Saturday, May 14, 2022

Just A Shift of Perception Away ...

     You, like many others, probably have some fear & anxiety about having dental or medical procedures like fillings, blood tests, colonoscopies etc. You might start worrying days ahead, thinking of worse-case-scenarios, pain, unlikely mishaps, etc and even have some sleepless nights beforehand. When you arrive for the procedure, you're likely tired, stressed & hypervigilant, ONLY noticing & MAGNIFYING any negative perceptions that confirm your worries, while OVERLOOKING or DISMISSING all positive perceptions - "negativity bias." Afterwards, you're exhausted, mulling over how terrible it was, complaining to all who'll listen. 

     You have everything to gain if you try this very simple experiment. Decide ahead of time to focus all of your attention on radiating kind wishes to the people who'll be treating you: dentist, assistant, physician, nurse, etc. Instead of agonizing, worrying & scaring yourself, remember to be the continuous source of kindness & good wishes towards those looking after you. FEEL the warmth, love, good wishes, radiating from your chest, as when watching a sleeping beloved child, partner, or pet, and radiating loving energy to them. As soon as you feel fearful contraction, let it drop, and focus on being the open-hearted source of love, kindness, encouragement, gratitude towards these folks who are helping you. Notice also how you feel when it's all over, compared to how you usually feel.
     I
had advised someone, who was very apprehensive about dentistry, to try the above intentional shift from fearful contraction to being the source of nurturing kindness. He just reported to me that he
had 3 excellent experiences using this technique for his last 3 dental appointments, which included a root canal & an implant placement.

     This shift from fearful contracted self-concern / frightened child to wise, loving elder is a natural evolutionary step we will all make sooner or later, AND it has to & will eventually involve not just dental/medical visits, but every aspect of our lives.

     “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.” Mother Teresa

      Our son, Mike Lovas, pointed us towards Charles Eisenstein's 70-minute interview - an intelligent, realistic overview of our present global situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggdmkFA2BzA

      "To be enlightened is to be intimate with all things." Zen Master Dogen

      "I was born
       when all I once feared
       I could love.”                        Rabia Basri

      "Once we are willing to be directly intimate with our life as it arises, joy emerges out of the simplest of life experiences." Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara


      “If we really were in love with the planet, and incorporated that love into all of our systems, into our money system, we would not have an ecological crisis.” Charles 
Eisenstein
      “
If an economy is operating outside of ecological limits, then the inevitable conclusion is that it’s going to completely erode the resource base until it implodes or collapses. So really, the choice that we have is to design and develop an economy that operates within ecological limits. That’s our only safe bet. It’s our only bet at all.” Shane
Ward
        Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future (2018) – Watch this EXCELLENT, INSPIRING 86-minute Documentary:

 


 


 

No comments:

Post a Comment