing bracket, shaggy bracket, milk caps, short-stemmed russula, birch knight fungi, truffles, various types of puffballs and boletes.
Use the resources above to research the details of these organisms, and do not ever work with any lifeforms you do not know what to do with, as they may cause irreversible physical and psychological harm.
Also, it’s crucial not to overharvest, as foraging too much of any one species can affect the ecology of the land. Check to see which plants are endangered, like trillium in some states. Pick a little here and there, and leave some for others.
Caution: some plants, fungi, algae, seaweeds, lichen, mosses, animals, insects, rocks, and physical surfaces that foraging materials are placed on may contain parasites from animals, water, and other biological organisms.
*Poisonous plants & fungi (with pending testing for beneficial properties): Dogbane, white snakeroot, bittersweet nightshade, bloodroot, jack-in-the-pulpit, skunk cabbage, destroying angel, deadly galerina, false morel, panther caps, scopolamine, false parasol, jack-o’lantern, death cap, poison puffball, jimsonweed, hellebore, entoloma, laughing jim, sulfur tuft (hypholoma fasciculare), other hypholoma species, and so on.
Brick caps (hypholoma lateritium) are edible but look like other poisonous hypholoma, so they’re hard to recommend as edible without taste testing for toxicity, which can be a dangerous game.
Similarly, fly agaric (amanita muscaria) is described as poisonous, but also found in literature as a mushroom consumed for ritualistic purposes.
Angel wing mushrooms, which look like oysters (Pleurotus ostreatus and pleurotus populinus), are also regarded as inedible.
*Allergenic plants that cause dermatitis, skin inflammation, redness, & rashes: poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, poison hemlock, hogweed, ragweed, cow parsnip, wild parsnip, stinging nettle, wood nettle, Queen Anne’s lace (wild carrot).
Methods for assessing health:
Look at your lifestyle and identify how you can improve your health. What areas can you improve to make fast changes, and what will take more research, time, and work to improve or manage?
Components for physical health can include: A balanced diet that contains a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods from different sources that we adjust based on present-moment needs (i.e., the different nutrient-dense foods that can be used as tools in your health toolbag: meats, dairy, eggs, grains, nuts, tubers, domesticated fruits and plants, mushrooms, legumes, algae, seaweeds, lichens, honey, saps, resins, and wild organisms), body mass, energy levels, and overall sense of well-being and health (which needs to adapt along with changes in our lives), water and hydration, Sun, time in nature, air quality, exercise and movement, posture, immunity, bone health, dental health, gut health, joint health, skincare, breathing and lung health, vision, sleep, shelter, fertility, self-honesty, emotional management, stress, relationships, work, finances, sex drive, genetics, safe shelter, learning, play, hygiene, challenges, relationships, support, creativity, check-ups from professionals, lab work of different biomarkers (hormones, blood sugar, cholesterol).
On top of personal study, learn to follow instinct and intuition around the different areas of health as you experience different habits, protocols, foods, medicines, and practices and feel how they influence you, your lifestyle, and the people and environment you interact with; while keeping an open mind health practices may change based on health conditions, aging, stress, environment, gravity, and other means.
When dealing with health conditions, it helps to look into the peer-reviewed literature relevant to your challenges so that you can talk with healing professionals about the adversity you are facing with more of a sense of understanding than merely taking what they say at face value, while also keeping in mind there are cliches about issues that may not have answers yet.
For instance, fluctuations in hormonal levels may be different from what we think, such as the literature on testosterone and parental involvement influencing levels, which may be a natural byproduct of parenting rather than a health concern.
*Hormonal literature: Hormones refer to chemical messengers in the body that regulate a host of functions, and are managed by the brain, nervous system, heart, endocrine system, fat cells, bones, and other parts of the body, reacting and responding in real-time to what’s happening within and around the human organism, environment, and other lifeforms.
Since they are a key aspect of measuring health, it also helps to learn basic medical literature to talk with professionals. Here is some literature on hormonal biology to get familiar with the different hormones that appear on medical labs.
*Research health claims: For instance, cold exposure (also known as cold thermogenesis, a process through which the body creates heat to regulate body temperature in cold weather) is a practice people claim to use to learn to adapt to the cold, develop a deeper connection with their bodies, lose weight, improve inflammation and hormonal balance, as well as with other health benefits.
However, this method may not have the benefits that people claim it does, and may not work for everyone (depending on their state of health).
It’s critical to not just jump into a new method without researching and understanding the risks you are getting into.
Linked in the references are some studies on cold thermogenesis for you to explore.
Explore them with an open mind, skeptical, fair, and balanced mind, knowing they may be incorrect and need more exploration from researchers.
Learning from nature’s forms:
Studying the diversity of lifeforms on the planet can help expand our perspective and help us develop more humility towards the larger collective of organisms on Earth.
Learning about the different species and their parts (ranging from beaks to talons to wings to paws to whiskers to wings to flippers to fins and other structures) along with their different defenses for survival, habitats, dietary habits, strategies for obtaining food, and other methods of living, we can gain meaningful insights about nature and our place as human animals that we can apply literally and metaphorically.
