A systems view of biological health

Section 3: Summary of theory

7 : ... and onwards to practical application

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None of the foregoig theory would be a worth a fig unless it had some practical application - and its primary focus is application (rather than theory for its own sake - which is covered more by the Appendices, as an interesting but unnecessary further expansion).

To be honest, the practical application of all this is very simple ... Simple in that it is a natural way for our nervous system to function - being the way that our mental-mind and our body-mind evolved to work cooperatively, symbiotically together in an integrated organic fashion. This fact is both good and not so good. The problem that arises is that the generic ideas appear far too familiar. I have seen time and time again that the specific and important detail that creates a beneficial result becomes unavailable because the immediate impression is that it is already known.

So on the other hand the practice is not simple - because the practical application of these principles is largely diametrically opposite the messages that our western scientific-technological-industrial culture constantly gives out, and the demands that it makes.

Consequently the practical exercises are somewhat clunky - because they have to facilitate a huge transition. A transition in which - whilst some large steps might take place very quickly - the whole journey is measured in years, maybe even decades, maybe a lifetime. Application over this timeframe requires clarity of purpose, some trust in the process (or at least some trust in your own Body/body-mind), and a habit of self-reflection that is moderated enough so that it does not pull towards self-hatred or despair, but rather pulls constantly towards more applied understanding.

The waymarkers on this journey are an increasing palpable sense of the body becoming more available - first more solid, then more energised and buoyant. Health tends to improve, mental activity tends to be more stabilised by the body's presence. The more subtle interoceptive landscape becomes more familiar, and so more subtle relational information - with yourself, with other people and with the rest of the Living world also becomes more available and everyday.

This is also not an easy journey because as superficial adaptive layers are cleared, the bigger ones underneath will always rise up to be healed. And as you re-build a capacity for awareness of the subtleties of interoception, the plunges back to how you were before - whether that is a numbness / disconnection or an overwhelm or a hyperarousal or anger, or anything else - becomes less easy to put up with. The waymarkers for this aspect is that although difficult states come and go, they remain for shorter and shorter periods - maybe lasting months or years initially, and then gradually reducing to weeks, then days, then an hour or so, then a few minutes - or less.

My final comment before you begin the practical exercises is that this work does not stand alone. It is a shortcut, because it describes a straight line towards a healthy practice that can accumulate depth and does not lead down a blind alley. But It is just a start - albeit a useful one.