Looking around, it is amazing how unhappy the majority of people are – even living in the Western world, with all the mod cons, access to all we need for life to be struggle free – water, food, clothing, homes. Having spent several hours at airports recently, I felt like I had been transported into a B-rated sci-fi movie where everyone’s souls had been sucked out of them, leaving empty shells to walk around...... It was quite unsettling.
It reminds me of a film called ‘Surrogates’ which is a sci-fi set in the future, where the real bodies lie in darkened rooms, hooked up to virtual reality machines – whilst their surrogate bodies go out into the world and do the “living”. It was sold to the human race as ‘life – but better’ (!) because the surrogates could not die, so there was no fear; they could do superhuman feats (whilst the real body gets fat on the table) and they could be designed to be beautiful – so the whole world was inhabited by ‘perfect’ surrogates whilst the real bodies and all their imperfections, were holed up. It was also quite unsettling! It’s an interesting concept though – the surrogates cannot have old age or fear, they can forever change their complete personage, but power has them in its grip, big time- they are unstoppable. But that is really the twist, what duped the human race in was the power they could have, when in fact, in reality it was the most disempowering thing of all. Now, you might think it’s just a sci-fi, but did you know that the move towards this lack of real social interaction is already happening? This is a short excerpt from an excellent book – Toxic Childhood by Sue Palmer: “In the last decade, Japan – practically the spiritual home of new technology – has seen the rise of a new phenomenon, known as hikikomori. Young people in their teens and twenties, especially males, are increasingly withdrawing from all human contact. It’s thought that more than a million young people have locked themselves away in one room of the family home, refusing to come out, preferring instead to retreat into a virtual world. In hikikomori the natural reserve of the Japanese has been magnified into complete social isolation.” To me it feels like we have several pathways at this time – one leads to becoming completely disassociated with the real felt sense of being embodied right here right now; the other leads to complete loss of self. And what we do as adults is so being mirrored by the children right now. What can we do? Simple really; spend time with each other and with yourself - away from the distractions of this digital age. Well, it's polling day. In 2010, 65% of us voted (way less than the 84% in 1950). Disillusioned? Apathetic? Indifferent?
It does not surprise me that in the last General Election less than half of 18 to 24 year olds voted. What is there is our current political system to inspire them? They are looking for truth, honesty, clarity, fairness - and good management of the country. The definition of democracy is "government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents". Fact: not one party has stood by and honoured its pre-election pledges post election. Fact: it's becoming a running joke that not one politician answers straight question with a straight answer. Russell Brand so eloquently explained why he doesn't vote "because of absolute indifference from exhaustion and the lies and treachery and deceit of the political class". What are we teaching our children? That it is ok to lie and cheat? That we are powerless to make a difference? The fact is we do not have a democracy. And what we have does not work. Whether you are political or not, the impact of our system impacts on us in subtle, and not-so-subtle, ways. Knowing your boundaries, what is acceptable to you and what is not, are fundamental aspects of life. Your life and your children's lives. Make your voice heard and your opinion count. Find your edge. One of the most important aspects of a craniosacral session is teaching a client how to settle inside themselves. Many of us have our focus and attention outwards - and in such a busy, busy world, this is often needed. Unfortunately, if our pattern is constantly outward-looking, we may find it nigh on impossible to bring our attention inwards! Bringing our attention inwards, I believe, is the key to health and wellbeing. It's really important to allow time to just be; to feel what is going on physically and emotionally in oneself and in craniosacral terms, we call this 'settling'. Learning to settle helps to slow down the pace of life and helps the body to re-access its resources. Even a short space of settling (10-15 minutes) can have a harmonious impact on your wellbeing. That’s because, in the settled place, time opens up and we become immense, absorbing everything that we are. There are a number of ways I use with a client, once they are on the couch, to bring their attention inwards, all of which you can try at home: i) Try running your attention around the outline of your body, all the way from the top of your head, down your left hand side to your feet and back up your right hand side. This is the physical space you take up and by bringing focus to your boundaries, this can help feel the distinction between your internal world and external world, and bring that more into balance. ii) Become aware of the felt-sense of the surface you are lying on - how it holds your weight, how the texture feels along the whole length of where your body is in contact with it. If you have a blanket over you, bring your attention to the weight of that too, and the pillow under your head and knees (if placed). This all helps orientate to present moment felt-sensations: the key to bringing attention back inwards. iii) Finally, breath has such an impact on us. Simply being like a curious child, watching the rise and fall of your chest with the in and out breath, can help you to settle within yourself. The richness of the internal world, once you've settled into it, is awesome! You can read more about settling in my article in Ciren Wellbeing. |
May you walk in Beauty
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Copyright of Ri Ferrier 2024
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