Beyond peer-reviewed literature, some methods of nature study include: spending time with organisms (observational fieldwork), nature walks, journaling, gardening, photography, videography (including drones), tracking, bird watching, ethnobiology, microscopy, habit restoration, conservation, eating and working with the parts of different species to experience how they influence you, and finding other ways to apply them.
Training Yourself to Listen to Nature
Below is an exercise to connect deeper with nature and yourself.
If done with commitment, this method can lead to a heightened state, inspiring new perspectives and states of being.
1.) Go out in nature where you can walk quietly and go inwards, while being aware of the looming threat of animals, insects, and poisonous plants, like poison ivy, potentially hurting you; which is inevitable, but also a situation to work with as danger cannot be avoided.
2.) Once there, walk and focus on the environment around you.
Notice the rhythms of nature and be open to their influence. Be receptive yet attentive.
Listen to nature with your physical senses and being, and feel the energetic threads of the forest, waters, rocks, and all lifeforms.
Move where nature’s threads lead you, balancing between pleasure and an instinctual awareness to avoid danger outside.
3.) If you get caught up in emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sensations, put your attention back on the world around you and experience existence through all your senses.
Feel what comes up and keep yourself centered as best you can.
4.) As you walk, listen to the birds, animals, insects, and organisms around you and follow them to see where they lead if you feel called that way, while keeping an eye out for danger.
5.) Note any insights, creative ideas, sensations, and dreams you have during and after and how they may apply to your life.
6.) Test out different breathing methods to see how they feel for you.
Balancing Meditation for Stability & Focus
Below is a meditation similar to a Zen Buddhist style of meditation so you can test these experiences for yourself. Be patient and approach the process step-by-step.
If anything happens that you feel is too weird, back off and come back at a slower pace. And, if necessary, ask for help from someone with experience you can trust.
Last, be aware that meditative states can require downtime afterward, about thirty to sixty minutes to relax and rebalance.
1.) Go somewhere you feel safe ,and can be alone and uninterrupted, so that you can focus inwards.
*If you have time, take fifteen to twenty minutes to ground yourself with physical movement, hear the silence and stillness within and around you, and tune into your inner-most being.
Center yourself through movement and breathing, and note how physical states affect the different parts of your body and being.
2.) Lay down flat so life can flow freely throughout your body. Close your eyes, focus inwards, relax, and center yourself as best you can.
Feel the weight of your body on the planet and become receptive to what’s in and around you.
3.) Sense where your body is tense and relax it.
Exhale out as much as possible, and focus on compressing the diaphragm and stomach, letting the lungs release air naturally until they are empty, and hold for as long as possible until you can’t anymore, and then, allow the in-breath to come in spontaneously.
Breathe for a few minutes with this cycle to open up and relax.
*Additional breathing methods: Below are some breathing methods to regulate stress, relax, and release physical and psychological tension and energetic debris from other people, environments, and ourselves; these are used in Yoga, exercise, and other methods.
Box breathing: Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, release for four seconds, and hold for four seconds.
Breath of fire: Fast, deep breathing in and out, pumping the diaphragm, and letting the in-breath come in spontaneously.
Alternate nostrils: Putting the forefinger on one nostril, closing it, breathing all the way out, and guiding the in-breath back in naturally as a reflective response.
Stomach vacuum: Bend over with your hands on your knees and exhale out as much as possible, compressing the diaphragm and stomach and letting the lungs release air until they are empty; hold for as long as possible until you can’t anymore, while moving the abdomen in and out with a pumping of your diaphragm, and then allowing the in-breath to come in spontaneously; this method can also be done without bending.
Test out different breathing methods to see how they feel for you.
WARNING: While helpful, breathing exercises may cause dizziness, nausea, or headaches if done too fast. Do these methods slowly and build up, and back off if you feel off from them.
4.) Become receptive, listen to and feel the space and quiet within and around you, and allow yourself to go deeper with each breath.
If you feel caught up in emotions, thoughts, and sensations, find yourself attempting to influence the meditation a certain way, lose focus, or get distracted, relax, and return to your breath; a process that is easier said than done, and needs to be continually managed as we learn to surrender further with each breath.
Learn the difference between resistance to going deeper into meditation and when to move on to the rest of your life.
Guidelines on meditation, bodywork, and physical training:
– Out-of-balance: If you feel out of whack after meditation, a shower, walk, workout, nap, chores, writing, going outside, and other methods can help you recenter and find balance.
– Dysregulation: Irritation, annoyance, frustration, aggression, volatility, and negativity that come with new territory, experiences, and energies do not have to be signs that someone, something, or a situation is wrong, but signs to redirect ourselves and look to where we are wrong and need to re-focus and humble ourselves towards new ideas, outlooks, ways of being, physical movements and sensations, including treating other people, organisms, environments, and situations differently.
– Daily application: How can you use what you learned from meditation throughout the day, e.g., being more objective and bypassing dysregulated emotional responses, overthinking, and misplaced judgments to redirect oneself to a more open and flexible state of being, as opposed to rigid biases and fixations.
– Falling asleep: Sometimes meditation leads to falling asleep and taking a nap, which can cause some people to feel guilty, as if they did the meditation wrong, or feel as if they are wrong within themselves.
However, going to sleep during meditation can be a normal response, and a state to work with and accept, not shame oneself about; and, sometimes necessary, if we have been sleep deprived more than we think and require more time to recover.
