Flow Healing System Lesson 1: The Language of Freedom

Steven Budden, HHWP, MFA

• How language creates our world • Ways you’ve been using words to create pain • What “Freedom” means!• Short cuts to discover your own blocks • Proven Tools to help you break free & Thrive

What you’ll learn:

How Stories Shape your Life

• Trace back to childhood and BEYOND • Intense experiences anchor them in our body/mind • We regress into these stories at certain “triggers”

A human being is a constellation of stories

2 Kinds of Stories that can cause pain!

2. Origin Story

• Someone told us a story and we accepted it • Often from childhood, sometimes from adulthood • These stories run in our unconscious as “truth”

1. Adopted Story

We carry stories about our past, our present, our future, our religion, our soul. Even our name and origin is a story that we have created / adopted.

Excavating StoriesThe first stage in this process is the DISCOVERY stage.!!

Try these KEY questions:

• Some of them are on the surface for all to see • Others are deep in shadow • Some we are ashamed of • Others we are proud of and will defend

(sometimes to the death)

• “I AM…” • “I HAVE…” • “I HAVE TO…”

How do we discover our our own stories?

Keep in Mind:

What Freedom Means

When I use the word “Freedom” I mean• Freedom from meaningless ritual • Freedom from limitations • Freedom from our negative thoughts • Freedom from painful patterns • Freedom from automatic responses

Ways we hold onto our stories• Physiologically- They are Wired in our Bodies • Progressive thought loops • Energetically / Spiritually / Karmically

Language Effects• Body • Mind • Spirit

“You have freedom when you're easy in your harness.” Robert Frost

Language is at the ROOT of our BEING.

Why do we hold onto stories?Especially when they continue to hurt us? • Our ego associates our sense of “self” with it • It meets our needs to feel “Unique and significant” • Paradoxically, it also meets our need for connection (for

instance, my mother had this ailment, so me having it is a way to connect with her)

• We feel we deserve punishment (unconsciously)

We fear the unknown, and a story makes something “known”

Example: A mysterious health condition appears. We research it online and find a label that fits. Even though the ailment or dis-ease may be terrible, it meets our need for knowing and also for connection (when we discover that other people “have” the same dis-ease too).

We have adopted a story. LIFE has CHANGED.

Language and DiseaseLanguage can actually “anchor” dis-ease into our bodiesLet’s go back to the Key statements and think of some ways you use it.

Examples: “I have…” • Terrible Vision • Bad Knees • Flat feet • Poor digestion • Poor posture • Psoriasis

• Anxiety • Depression • ADD • Bulimia • Cancer • Multiple Sclerosis • Parkinson’s • Celiac’s Disease

Whenever you repeat one of these statements, it becomes a part of your identity, and your cells receive the message to keep perpetuating it. !As Barbara Hoberman Levine puts it:

“Your Body Believes Every Word you Say”

We are meaning makersWe go through life looking for labels and stories that apply.

Be careful about committing to a story or a dis-ease. !Certain diagnoses, such as Cancer, are very difficult to undo. When a doctor tells us we have 5 years to live, for instance, and we believe them, we have adopted a story which has shifted the course of our lives dramatically. Our entire physiology will often adapt to fit into that paradigm.

Tip:

When we don’t consciously choose our stories, others choose them for us. These stories come to us in various guises. Think of SONGS, MOVIES, VIDEOS, SOCIAL MEDIA, etc.

What are you choosing right NOW?

Do Words Heal?Can a simple language shift change our lives?

Practical Applications:

• We think in language • Shifting language shifts thoughts • Thoughts are the seeds of all creation

Instead of I HAVE arthritis, consider saying “at certain moments I notice a pain in my elbow.” or “I am noticing a burning in my wrist.” !There are certain moments that the joints don’t hurt. The story oversimplifies and overshadows the painless moments. !Do you see how this creates SPACE for healing? !

More ExamplesInstead of “I AM allergic to X”, try: !“In the past I’ve noticed a rash when I eat X, so I choose not to eat it at this moment.” !Instead of “I have bad knees”, consider: !“In the past I’ve noticed (sensation) during certain activities.” !

Stories lock us into the PAST. We want to embrace the PRESENT. So we can create the FUTURE. !Sensations are continually arising and passing away. In some sense, all “labels” oversimplify. !So if you’re going to oversimplify, make it empowering.

When stories drop away

There are moments when stories drop away and we are able to meet the present moment with our full self I call this being in “Flow”.

Stories enter in the realm of THOUGHT. !And life happens in the realm of EXPERIENCE.

“There are no authentic stories.” Byron Katie

Action Steps

• Complete the worksheets below. • Use your cue words to notice subtle shifts in STORY. • Begin to consciously catch yourself and rewrite your stories • Share your experience in the comments and help others

grow

Welcome to FLOW

I will see you soon in Lesson 2: Lightening the Dark Thoughts