"As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me." Jeremiah 33:22 After 6 months of inquiry, reflection and collaboration, our sister circle wrapped up Dr. Caroline Leaf's Perfect You Book Study. We loved this book so much that we have decided to begin "Think and Eat Yourself Smart" in January. Dr. Caroline Leaf continues to offer such a fresh and intelligent perspective on how God designed us and how we should steward ourselves and our interactions with others. Every time I read her books, or listen to her videos, I am not only amazed at how well she has tapped into the Holy Spirit, but how eloquent she is at teaching the average person about very difficult scientific and spiritual concepts. Today, by examining the Four Discomfort Zones described by Dr. Leaf in Chapter 8 of The Perfect You, we explored what happens in our spirit, soul and body when we move outside our Perfect You. Below, I'd like to share my notes related to this topic. My Notes: God provides an alarm system in our consciousness (Spirit) when we step out of the love zone and into the fear zone by prompting us to self-regulate our thoughts, feelings and choices. If our spirit is not in line with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control), then we have to go into superposition by become aware of incoming information & upcoming information and deliberating a response. If we are in alignment with the fruit of the Spirit, then we know to move forward with the choice. If we are not in alignment, then we need to bring our thoughts into captivity and self-regulate. The four discomfort zones are: Zone 1: Just Aware. Spiritual taps on the shoulder reminding us to self-regulate by asking, “Am I operating in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control and faithfulness?” Being aware is HUGE because it is on the epigenetic level where genes are expressed. A memory is built when genetic expression happens, which occurs when we choose. Choosing makes physical thoughts come into being. Every thought has an emotional component attached to it, a “chemical signature”. If the thought is expressed, and the chemicals released, the electrical and quantum levels increase in energy, and Discomfort level 2 begins. The purpose of this zone is to protect and guard your mind by maintaining PEACE. If you allow toxic thought to express, you will get toxic outcomes. Zone 2: Adrenaline-Pumping, Heart Pounding Chemicals are carried into the Amydala, your library of emotional perceptions. Stress response is signaled. Rush of alertness & awareness, increased heart rate, breathing, muscle tension. More blood and oxygen to brain improve thinking and memory retrieval. Purpose of this zone is to prepare you to think and make a good choice…if your perception is a good one. During periods of stress, research shows that one of the best things to do is act like Jesus and care for others. Compassion is the key feature of being wired for love, while self-centeredness is tied to the fear mindset. Zone 3: Attitude Long term memories intertwined with emotions that are alive. They are the roots of all your words and actions and swirl around in your nonconscious mind, gaining momentum and energy, until they become part of your conscious. It’s so important to tune into the spiritual (fruit of the spirit), mind (superposition), and body (physical reactions). Even if it feels like a natural response, if it is not grounded in the love and will of God (fruit of the spirit), then it is not in the Perfect You. This is when we “renew the mind” where thoughts become amenable to change because they are physically weakened. We MUST deal with the activated negative attitude or negative desire, such as a sugar craving, or it will submerge back into the nonconscious mind even stronger than before and become part of your belief system. Zone 4: About to Choose This is the accumulation of the other 3 zones. A mindful awareness of your spirit, mind and body experiences. The resting “mind-wandering” self-referential and theory of mind network of the brain, called the default mode network is switched ON during this stage. When we choose to ask the Holy Spirit to help us focus, we calm down, let go and step and back. We can NOT rely on the amygdala, emotional perceptual library, to accurately reflect truth. Emotions can be quite dangerous. Instead, we need to mindfully and intentionally remind ourselves that God has given us everything we need. We bring the pre-frontal cortex (thinking) into balance with the amygdala (feeling) by tapping into the Holy Spirit (choosing) and THEN we make a choice. When we reason out situations by standing outside of them, we are able to combat fear. Acknowledging our feelings is paramount also because if suppress an emotion, it will explode somewhere else. This is because the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is disrupted. We have to process all of it so no negative thought or emotion lingers.
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