– Music: Learning a musical instrument, or how to sing and chant notes throughout body parts, can also help us attune to different physical and psychological states, whether playing alone, with other people privately, or to an audience that works with the band in a sort of call and response fashion. Creating sound baths and musical ambiance with drums, djembe, congas, maracas, steel drums, marimbas, wind chimes, singing bowls, chanting (like Tuvan throat singing, or Buddhist chanting), and other musical methods.
– Dreaming: Meditation can stimulate imaginative ideas, realizations, creativity, visions, lucid states, and other alterations of awareness where one feels as if they become aware of themselves experiencing a dream, and symbolic content akin to visualizations, imagery, and insights in dreams that can be applied to daily life, a viewpoint shared by the Australian Aborigines who saw dreaming as inextricably linked to daily life, using phrases the Dreaming, Everywhen, or Ancestral Now to describe a timeless experience from dreaming to daily life.
Aside from what you perceive in meditation, how might your dreams symbolize what is unconscious to you? How can you apply dream experiences to your waking life?
The significance of dreams is found throughout the globe, with stories of premonition dreams and omens seen in India (Hinduism, Buddhism), Egypt, Babylonia, Sumeria, Greece, Rome, Mesoamerica (Mayans), Swede, the Arabian Peninsula, Israel (in the Judaic Old Testament in the Hebrew Bible), and other cultures.
Dr. Sigmund Freud emphasized dream analysis in his practice, transcribing different aspects of how dreaming and waking life may work together in his 1899 book, The Interpretation of Dreams.
In his 1952 Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle, Dr. Carl Jung reported premonition dreams among patients, using the instance of people dreaming of mail before they see it.
Likewise, German chemist August Kekule von Stradonitz, who came up with the hexagonal benzene molecular structure, tells a story about dreaming of an ouroboros, which looks like a snake consuming its tail.
– Homunculus: The homunculus model, a map of the different parts of the body and how they are mapped out in the brain, may be a helpful representation to look at in terms of the sensory inputs in the body and psyche. The phantom limb phenomenon, where people feel pain in a limb that is no longer there, or sense the limb like it is still there, may also be of interest.
– Physical adaptability: Look at ways you can harden yourself through physical training, meditation poses and postures, and breathwork and find ways to make your body more flexible, adaptable, and ready for the challenges life throws your way, including posing, tapping, slapping, and hitting certain areas with enough force to make them stronger and more adaptable, as found in self-defense practices.
– Meditation and shamanism: Articles and books on meditation, shamanism, and ancient civilizations in peer-reviewed journals may provide perspective; a search online will yield a variety of results.
Though, be sure to keep a skeptical eye on these, as there is still a lot to learn about the different ways meditation may influence the physical and psychological.
The word shaman is said to come from the Manchu-Tungus word, šaman/šamán, meaning “one who knows.”
A shaman’s work encompasses the use of rites and rituals with the aid of meditation, dreams, visions, imaginary devices, movement, breathing, dancing, singing, chanting, drumming, music, talisman, cookware, utensils, geometric patterns, sigils, glyphs, mandalas, masks, costumes, furs, feathers, teeth, bones, skins, quills, venoms, oils, silks, insects, amulets, crystals, beads, jewelry, costumes, books, maps, body paints, fire, water, earth, air, smoke, weather (lightning, rain, wind, clouds), shells, stones, stars, planets, rocks, plants, fungi, algae, mosses, and lichen to engage in rapturous states of being to transmute, heal, and work through suffering and promote new ways insights, perspectives, behaviors, and habits; Romanian religious historian and writer, Mircea Eliade, called shamanic practices “techniques of ecstasy.”
– Cultural architecture, art, and symbolism: Going over content on architecture from archaeologists, geologists, scientists, and researchers can provide context on where we came from and the symbolism we are embedded in, including possible links to the stars, planets, nebulas, and celestial bodies, and cosmos. For instance, sites like the Pyramids at Giza (outside Cairo in Giza, Egypt), Göbekli Tepe (southeastern Turkey), Great Hopewell Mound (Chillicothe, Ohio), the Great Serpent Mound (Peebles, Ohio), Cahokia Mounds (Collinsville, Illinois), Moundville Archaeological Park (Moundville Alabama), Giant Animal Effigy Mounds (El Paraiso, Peru), Stonehenge (Salisbury, England), Avebury (Wiltshire, England), Callanish Stone Mounds (Isle of Lewis, Scotland), Machu Picchu (northwest of Cuzco Region, Peru), Chichén Itzá (Yucatán, Mexico), Teotihuacan (near Mexico City, Mexico), Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia), Al-Dayr (Petra, Jordan), Al-Khazneh (Petra, Jordan), Easter Island Moai (Rapa Nui, Chile), The Acropolis (Athens, Greece), the Colosseum (Rome, Italy), and Pompeii (near Naples, Italy).
