Human BE-ING
What is a Human Being?
Psychologically we understand a person as a function of his cognitive, emotional and behavioral abilities. In layman’s term we understand a person as thinking, feeling and behaving. So essentially we understand a person as a do-er an active entity.
But if we go by the term human Be-ing then we need to Be before we Do. We need to be passive before being active. And the fourth dimension that we need to add to this mental, emotional and behavioural triad is ENERGY – that which powers all three, that which is needed to make this Being a Doing entity. So here lets understand a Human Be-ing in entirety.
4 Dimensions of Being Human
Now let us try to see ourselves as a triangular pyramid with Energy, Thoughts, Emotions and Behaviour at each point and everything connected to everything else. So our energy, thoughts, feelings and behaviour all affect the other and our affected by the other.
For example the day I wake up in a positive frame of mind, I will naturally feel very positive and my behavior will then be very positive towards everyone around me. How do you think my energy is? Calm and peaceful and loving, like smooth clear water flowing over the hand.
Similarly if today I have an argument with my colleague, I’m obviously thinking negative thoughts, feeling angry and upset and behaving in a rude or upsetting manner. How do you think my energy is? Angry, irritated, vengeful, like dirty, muddy, murky water flowing over the hand.
Following the above line of thought all the above four dimensions need to be balanced for an individual to be in harmony or at peace. Else it is like trying to drive a car with only one or two wheels.
Understanding psychological Dis-orders
The name says it all, Disorder is the absence of order or balance and it manifests as mental, emotional behavioral and though we cant see it, energy imbalances. Results are physical, mental, emotional and behavioral disorders like Stress, Depression, Anxiety, OCD, Aggression, Mood Swings, Bipolar etc.
In most cases therapists try working with either the thought patterns, the emotional patterns or the behaviour patterns which is an uphill task for many and mostly gives a short term benefit. The reason is that most people do not know how to work with energy.
Working with the 4 Dimensions
Without much ado let us see a few techniques of working with each of the 4 Dimensions
1.Energy/Spiritual Dimension
While energy is the least focussed of dimensions as it cannot be seen, it is the one easiest to work with. To understand this point just think what is easier to fix – the blueprint or the actual structure.
Obviously the blueprint. Similarly energy is the blueprint of our entire mental and physical structure and diseases and disorders are easier to shift while they are still in the energy realm. Not doing a “Dr. Strange” on you, but any problem can be handled faster before it manifests in the mental or the physical body. Also clearing it at a energy level even after it manifests on the other two levels helps an individual overcome his problem faster and permanently.
Some Energy techniques like destressing and detoxification of energy can be done by a person on himself while others may require an expert. Acupuncture, Pranik healing and Reiki, Sound Therapy, Aroma Therapy, Colour therapy, Chakra Healing, Aura Healing are all different methods of Energy Healing.
2. Thoughts / Mental Dimension
This is one of the Dimension most worked with and in my opinion the most misunderstood as well. Most people seem to have a problem with their mind and all while the poor thing is only doing what it is supposed to do. While some people are upset with the quantity of their thoughts there are others who are upset with the quality.
The only problem according to me is that while the mind is doing what it is meant to do, it is we who do not know what to do with its output. If it is the quantity that is worrying you try practicing mindfulness or meditation. And before you say you cannot meditate understand that there are 100’s of ways to practice meditation. There are Breath focussed meditation for those who can concentrate well, dynamic and dancing meditation for those who are physically active, visualisations for those who can imagine well, sound and chanting for those who are more auditory in nature……. You get the idea, so instead of procrastinating find a technique that works for you.
If it is the quality that is bothering you there are two parts of the brain that you can work with the conscious and the unconscious. Actually a clarification here, what one needs to work with anyway is the unconscious for that is what is actually in command of the conscious as well.
Some of the techniques that can be used are CBT, NLP. Hypnotherapy,etc. While one can work on this himself also, taking the help of a trained and experienced counselor, psychotherapist, NLP practitioner, hypnotherapist can prove to be more effective.
3. Emotional/Physical Dimension
Confused? How can the emotional or the physical body be the same. Think about it, what is a feeling or emotion? Where does one feel it. The Mind – think again.
Lets talk about a specific emotion. Where do you feel fear? In the stomach – there is a roiling there, in the chest – it feels tight and constricted, in the heart – which is thumping hard, in the lungs – might be hyperventilating, do you get the picture.
So an emotion is the physical manifestation of a thought. That is the reason most physical diseases are said to be psychosomatic. Emotions are important because they are the drivers of most of our actions. Understanding our emotional patterns hands us the key to understanding our behaviour.
So while emotions are important how does one deal with the so called negative emotions? By firstly not labeling them negative. Emotions are – and they serve a purpose. They make us aware very clearly of what is happening and what we feel about it. The problem is not emotions per se but the way we express or don’t express them. So all we need to do is figure out more constructive ways of expressing our emotions.
Now most people’s method of dealing with emotions is to logic them out. Do you think that would work?
Not really. What can work is consciously understanding the habitual response patterns to thoughts and emotions and then finding something more constructive. Physical exercise also works well with emotional disturbances.
4. Action/Behavioral Dimension
The most noticeable of all dimensions, this is the result of all the other three dimensions and the consequence of this in turn again affects the other three. While most psychotherapies are aimed at this directly or indirectly they tend to overlook the fact that this is the result and not the cause. And trying to fix the behavior alone can lead to more problems.
For example aggressive behavior is a problematic behaviour and can stem from various mental or emotional issues like low self esteem, anxiety, etc. Now trying to fix only the aggressive behaviour without working on the underlying problems is like trying to cap a volcano. It might work short term but can lead to an extremely messy situation long term.
CBT and RET are two good psychotherapies to deal with behavior while NLP and hypnotherapy are good therapies to work with behaviour at an unconscious level. Energy work can help with shifting long seated response patterns.
What works the best
Every individual is unique and so is his problem. While different people respond differently to different techniques, it is logical that a multidimensional approach works better than addressing any one dimension.Only working with thoughts or feeling or behaviour is like painting one wall of a building, it just doesn’t work. So my approach to therapy is working on all the four dimensions integrating all the techniques I have learnt – Counseling, NLP, Energy Healing, Chakra Balancing and Deep relaxation leading to faster and more effective healing and strong and empowered clients.
