I’ve been recently looking at Erikson’s theory of stages of psychosocial development. His theory states that in each stage, people experience a conflict or challenge that serves as a turning point in development. If people successfully deal with the conflict, they emerge from the stage with psychological strengths that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. If they fail to deal effectively with these challenges, they may not develop the essential skills needed for a strong sense of self.
In the body, neural networks and tension patterns evolve to either support the success or failure of meeting the challenges. People, if they succeed, feel empowered and competent in that aspect of development. If they fail, they will emerge from the challenge feeling incompetent or inadequate.
And it’s not just about how it leaves us feeling. It’s also that we end up choosing behaviours and ways of seeing the world from those places within us that we haven’t mastered yet. They can even end up running our lives.
Fortunately life has a way of bringing us challenges that correspond to the stages of development that we haven’t mastered yet.
There is an opportunity for change and growth. If you can free up the nervous system, de-anchor it, help it be more flexible, the neural networks can rewire and so too tension patterns can shift. When this happens, it gives us the opportunity to master aspects of ourselves that have been holding us back.
It takes awareness, will, and energy to transform or transcend these “immature” pieces within us.
After someone goes through the initial phase of care and has re-balanced their nervous system, we’re able to help further someone’s growth by helping to de-anchor the nervous system. One of the ways we can do this
Is to strategically choose our approach. At the start of a session, instead of asking “How can I fix this?” or “What is wrong with this patient?”, we can ask instead “How can this person resolve once and for all the dependence upon defence strategies?” or “How can I bring love and focus to this awakening process?”
Asking better quality questions brings more energy to the table. This then potentiates transformation. And by applying their awareness, will and energy, they can then more easily rewire their nervous system and transcend their past selves.
On April 8th, we will be offering an Align Evening Intensive to help to do just that. There is limited space and you need to register by the end of this coming week (Friday, March 25th). Dr. Joe and I are preparing a special program for you, one that’s tailored to your needs! We hope you can join us!