– Described side effects of meditation and breathwork: Empirical literature on meditation includes descriptions of experiences like changes in breathing (such as going faster, slower, and breathing in an uneven manner), temperature fluctuations (hot and cold; sometimes rapidly), sensations (tingling, prickling, itching, pulsating), feelings of arousal, feeling as if there are energetic currents moving through the body (what is referred to as kundalini in Hindu philosophy, and the associated energy centers called chakras which correlate with the gonads, navel, solar plexus, heart, thyroid, pituitary, and beyond the top of the head, which means “spinning wheel”), experiencing what seems like an energy body or aura (a sort of numen, or spiritual presence) around oneself and other organisms, expansions of feelings and physical sensibility, visions (including geometric shapes, landscapes, instruments, tools, movie reels, continuations of dreams, luminous forms, ancestors, people, deities, entities akin to aliens, fairies, angels, animals, animalistic figures, and other figures and creative perceptions), perceptual changes, enhanced perceptions of light, temporal distortions, fluctuations in emotions, emotional catharsis, dissociation from emotions and mental processes (derealization and depersonalization), delusions and cognitive distortions, heightened creativity, experiencing a profound sense of relaxation, feeling as if one is in a void beyond the body; feeling a deeper connection to nature, as if one is part of nature in their being and bones; and what seem like out-of-body experiences (OBEs), similar to experiences which also correlate with descriptions of near-death experiences (NDEs).
Caution: As Jung warned with engaging active imagination may bring up unconscious content in the body and psyche and destabilize what they experience as their personality, which can disrupt the rest of their lives and force them to confront faulty structures and foundations, including value systems, philosophies, work, finances, shelter, relationships, health habits, medical challenges, and other areas of life.
In the extreme, possible delusions and psychosis may appear with meditative practice and movement methods like Yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, bodywork, and other disciplines if too much physical and psychological content gets released, which can be highly unpredictable, as meditation may be effective and balancing one day, and dysregulating the next.
There are no definitive directions here, as we all need to find our own way forward as we navigate the frontlines of awareness.
As with physical survival, take each meditation with a measured stance, knowing that situations can and will change from moment to moment, navigating challenges as they appear.
– Dramatization (acting), personification, embodiments, incarnations, shapeshifting: Imagining, feeling, taking on, or creating psychological and physical embodiments, archetypes, and configurations to transform and take on different states and transcend rigid, blocked, harmful, and draining states to create a new and improvise from an open place; which can stack up as more than one form, as if a totem pole of personification and incarnations; blending, shifting, molding, molting, and transforming; which incorporates, embodies, and moves into new forms and configurations.
Some examples of shapeshifting include:
*Actors shift into different states of being and character forms.
*Self-defense practices like Kung Fu use styles like crane, dragon, tiger, snake, monkey, mantis, leopard, horse, and other animals, insects, and other lifeforms.
*Yoga uses poses like downward dog, cobra, cat, cow, frog, camel, crow, scorpion, peacock, turtle, rabbit, pigeon, locust, and eagle.
*Tai chi uses poses like bear, monkey, deer, and tiger.
*Buddhist Shaolin monks have exercises engaging the spirits of animals such as tiger, deer, monkey, and bear.
*Qi gong uses poses including deer, bear, monkey, and tiger.
*The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) uses clan systems like wolf, deer, bear, heron, snipe, hawk, turtle, beaver, and eel.
*The Olmec revered jaguars and wore their skins to embody their states of being, also creating “were-jaguar” art as a symbolic act.
Shapeshifting and acting out different states of being can happen spontaneously in daily life as we react (consciously and unconsciously) from various cues in the environment and within ourselves, acting from different self-states and forms.
We can also act out these states in a ritual setting where we delineate physical spaces and lines for our acting roles, like in dramatic theater, where people act together in a social setting.
Or, privately, by shapeshifting into different forms and engaging the forces within the physical body, psyche, and environment to embody configurations and become more physically and psychologically aware and in tune, so as to use what we learn in day-to-day life and become more flexible, open, and adaptable, as if life itself as a set of initiation rituals.
– How might you shift into other forms, i.e., harnessing mountain lion prowess, hawk eyeing out a situation, or growling like a wolf as you protect your boundaries?
– Shapeshifting methods: Embodying a sharp beak, or arrowhead, coming out of your forehead, nose, or mouth, as points of concentration and intensity.
*Harnessing mountain lion prowess.
*Hawk eyeing out a situation.
*Growling like a wolf as you protect your boundaries.
*Imagine a feather in the center of your forehead to focus your vision and intuition.
*Channeling kangaroo fists when punching.
*Fisting out badger claws out to move energy out and fend off attackers.
*Giving owl eye warnings.
*Drawing energy out of the tailbone and finding balance by imagining a komodo dragon tail, scorpion stinger, jaguar tail, wolf tail, bunny tail, or another organism.
*Embodying jaguar energy for prowess (including eyes, fangs, whiskers, claws, and a tail for balance).
*Embodying the seething energy of rattlesnake venom.
*Redirecting people towards their innate talents and skills that they can learn to help others and themselves
*Embodying horse legs for strength and sturdiness.
*Squeezing tension and energy out with a pincer.
*Using pincers to snip stuff out of your brain.
*Pulling out energies with a scorpion pincer.
*Embodying the cunning energy of a fox, wolf, or coyote.
*Adopting the grace, poise, patience, and prowess of a wolf.
*Taking on the adaptive maneuverability of a tiger.
*Embodying the agility and elegance of a cat.
