The 5 Principles of EAP
Principle 5 – Transformation Happens Like a Ripple Across a Pond
Almost every morning I sit on my balcony which overlooks quite a large area of water where two channels intersect at a ‘T’ junction. On occasion the surface is a mirror. There are no boats, or kayakers, no breeze or tidal activity, just perfect stillness. All of a sudden the tranquility of the water is disturbed when a mullet jumps up out of the water and splashes back through the surface. A mini tsunami is created as ripples make their way from the point of impact until they are absorbed by either distance or a solid object. I am always amazed at the ripple effect.
Consciousness is much the same. When something happens that disturbs the status quo of even just one aspect of consciousness, its ripple effect can flow through to the other three. You might have a physical trauma that creates PTSD seen as emotional, mental and spiritual disturbances. The inverse is true as well. A loving experience can ripple through consciousness with as much ease. Obviously the bigger the object that impacts the water surface, the bigger the ripples, and in the case of volcanic activities and tsunamis, we have in more recent years seen its devastating impact.
When an impact in human terms is large enough, or being smaller, is repeated enough, the brain quickly develops neural pathways that immediately impact awareness and decision-making. That neural pathway impacts on the whole body, especially via the Vagus nerve. In just the same way trauma can ripple out through the body, so can healing. This is an important model for how to approach healing. Obviously, when the ripple of trauma reaches the limits of the person’s being, it’s quite common for symptoms to emerge. Physically, disease states manifest. Emotionally, a person could become overwhelmed with grief. Mentally, they could at best experience confusion and at worse, psychosis or similar. Spiritually, they might be confronted with depression. Obviously, triage is needed to treat the symptoms, but unless the thing that caused the ripples in the first place is addressed, the symptoms will keep reemerging in one form or another.
The narrative that emerged from our formative years has maintained it’s rippling effect for decades in many instances, which had lead to the formation of filters that distort our perception of life, which in turn manifest as lifestyle diseases, in all four aspects of our consciousness. Changes to the neural program from which this arises is a significant way to bring healing.
At EAP, we help you to identify the narrative and instead of trying to have you ‘let it go’ we help you to see it differently. We achieve this by having you see yourself differently. From our narrative, we see the world through our filter of scarcity; not smart enough, pretty enough, successful enough, etc. Finding our real worth changes the filter for how we see life. This shift in consciousness creates a ripple effect that has the world you see and experience become a new reality. People begin to relate to you differently. It might be that you get to experience your employment in a completely new way. Your emotional, mental and physical health improves. In other words, the change ripples through all aspects of your life.
The surprising thing is that you didn’t have to ask people to change. You didn’t have to get a new job and you didn’t have to take medicine, have counselling or get therapy. In the case of mindfulness, all you have to do is be more aware. As has been explained in the other four principles, when something is observed without our filters, the effect ripples through every aspect of how we relate to our world. I am not saying that medicine, counselling and therapy don’t have a role, they most certainly do, but when they are symptom focused and fail to address the cause, their benefits are limited to managing the symptoms.
I invite you to throw a stone of mindfulness into the centre of your pool of consciousness and watch how the ripple effect impacts on your life. The Vagus nerve is quite OK about delivering nerve impulses that foster kindness and inner peace. When that happens, the body can heal since it’s the medium for much of the rippling effect. The key to really getting this principle is that the effect isn’t limited just to you. Change you and the world changes. Consciousness, unlike water, isn’t limited by physical boundaries. It’s effect sees the emergence of a new reality. It even sees nature and circumstances morph.
“If we could just change ourselves, the world would transform and take care of itself.” - Deepak Chopra, M.D.
This Weeks Video
Read More From This Series on the 5 Principles of EAP
Part 1 – Your Body is a Symbol of Consciousness
Part 2 – You Can't Change What You Can't See
Part 3 – Healing is Listening
Part 4 - When Something is Authentically Observed, It Changes
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