Checking your "expansion" gauge
Today I want to introduce you to an important gauge that you have available to you. This gauge needs to be one of your main references when you are moving through your day – in particular when you are making decisions. This gauge measures “expansion” versus “contraction.”
These two states can be likened to that of our nervous system – we know about the fight or flight response versus the relaxation response. This is one aspect of this gauge that you may be already familiar with.
Think about the state of fight or flight – it’s a stressful state. In this state, we have emotions like anxiety, fear, anger, and frustration – all these things that tighten our bodies up. This is contraction, and it’s a physical, emotional, and mental state. Not only does your body get tense, but your emotions become those tense types of emotions (fear, anger), and your mind gets tense as well. You feel there are only two options available to you – you can fight or you can flee. This is all indicative of being in a state of contraction.
On the other side of the gauge, though, is the state of expansion. For the nervous system, this is the relaxation response. Think of the last time you were in a relaxation response. For me, I think about my rooftop deck, and sitting in the breeze that’s been so nice and cool lately, seeing the mountains off my deck, and reading a book or having a nice mug of chai. This relaxation response feels calm and open. My body feels relaxed and open physically, my emotions are relaxed – I feel calm, joy, and peace. My mind is also relaxed – this is when ideas come! Instead of feeling limited to fighting or fleeing, I am creative. This is a creative space.
Movement on this gauge is happening throughout your day. If you’ve not noticed it before, one place you can really start to see it is when you’re scrolling news or social media on your phone. I find it very useful for me to use my gauge any time I’m scrolling! I’ll read a post or a headline, which is usually just marginally accurate to a story, and I’ll feel it. I’ll feel my state of expansion flip right over to contraction.
What I want to bring your attention to in particular is the mental shift. I think we all have heard a lot about the physical shifts, and we’re getting more familiar with the emotional shifts. But mentally, we must realize that in a state of contraction we cut ourselves off from all creativity – and creativity is a necessary part of logical and open-minded thinking.
If you’ve had an anger or fear response to something, you are no longer expanded. A key benefit of knowing your state is to make sure you avoid making big decisions when you are in a contracted state. A contracted state is not a place that will lead to decisions for your long-term good. You highest good comes from a place of expansion – this is when you really can know what’s true because you have all options available to be looked at with a calm mind. If you’ve switched over to contraction, then you’re cut off from seeing the truth. You’re in survival mode, and survival mode is different from thriving mode.
As you go through your day, start to reflect on this. In the beginning, it’s not going to come naturally, so you may want to set a timer to remind yourself to check in every hour. Close your eyes or just take your attention inward. Physically, are you feeling a tight or relaxed body? Emotionally, are you feeling fear and anger or peace and calm? Mentally, are you feeling closed in and limited or are you feeling open minded and creative?
The first thing to do if you find yourself in a state of contraction is to make a shift. It could be as easy as physically relaxing, taking a deep breath, and checking in mentally to a place of gratitude and calm. The more you can keep yourself in a state of expansion, the more you’ll be capable of manifesting the life you want, and truly thriving.
Make a commitment to developing a state of ongoing expansion in order to see your life evolve.