Breaking the Stress Cycle - Of the Rat Race

Posted with permission from author (ICPA)

“Hurry, hurry; get what you can! There’s only so
much to go around and only so much time to get
it, so you’d better get your share before someone
else takes it!” This kind of urgency and “lack”
mentality is typical of anyone who finds
him/herself in the middle of what has been called
the “Rat Race.” And while people in this mode of
thinking may not consciously be aware of these
short-term, destructive, and isolationist thoughts,
they are nonetheless the beliefs and emotions
that drive their decisions as they make their way
through each day.
This kind of existence is what is known as
“survival mode.” Survival mode is unfortunately
very common in the world today. How do so many
people get into this mode of thinking and living?
How can they possibly believe that this incredibly
vast world we live in is so terribly limited? How
can they think THEY are so limited? The answer
may be simpler than you think. It is well–known
that our thoughts (our psychology) affect our
bodies (our physiology). After all, we can tell when
people are “down” by looking at them— their
entire posture is down! And, it is just as easy to
tell when their mood is “up!” It’s not as well known
that the reverse is true too: our physiology also
affects our psychology!
So where am I going with this? Well, if your body
is physiologically in survival mode, it will also
cause your mind to be in survival mode. How
does your body get into survival mode? It
happens every single time you develop a
neurological misconnection between your brain
and your body—what we chiropractors call
subluxation.
Whenever interference exists in your nervous
system, the body uses its energy very inefficiently;
energy stores are used up at a much greater than
normal rate. When the body, with its innate
intelligence, recognizes this rapid depletion of
energy, it goes into survival mode and shuts down
activities that are not necessary to survival. This
shutdown is both physical and mental, and since
psychology and physiology affect each other so
intimately, a vicious cycle results. We call this
downward spiral in your health and vitality The
Subluxation Process.
The specific chiropractic adjustment process
gradually restores the neurological connection
between your brain and your body and takes you
out of survival mode, both mentally and physically.
And, because of this connection between
psychology and physiology, an upward spiral in
health and vitality results, including your outlook on
life.
A gradual awakening reveals the whole picture of
your life and the direction the world is moving; it
drives all of your thoughts, words, and actions. No
longer do you think strictly about selfish and short–
term solutions to immediate problems. You begin to
deliberately make choices to change the world for
the better in the long run. You also begin to become
aware of the incredible abundance that our Creator
continually provides for us.
The end result of this shift in your thinking is that
you, once and for all, purposefully take yourself out
of the rat race. And this is a great thing because the
problem with the rat race is that even if you win the
race…you’re still just a rat!
……………..
Modified excerpt from: Breaking the Stress Cycle –
Of the Rat Race by Kevin Donka, DC. Read more in
Pathways: www.pathwaystofamilywellness.org