*Channeling a deer’s gentle grace, pose, and nimbleness.
*Embodying the patience of a turtle.
*Vocalizing sounds to dispel energies and shield yourself.
*Stomping energy out with hooves.
*Putting out scorpion eyes and stinger up to fend off attacks.
*Using primate ears to listen deeper.
*Honing intuition by tuning into a knob above the nose, such as a swan’s beak or a rhino horn.
*Putting physical or ethereal wings up and blowing away energies like a swan or duck.
*Embodying talons and gripping the floor with them.
*Embodying the adaptive camouflage of a chameleon.
*Putting out a snake tongue and eyes to fend off attackers or seduce.
*Embodying brass knuckles and punching energy out.
*Gorilla-romping someone away with a fist.
*Embodying the power and confident chest of a gorilla.
*Embodying tree roots going down into the Earth to ground you (or imagining steel boots that weigh you down).
*Embodying the essence of a plant and allowing the energy to flow through you.
*Embodying horns atop the head to tune in and focus.
*Wearing a diadem (headband with a glyph in the middle), necklace, bracelet, or other piece of jewelry.
*Embodying more power, strength, and balance by holding physical or ethereal staffs, bats, hatchets, dynamite sticks, lightning bolts, drumsticks, or other implements to embody their energy.
Beyond animals, some other shapeshifting examples include: different aspects of yourself (past, present, and future), other people, movie or book characters, pictures, or mythological forms.
Examples of organisms and forces to embody include:
*Mammals: Leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard, jaguar, cougar, lion, tiger, liger, cheetah, lynx, bobcat, ocelot, wildcat, Pallas’s cat, sand cat, fossa, civet, wolf, maned wolf, dhole, coyote, coywolf, red fox, artic fox, fennec fox, dog, African wild dog, rabbit, hare, giraffe, koala, elephant, whale, dolphin, orca, walrus, seal, manatee, narwhal, manatee, dugong, hippopotamus, panda, kangaroo, tasmanian pademelon, capybara, bear, polar bear, grizzly bear, sloth bear, rhinoceros, hyena, zebra, bison, buffalo, moose, pangolin, armadillo, aardvark, aardwolf, platypus, hedgehog, echidna, tenrec, meerkat, bat, vampire bat, otter, raccoon, raccoon dog, skunk, squirrel, chipmunk, numbat, beaver, porcupine, mole, shrew, weasel, ferret, mink, badger, honey badger, wolverine, agouti, alpaca, deer, eland, anteater, antelope, klipspringer, elk, reindeer, caribou, kudu, nyala, bandicoot, caracal, chinchilla, dingo, ibex, ram, jackal, jerboa, lemming, horse, muskox, cow, bull, yak, serval, springbok, tapir, oryx, warthog, waterbuck, wildebeest, wombat, zorilla, tasmanian devil, possum, ape, monkey, chimpanzee, lemur, gorilla, baboon, gelada, uakari, tarsier, siamang, sifaka, langur, gibbon, loris, bonobo, bush baby, sloth, orangutan, mandrill, macaques, marmoset, titi, tamarin, talapoin, howler monkey, spider monkey, squirrel monkey, saki monkey, capuchin monkey, wooley monkey, patas monkey, rhesus monkey, uakari, vervet monkey, dusky leaf monkey, king colobus.
*Birds: Red-tailed hawk, harris hawk, common buzzard (hawk), peregrine falcon, kestrel, gyrfalcon, merlin, osprey, bald eagle, sea eagle, harpy eagle, Andean condor, turkey vulture, heron, egret, stork, crane, pelican, swan, goose, duck, merganser, blue jay, Eurasian jay, crow, raven, white raven, thick-billed raven, pied raven, white-necked raven, collared crow, blackbird, hornbill, kestrel, oriole, barn owl, screech owl, snowy owl, great northern owl, barred owl, tawny owl, burrowing owl, eostrix, northern harrier, hen harrier, polyboroides, quail, guinea fowl, pheasant, chicken, turkey, rail, tanager, toucan, cardinal, waxwing, booby, cassowary, cormorant, grosbeak, gull, lark, hoopoe, junco, robin, kookaburra, nighthawk, snipe, spoonbill, ibis, albatross, honeyguide bird, cuckoo, dove, pigeon, finch, hoopoe, kingfisher, kite, killdeer, woodcock, loon, auk, magpie, partridge, peafowl (peacock and peahens), roadrunner, sandpiper, sparrow, starling, swallow, swift, chickadee, warbler, woodpecker, flamingo, parrot, cockatoo, macaw, secretary bird, anhinga, penguin, puffin, turaco.
*Reptiles: Tortoise, painted turtle, snapping turtle, sea turtle, komodo dragon, gila monster, alligator, crocodile, caiman, bearded dragon, gecko, iguana, lizard, horned lizard, chameleon, boa constrictor, cobra, black mamba, anaconda, python, rattlesnake, eastern massasauga rattlesnake, viper, garter snake, milk snake, copperhead, cottonmouth, sea snake, racer snake, rat snake.
