The fastest way I know to reset my physiology is to let go of all of my beliefs for a few seconds. When I do that (often by picturing myself as a cheetah on the savannah looking for prey), I inevitably find myself letting go of unnecessary tension in my face, neck, shoulders and back, and I usually find my mood lifting, I feel a new buoyancy, and my surroundings and my perspective seem different. I let go of all of my resentments and fears when I let go of my beliefs. I am born again.
When I let go of my beliefs, I am living in awareness rather than judgment. Both states have their place, but my default mode is to be in judgment and I am better served by living in awareness when I don’t need to be in judgment.
Another path to this place is to deliberately free myself of unnecessary tension. When I let go tension in my neck, face and back, I simultaneously let go of my beliefs and my judgments.
If I am not noticing new things in the world around me, I’m likely stuck in judgment and cognition, imposing my beliefs on the world around me, living top down, and not being open to reality.
When we are disturbed, it is inevitably because we refuse to accept reality. Usually this means we have armored ourselves with unnecessary body tension and harmful beliefs. When we let go of the unnecessary body tension, we usually let go of unnecessary beliefs. When we let go of unnecessary beliefs, we usually let go of unnecessary body tension. When you are free in your body, you are usually free in your mind and vice versa.
When you play catch, you are in the moment, living in awareness and not in philosophical judgment. You can’t judge the merits of free trade and catch a fast moving ball at the same time. You can’t think about the mechanics of salvation and efficiently swing a golf club at the same time. The more you are weighing your beliefs, the more body tension you will, and the less effective you will be at catching balls, playing a sport or in any form of performance that does not demand believing.
My beliefs are always available to me. They flood back when I stop deliberately releasing them. There’s nothing wrong with belief, but getting stuck in belief means getting stuck in increased body tension and less living in the moment.
It’s like the Set Aside prayer of the 12 Steps:
God,
Please help me set aside
everything I think I know
about myself, my disease,
the 12 steps, and especially You;
So I may have an open mind
and a new experience
of all these things.
Please let me see the truth.