You Got Triggered, Now What? Reflections on Mindfully Moving Through a Stress Response (By Jennifer C Jackson)

I had just done the very thing I advise people not to do. I was all relaxed and ready for bed, but decided to check my email one last time. In truth, I had been having a tense online conversation, and was hoping to find a peaceful resolution in my in-box. Unfortunately, the opposite was true. Our miscommunication had taken an even worse turn and now there was a toxic blast waiting for me. Sure enough, I could feel my heart racing, my brainwaves moving faster, and stress hormones coursing through my body. Not what you want when preparing for sleep!

In the past this would have completely overwhelmed me. As my body moved into fight or flight, panic would have set in - both around the content of the email and the fact that my body had moved completely in the opposite direction of sleep right at bedtime. I would have felt like a helpless victim. Sleep would have been out of the question for that night and this one little incident could easily have started a two month bout of insomnia.

Now I can't say I was able to go right to bed after this and fall into a deep, peaceful sleep, but I did have strategies in place that helped me keep my power and perspective, and drastically shorten the effects.

In this case, the very first thing I did was laugh! What was I thinking checking my email like that when I knew a toxic nugget was a possibility? I had broken my own rule and now I was paying the price. Okay, so be it. I was clearly going to be awake for a bit, so it was time to make the best of the situation.

When my husband went to bed, I settled down on the couch, knowing I might be there for a while. I became very present with the physical stress symptoms. I tapped on my racing heart and mind and the stress hormones I could feel rushing through my body. I tapped and tapped until it became slightly less intense.

Next, I took this as an opportunity to grow and learn. What about this email had triggered me so badly? What part of this could I own? What could I do differently next time to avoid a miscommunication like this in the future? What lesson, gift, or gem might be buried in this situation? As I answered these questions in my journal, I tapped on the various responses. Finally around 1:00 a.m., I felt my body shift and knew I would be able to get some sleep. It was not my best night, but far better than it would have been in the past.

It took a few more days of deep inner work and tapping to fully mine the gem out of the situation -- and my sleep was off for a couple of nights as well. However, because I managed to stay present the whole time - both with my mind and with the effects on my body - I never felt out of control or helpless. I knew resolution would come one way or another and that my sleep would calm down as well.

After a time, the situation did resolve. It was not the way I would have originally chosen, but I know now it is the highest and best resolution for all concerned. And my sleep has been great!

https://ezinearticles.com/?You-Got-Triggered,-Now-What?-Reflections-on-Mindfully-Moving-Through-a-Stress-Response&id=9494500

Your Emotions: Are you watching them?

You'll often hear don Miguel Ruiz, author of "The Four Agreements," saying that our emotions are the key to our personal freedom. Wise words! You might be asking why our emotions are so important to our freedom. I've observed in my many years of teaching, how often folks don't acknowledge what they're feeling emotionally. When I ask them how they're feeling they say, "Things are fine," or "The usual." Yet, when you ask them if they got upset or frustrated today, they'll say, "Well yes, this morning with my husband," or "When the dishwasher repair man came to the house," or "When something was not typed correctly by my secretary." So what's going on here? Why are we ignoring the most important tool that we have for our personal growth?

Multiple opportunities present themselves to us daily to grow and learn, yet we're too asleep to see our emotional reactions for what they are. If you're not aware of when you're having a fear-based emotional reaction, you're allowing your personal power and happiness to drain away from you without even realizing it!

A warrior lives by challenge; meaning he perceives everything as an opportunity to learn. Whether he's observing the way he talks to himself when he's waiting on line in the grocery store or sitting on the toilet with constipation - it doesn't matter where the opportunity comes from, a challenge is a challenge! We can learn as much from the way we victimize ourselves on the toilet when we're constipated as we can during an argument with our partner.

We can only shift and change within the context of our challenges, not just by reading books and attending workshops. Yes, we can have "ah-ha's," learn tools and techniques, meet new friends, and adopt a belief system that is kinder to us than the one we currently have. But what really makes the difference is what action we take to make those insights become practical applications.

I encourage you to take advantage of all that life is gifting you in every moment. Stop throwing away these opportunities simply because you choose non-awareness over personal freedom. If you chose to see your emotional reactions to frustrating events as opportunities for transformation, rather than believing that "s-t happens," your life will change.

Take a moment right now to think about how you perceive the events of your life. Do you see challenges as inconveniences? If you do, this could be a great time to shift your point of view. (Remember - the way we perceive our lives is a choice and everything is just a point of view!)

There's one thing I know for sure about this reality. "S-t" never happens to us, we're not victims; let's break that belief right now! Life works on the basis of action-reaction. So take action right now based on clarity, rather than your programmed reactions and you'll be on your way to a blissful life, experiencing joyful emotions rather than fear-based ones.

http://goarticles.com/article/Your-Emotions-Are-you-watching-them/89873/