*Fish: Great white shark, hammerhead shark, whale shark, tiger shark, leopard shark, bull shark, basking shark, goldfish, swordfish, clownfish, angelfish, barracuda, bass, catfish, eel, herring, mackerel, piranha, salmon, trout, tuna, mahi-mahi, sardine, anchovy, carp, pike, perch, sturgeon, tilapia, haddock, swordtail, parrotfish, pufferfish, lionfish, fangtooth, manta ray, stingray, seahorse.
*Amphibians: Toad, frog, bullfrog, poison dart frog, red-eyed tree frog, wood frog, spotted salamander, fire salamander, tiger salamander, giant salamander, lungless salamander, newt, axolotl, hellbender, mudpuppy, olm, ichthyophis, amphiumas.
*Invertebrates (organisms without a spine and backbone): Hydra, planaria, krill, lobster, crab, shrimp, octopus, squid, oyster, clam, mussel, scallop, coral, jellyfish, Portuguese man o’ war, sponge, sea anemone, sea star, sea urchin, sea pen, sea whip, sea slug, sea cucumber, comb jelly, water bears, barnacle, cuttlefish, leech, snail, earthworm, tapeworm, bee, wasp, hornet, termite, grasshopper, cricket, moth, mosquito, fly, beetle, firefly, caterpillar, butterfly, ladybug, cicada, dragonfly, locust, praying mantis.
– Methods for clearing, enhancing, and embodying energies: Dispelling tension into the ethers with visualization, meditation, movement, and energy.
*Breathing into the whole being (down the bottom of the feet and beyond), and moving energy out of your aura as if it’s shaped in the form of an apple.
*Tingling psychological and physical residue out of the body, and reclaiming parts that feel lost, distorted, and out of whack.
*Turning tension into energy; blending and working with it.
*Snipping out psychological residue with your mind, body, and being.
*Chomping out tension with your teeth.
*Dropping or sprinkling excess psychological and physical residue out of the body, into the Earth.
*Spiking tension out.
*Invigorating fire in the belly to reignite yourself and clear yourself out.
*Putting up psychological and physical shields around yourself.
*Pulling off psychological and physical debris and stagnation with your hand.
*Imagining water pellets dripping excess energy out of the system.
*Imagining a waterfall washing tension away.
*Breathing energies out of the lungs and body to empty yourself out.
*Moving excess psychological and physical tension out of the body by imagining waveforms, lightning bolts, smoke clouds, wind, or other methods, to clear them out.
*Holding trident lightning bolt rods, tridents, staffs, or other implements on the side of your body and channeling energy to find balance, clear yourself out, and power up.
*Creating a door frame with hands above your head to rebalance and harness strength.
*Pulling swords out of the ethers to clear yourself, rebalance, and create more power.
*Embodying strength and power to steel up your body.
*Bending steel with your hands to release excess energy and embody strength, power, and prowess.
*Pumping your heart down with intention, physical movement, emotion, and energy; as well as releasing tension in other body parts.
*Imagining and embodying an Egyptian uraeus (snake) in the center of the forehead, or a third eye, to influence mental processes, intuition, concentration, and your overall being.
*Projecting an eye out into the room as a focal point of redirection and concentration.
*Allowing others to call you out on errors (or calling others out) to induce a sense of humility and rebalance.
*Wiping off your hands and throwing excess energy away.
*Embodying people’s self-states and learning from them.
*Reflecting on situations to rebalance yourself.
*Channeling new inspirations, perspectives, and states of being with creativity.
*Sharing love, compassion, and empathy with people (giving heart), and helping them heal; which can result in getting more heart.
*Clearing away the shame, guilt, and embarrassment of others, and putting them back in their hearts in a place of acceptance, peace, and love.
*Shaking energy out with movements, postures, and stretches.
*Focusing on your brow to maintain focus, awareness, and beauty.
*Putting your hands into a fist, pulling them up from your belly button towards your pectoral muscles, pushing them out, and winging energy away with your hands (winging out).
*Digesting energies out of the lower extremities (whether standing, sitting, or squatting).
*Feeling into the forehead, chest, gut, and rest of the body, and searching for unchecked bravado and arrogance, and recentering oneself by dialing into bloated states, feeling through them, and coming out the other side with more strength and awareness.
*Pouring brains, knowledge, and wisdom in.
*Moving the lower back in an s-fashion, or serpentine motion, as if the spine has become a snake; along with other belly dancing moves.
*Talking to, or mimicking the states of being of a dead person to evoke new perspectives and states of being.
*Embodying a steel helmet to protect the top of your head, or slapping a cap on with a physical hand.
*Reembodying beauty after it’s been drained away.
*Pulling off offenders with strings, or pulling off the strings offenders have put on you.
*Pushing away the energies of others with a physical hand.
*Flicking others away.
*Cuffing others and moving them away.
*Whipping the energies of others away.
*Looking into the mirror and rebalancing your energy.
*Using hands to clear out tension and debris on your body.
*Soothing someone’s tension with massage and touch.
*Pulling off stagnant, blocked, suppressed, and repressed energies with a sheet or web.
*Pulling drains off your body, as if they are leeches.
*Using hands to clear out tension and debris.
*Loosening your shoulders and pulling tension off the neck.
*Thumbing, growling, and snarling danger away.
*Standing firm with wings folded and protecting your territory.
*Ripping away guts, or retooling them.
