The Path Beckons...

Tonight, I fly to Portland for the first Path workshop with Scott Sonnon.  For those of you who are interested, but won’t be able t attend, I wanted to try to explain what we’ll be doing.

Basically, we want to establish two different “triangles” and then link them together in the minds of the participants:
1) The Performance Trinity of Breath, Movement, and Structure.
2) The Outcome Trinity of Body, Mind, and Spirit.

The principle of I.D.E.A. hypothesizes that if you set solid goals for yourself in the three major arenas of life, you will be forced to deal with all of your illusions, fears, buried emotional damage, value conflicts, and what might be called the “Deep Self.”  Unlike trying to succeed in one or two of these arenas, aiming at all three calls for  laceratingly honest Self-evaluation.  But according to Chakric theory, as well as Maslow’s Heirarchy, if you genuinely deal with the problems at the most basic levels of life, you automatically evolve to the next level.  What is necessary to do this?  On the I.D.E.A. level, clear written goals, and the ability to turn off the negative voices in your head.

It also requires massive energy to change, to move from one level of life to another.  And because our egos crave homeostasis, massive fear is triggered by the possibility of true change.  So we need to raise energy, and deal with fear.

Enter Scott Sonnon.  His RMAX technology is great exercise (raising energy) but far, far more.  By addressing the tension locked into muscles and postural deformation (“Fear Reactivity”) his Body-Flow and other work opens the doorway to a blisteringly efficient way of approaching the body-mind connection.  By concentrating on the triad of Breath, Movement, and Structure, we can learn to detect stress before it has an opportunity to become “strain” and damage our systems.

And stress appropriately dealt with causes the organism to make a positive adaptation.

For a year and a half, I badgered Scott to create a method that would allow the average person to experience Physical Flow, a deep meditative state that “turns off” the voices in your head, and removes fear, using an element of neuro-plasticity known as the neuro-immuno-endocrine response to “trick” the brain into mistaking the hormone cascade of cardio-respiratory distress for that of fear. Linking these two literally teaching the brain to deal with the biochemicals and metabolic byproducts of fear, anxiety, and anger more efficiently—in practical essence, reducing fear reaction drastically.

So, then, to make this work you need:

1) Writing goals in three major arenas.  Visualize yoru goal triangle every morning.
2) Progress toward them at a rate of 1%.
3) A physical practice (“FlowFit”) performed  for 15-20 minutes 3-4 times a week.  Attend to the Performance Trinity triangle as you perform.

Once a week specifically perform the “Fear Removal” exercise (if you have extreme abuse or fear issues, please consult with a therapist).

At a very basic level, that’s it.  Energy will increase.  Fear diminished.  As you move toward your goals, you will learn massive amounts about yourself and the world you move through, creating a more accurate “reality map” that enables you to find those beliefs and actions that positively affect all three arenas simultaneously—your own private store of wisdom.

And if you simultaneously understand the message of the Hero’s Journey (temporary failure is inevitable.  Fear is inevitable.  We need new resources to move to a new level), you will begin to control your own personal evolution.  How can you go wrong, if simultaneously attending to your career, physical health, and family/relationship obligations?  If you start with Self-love, and then project that out to the world?

This is the game we’re playing.  The Path is designed to be compatible with virtually any religion or philosophy. We  aren’t interested in replacing anything.  The agreement “buy-in” is a promise to practice FlowFit for one hour a week, with an INTENT to progress that to one “Golden Hour” of intensely personal time per day.  That hour belongs to you, to nurture and refine yourself.  It does not belong to your job, your family, anyone but you.  This might be reading time, writing time, meditating time…and of course that minimum one hour a week of movement.

Here’s the trick: you need never get to an hour a day.  Just the intent to take your life back from the world will call up every demon in the depths of your mind.  Everything around you will rebel if you have the temerity to suggest that your life belongs to you…

And if you learn to deal with that stress, you are setting yourself free.  And then, you can set your friends and family free, conducting the light outward from your spirit.

The world needs all of the autonomous warrior-healers it can grow.  I honestly believe that the Path is my best work EVER, and cannot wait for this new adventure to begin.

Wish me luck.