To rest in the eye of the storm takes special human reserves

‘Built into the design of this survival system is an ingenious neurobiological mechanism that primes and fuels energy.’

THE RECENT Conscious Leadership Dialogues hosted by Conscious Companies SA and Strate have yielded more questions than answers. Despite the fact that most of us around the globe are limited by some circumstance and conditioned by some situation outside of ourselves, we can choose to energetically dissolve into a heap of malevolence or seek a deeper understanding of our own power to serve us effectively.

Our continued state of public alarm and private fear of the shenanigans of unconscious leaders that impact this nation stirs up violent energies, hate, bitterness and explosive passions rather than create a changing, conscious and reflective society.

Dr Ian Weinberg, neuroscientist and neurosurgeon, calls it “the burning platform” and Dr Nkosana Moyo asks the question: “Is it possible to develop an exceptional attitude towards other human beings without being exposed to adversity. Do we all have to go through 27 years of incarceration to develop meaning, purpose and consciousness, like a Mandela?”

Developing a conscious awareness of ourselves and the extended environment requires a degree of sensitivity and understanding of the energy that binds us as human beings. To understand the human experience as energy beings, we have to understand the various vibrations and frequencies operational within us.

This is unpacked in The Energy Code, a recently published guide by Dr Ela Manga, herself a diminutive package of powerful energy. In it, she talks about mastering one’s energy in the age of burn-out and inner well-being for stressed executives.

“Every living creature is designed to survive” she writes. “Whether it is a moss on a rock or a mighty humpback whale, survival is an innate state, a primal response. Survival requires adaptation, evolution, stealth strategies, camouflage, intelligence and resilience.

“Built into the design of this survival system is an ingenious neurobiological mechanism that primes and fuels energy when we need it and that restores, heals and replenishes our energy reserves when we don’t.”

To return to Dr Weinberg’s “burning platform” I asked what created the change for her to create meaning and purpose in her life. “Loss has always been a part of my life,” she shared. “I lost my dad when I was 3 years old and my brother committed suicide. In retrospect – I think he was bipolar. So I think when I realised the wound – it was then that I started to do the work.”

“What I was seeing in my practice really concerned me,” she continued. “Those who come to me are stuck in an adrenalised mode and get disconnected from the wisdom of their bodies and hearts. Eventually they burn out and it becomes an issue. When I started to examine the entire stress system, it’s all linked.

“It’s not so much about living a stressfree life, that’s not relevant, it’s about learning to manage the stress response in a way that enables you to rest in the eye of the storm and to anchor into that space of stillness within us. But how can we do that when we don’t really know what it feels like. My work is to facilitate that experience: to rest in the eye of the storm.

“I integrate various modalities, including breath-work and dive deep into one’s belief systems that are feeding one’s world view. This feeds into your addictive habits and practices and the choices you make. It’s all part of the big picture to uncover and delve into. So my work is to facilitate, re-wire and create new pathways that support who you are authentically,” she says.

We all strive for a successful, energetic, and ambitious life, but at what cost to our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Perhaps the eight ways to mindfully untangle in The Energy Code is the answer. They are: Just observe; One thing at a time; Eye contact, Be discerning; Daydream; Pen it; Unplug and tune in and a Wind-down ritual.

Not everyone would agree when she writes: “We have a responsibility to ourselves and future generations to go back to basics so that we don’t strangle and suffocate in the digital web and lose our vitality and humanity in the process.”

However the more conscious among us will resonate with this!

Brenda Kali is the chief executive of Conscious Companies SA, a Transformation Strategist and author of Beyond Corporate Sludge: Insights to create balance and harmony in the Corporate World.