*Putting tension into a bag and throwing it into the ethers.
*Making a fist, biting down, clenching your jaw, and shaking excess tension and energy out of your solar plexus, gut, and the rest of your body.
*Taking back your vision when people blur your sense of sight.
*Furrowing your brow to regain awareness when people attempt to remove your focus.
*Creating an altar, praying, and making an offering.
*Meditating on the past to assess different memories and self-states, work with them, and heal issues or learn from the situations and conflicts.
*Meditating and embodying a toroidal field vortex, that moves in and out of the body, from the center of the belly button (which may result in feeling as if one falls into it and back again).
*Centering yourself in the middle of your brain, and imagining a toroidal field within it clearing and cleaning you.
*Imagining a tree in your brain, growing and expanding into the blocked and stagnant areas.
*Scanning for black and muddy spots within you, and clearing them away with your intentions.
*Imagining electricity and magnetism moving from head to toe, and side to side, to clear and revitalize your body and psyche.
*Imagining electricity and magnetism moving up the spine and throughout the body to tune into a different state of being.
*Putting your attention in the chakras of the body (sexual organs, gut, solar plexus, heart, center of the brain, and above the top of the head) and recentering, recalibrating, and reintegrating.
*Putting your hands next to your belly button at a 45-degree angle to balance yourself.
*Putting your arms straight up above your shoulders with hands facing 45-degree angles towards each other to balance yourself (reverse hands for a different effect).
*Holding your hands together, one over the other, in front of your chest, and balancing.
*Putting the arms out as if hugging a large pole with hands facing each other to find balance.
*Cupping the hands together, as if holding a baseball, and channeling energy into your hands.
*Cupping the hands (as if catching water) in front of the belly, and turning them to place over the belly button with thumbs together, as if there is a baby in between them.
*Putting the hands in front of the navel, one stacked on top of the other, as if holding a baby swan in them, and channeling energetic balls for balance. Test different positions, like under the pectoral muscles, on the side of the navels, out in front of the shoulders, out to the side of the shoulders, in a “v” shape on the side of the head, down at the bottom of the feet while squatting; similar to methods like Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Kung Fu, Zen Buddhism, the practices of the Shaolin Buddhists, and others. (Energy balls can also be passed around between people).
Defensive practices: Mirroring behaviors, emotions, physical patterns, sensations, thoughts, and energies, and reflecting them back to people to humble or heal them.
*Reflecting a shadow duplicate back to someone.
*Sending back attacks to people (doing what they do).
*Reversing attacks on offenders.
*Taking back what was stolen.
*Burying oneself in other physical and psychological tension, to learn to see them, find a way out of these structures, and manage stress and tension better.
*Working oneself up and getting nauseous to protect oneself; along with getting a headache, getting dizzy, and other methods of feeling sick.
*Deploying physical and energetic decoys, and other deceptive methods, to con and trick people towards a desired outcome.
*Creating a diversion to deceive, abuse, or intimidate an offender, throw them off balance, and dysregulate their energy.
*Taking away someone’s emotional awareness with distortion, manipulation, and reactive abuse.
*Distracting someone with laughter, anger, tears, or other emotions, to break their focus.
*Inducing a guilt trip, or traumatic flooding abusers, to redirect them and prevent harm.
*Opening the heart to act as if you love an offender, and manipulating their emotions.
*Psychically tuning into someone’s energy and influencing it.
*Altering people’s perception of time with deceptive methods.
*Getting anti-venoms and antidotes from abusers and liars.
*Providing a truth serum to elucidate people.
Working with nature’s organisms: Hiking, walking, foraging, and spending time soaking in nature.
*Animal and insect husbandry, like working with hawks, falcons, owls, robins, puffins, dolphins, orcas, frogs, snakes, primates, scorpions, and other creatures.
*Dancing with snakes, embodying their energy, and clearing out your energies, others, and the environment around you.
*Visualizing, and embodying, energy from the celestial bodies such as the stars, planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, Sun, Moon, nebulae, galaxies, interstellar medium, and cosmos.
*Vocalizing the different sounds of animals, insects, and forces of nature (water and air), and allowing them to flow through you to engage different states of being and clear stagnant and blocked energies, as well as singing or chanting (like Tuvan throat singing or Buddhist chanting).
*Consuming or imagining physical organisms (plants, fungi, lichen, algae, seaweeds, mosses, insects, animals) to embody their essence (as in taking on the black energy of cacao bean, the red of cinnamon, or the amber glow and sheen of honey).
*Imagining energy, pain, and discomfort clearing from inflammation, indigestion, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, brain fog, sore eyes, and other symptoms and syndromes.
*Working with the elements of water, fire, air, and earth to access different states of being.
*Holding talisman, amulets, crystals, instruments, geometric patterns, glyphs, and other implements, and embodying their essence.
*Getting sick and developing antibodies to fight off disease.
*Using aromatherapy from essential oils or a wood fire.
*Using medicinal tinctures, salves, decoction brews (boiling water), tea infusions (steeping in warm water below boiling point), oils, essential oils, and other preparations.
*Working with the elements found in chemistry, organisms in biology, elements of psychics (magnetism and electricity), and pharmacology.
*Harnessing the strength, flexibility, and healing of body parts.
*Taking baths, showers, walking in water, communing with waterfalls, swimming in lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and using water to clear out energy fields.
Bodywork Method for Releasing Tension
Below is a progressive muscle relaxation technique paired with a meditation similar to a Zen Buddhist style of meditation so you can test these experiences for yourself.
Be patient and approach the process step-by-step.
If anything happens that you feel is too weird, back off and come back at a slower pace. And, if necessary, ask for help from someone with experience you can trust.
Last, be aware that meditative states can require downtime afterward, about thirty to sixty minutes to relax and rebalance.
1.) Go somewhere indoors where you feel safe and can be alone and uninterrupted so that you can focus inwards.
*If you have time, take fifteen to twenty minutes to ground yourself with physical movement, hear the silence and stillness within and around you, and tune into your inner-most being.
Center yourself through movement and breathing, and note how physical states affect the different parts of your body and being.
2.) Lay down flat so life can flow freely throughout your body. Close your eyes, focus inwards, relax, and center yourself as best you can.
Feel the weight of your body on the planet and become receptive to what’s in and around you.
3.) Sense where your body is tense and relax it. Exhale out as much as possible, and focus on compressing the diaphragm and stomach, letting the lungs release air naturally until they are empty, and hold for as long as possible until you can’t anymore, and then, allow the in-breath to come in spontaneously.
Breathe for a few minutes and recycle this breath pattern to open up and relax.
4.) Become receptive, listen to and feel the space and quiet within and around you, and allow yourself to go deeper with each breath.
If you feel caught up in emotions, thoughts, and sensations, find yourself attempting to influence the meditation a certain way, lose focus, or get distracted, relax, and return to your breath; a process that is easier said than done, and needs to be continually managed as we learn to surrender further with each breath.
5.) Once receptive, tense the feet as tight as you can, but go slowly, so as not to cause them to cramp or lock up the foot and the rest of the leg. If that happens, relax as best you can, breathe through the pain, and relax it.
Hold for as long as possible, and mindfully release the tension, while breathing steadily throughout.
Perform this for a few minutes and then switch to the hands, knees, thighs, groin, abdomen, shoulders (by bringing them up as high as possible), face, and other parts of the body.
6.) Tension can also be released by moving the neck from side to side, the feet forward and backward or side to side, bringing the knees up in a triangle and letting them fall to the side, moving the eyes from side to side, or in circles.
Learn the difference between resistance to going deeper into meditation and when to move on to the rest of your life.
7.) Test out different breathing methods to see how they feel for you.
Contemplating Life & Death
The human lifespan is short, and pain is inevitable; how we live and die is not under our control, nor can the process of life and decay be condensed into a how-to guide with maps of the underworld.
But, despite that obvious fact, people can avoid the reality of death, even when it is right in front of them.
No matter how much pain they or their loved ones have endured.
However, unless there is a way to gain immortality in a physical or spiritual body or another solution, life dies, from humans and other animals to plants to fungi to stars and galaxies in space.
Without incorporating the interconnectedness of death and life, we can get hit with shocks that leave us in tatters.
Whereas, if we live as though ceasing to exist in our current physical forms may happen to us at any time in what feels like the most unfair ways, shocks can be more manageable.
A few questions to meditate on around death:
– How can you build a life that supports you and brings meaning as you age and experience suffering, pain, and hardships?
– How can you include aging within your life assessment, keeping in mind that health and the ability to protect oneself differ as one ages?
– Where can you condense, consolidate, and declutter to focus on what matters most and prepare yourself for when you get older?
– How can you face the fact that everyone you know will die, including you, and incorporate that perspective into your life?
– What truly matters to you? What are you living and dying for?
– How can you incorporate the fact that some moments with people may be your last into your interactions?
– What can you do to manage the uncertainty, anxiety, and fear of living without knowing what may happen next?
– How can you practice compassion, forgiveness, acceptance, and receptivity towards facing death? Not only for yourself, but also so that you don’t pass trauma, grief, and baggage on to loved ones when you go.
– How can you find a balance between fighting for life and what matters most and letting go of life going a certain way?
– Exploring different worldviews around death and a possible underworld can help people consider moving on; so can watching humans, animals, insects, plants, fungi, and other lifeforms die.
REFERENCES:
Link to references in the handbook here (works best on PC).
Cite this work:
Casey Inman (2025). Strategies for Psychological & Physical Survival: Adapting to Adversities, Shocks, & Traumas. Retrieved from: https://caseyinman.com/adapt
Contact: caseyinman44@gmail.com
Marketing, Sales, & Operations Strategist | Writer
2014 – Present
I run marketing campaigns that help people sell more of their offers to their existing customer and prospect lists by improving upon their strategy, messaging, and positioning.
For the right person, I can install marketing and sales systems and processes, create trainings (standard operating procedures), and give feedback on how to improve the profitability and efficiency of the overall operational framework and company assets.
Previous niches: Marketing and advertising agency training, sales training, email marketing (closing sales with email and text), eCommerce, real estate.
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Science, Music Industry. SUNY Oneonta (2010)
PREVIOUS PURSUITS:
– 2008 to 2010: Played guitar in funk/rock improv sessions
– 2008 to 2010: Booked bands, managed events, or ran sound