THIRTEEN

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OKAY. THE BIG THREE.

You’re up—it’s time to make a decision and take action.

Sonya, a well-known Hollywood actor, faced the same challenge after making only three visits to my San Diego clinic. She was hesitating and when I asked her what she wanted to do, she immediately replied, “Whatever you say.”

I guess we know where she was coming from—straight from Planet Pessimism. What I said to her also applies to you, no matter where you are coming from: “Why not go with whatever the body says?”

Fortunately, he or she who hesitates is not lost, just bogged down. Start getting unstuck right here by answering a couple of easy questions: How do you feel after doing each of the E-cise menus that I introduced in Chapters 10, 11, and 12? What happened physically and emotionally when you read them over and—most important—when you tried them? Focus. You’ve just finished stimulating what amounts to the most sensitive, hyper-responsive life form that has ever existed. From the soles of your feet to the top of your skull there was (and still is) an uproar of signals, enzyme releases, hormone drips, adjustments, and status reports. More than 100 million protein molecules per cell are being concocted, dissolved, and re-assembled at any given instant. It is absurd to think that such an intricate, hair-trigger device just sits there dead in the water.

I believe the aware mind can dial in to any single cell in the body to receive a precisely detailed weather report. Yes, you can fine-tune your awareness to listen in on all this and infinitely more. Even if you are dealing with a serious chronic illness, the content of the message traffic is overwhelmingly positive. Only a tiny fraction of the content is reporting anomalies. Our earliest ancestors joyfully belly-flopped into the torrent of positive data and were carried for tens of thousands of years straight into adventures that drove other seemingly superior life-forms into extinction. Sadly, as of late, the trip has taken us on a detour from brash self-confidence to the doorstep of self-loathing. But we are in the process of getting back on the main highway.

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And your decision is . . . ?

Oh, you haven’t done the E-cises yet. (If you have—good! Skip the next paragraph as your reward.)

I have been taking it easy, maybe too easy, on giving a lot of explicit instructions in each chapter, because I want you to call the shots. This isn’t a cookbook that you can flip through, read a recipe, imagine how good it tastes, and then turn to the next recipe and the next. I use the term “menu” for a reason. For one thing, “routine” and “program” make it sound like drudgery. The allusion to eating is apt because you need to get the benefits of these E-cises into your system. If you don’t actually sample the items on the menus, then you are letting your thinking mind control the play. This is where your story starts getting in the way. A fact collector is probably thinking, “I need more facts.” The skeptic concludes, “It can’t be that simple.” And the pessimist hides out in his steadily shrinking comfort zones, muttering, “I can’t do this myself.” The plot always thickens. It is the reason our stories grow so large and cumbersome that eventually we are unable to move forward.

We all experience occasional brief bouts of indecision. However, chronic indecision is a symptom of a serious energy deficit. It takes a huge supply of energy to make important decisions and carry them out promptly, particularly those with many moving parts and potential complications. Individuals who are balanced, aware, and at peace with themselves effortlessly can draw on their abundant energy resources. Hence, decision making is no big deal. Any energy they use is promptly replaced. In contrast, when the fuel gauge is stuck on low, the tendency is to cut back on consumption; even small decisions seem enormous. When the energy shortage is prolonged—for those who are one of the three archetypal stories— the body is forced to retreat into the thinking mind. This substitutes various dodges such as wait and see, pass the buck, or general cynicism because other options requiring action further deplete the already inadequate amount of energy that remains available.

What we are trying to do is get you out of your thinking mind long enough to jump-start the flow of positive energy. You don’t have to go into the E-cises cold; do a short series of warm-ups:

• Stand with your weight evenly distributed on each foot, eyes closed.

• Inhale and exhale deeply and slowly to a count of thirty.

• Listen to the sounds inside and outside the room.

• Imagine that you are looking down on yourself from above.

• Be grateful for the moment.

An important thing is taking place during these preliminaries: I am sneaking you extra energy, just enough to clear away the fog and engage your feeling mind. In addition, each item on the menu itself will supply a small spurt of energy as it restores (a little) postural alignment and balance.

One of these three menus will prompt your body to speak up louder and clearer than the others because the E-cises and their sequencing are having more impact on your musculoskeletal system’s dysfunctions and misalignment. What’s more, they are also getting through to your emotions and beginning to calm your mind. I suggest you try one—start with any of the three—and complete a different full menu each day for three days. On the third day, stand in a balanced position with your eyes closed, count slowly to thirty focusing on your breathing, and then, without pondering, choose. Just choose; don’t try to explain, weigh, grade, or justify. Go with the menu that feels right.

What do I mean by “right”? That’s a question I can’t answer for you. You’ll know it when you feel it.

Do that menu once a day for ten days. After each daily session, spend four or five minutes quietly listening to your body. Deliberately focus your attention on areas where there is pain, restriction, or limitation. It is not necessary to judge, evaluate, or compare; just become aware of the available sensations. Use this time to celebrate your body’s many gifts.

The simple act of appreciation, of gratitude, can change the interior climate of the body from stressful to blissful. It is an antidote to the waves of fear that can roil the body and wreak havoc on the finely calibrated processes when we lose faith in our perfection. Pain is not an enemy. You have no enemies within unless you open the gates and invite them in.

Gate keeping is one of your body’s most important functions. The membrane of each cell admits only carefully screened, beneficial material—that which has been signed, sealed, and delivered by evolution—while denying access to everything else. Cell biologist Bruce H. Lipton’s brilliant research shows that the cell membrane scrutinizes the incoming matter in search of a key. When found, it activates the formation of a corresponding keyhole-and-lock mechanism (a necklace-like string of amino acids comprising a protein chain). The key opens a channel into the cell only if there is an exact match of key and keyhole. In other words, sustaining the cell with food, fuel, and other essentials is the work of the vigilant membrane—not DNA. The gate keeper closes the border when it detects danger. Hence, slight changes in valance, pH, turbidity, resonance, and a host of other subtle characteristics can lead to a protective cell lockdown.

Fear sends out powerful neurotransmitters that lead to the equivalent of a code-red alert. Apparently even imaginary fears, pessimism, doubts, habitual negativity, and anxiety can lead to partial or all-out restrictions in cellular access since such emotions may be legitimate symptoms of disease. The environment outside the cells, therefore, affects the environment within the cells. Blockading the resupply route into the cells, even if it is only a fraction of the entire sixty trillion, creates negative capability. Fundamentally, all actions are an expression of belief. Our beliefs—life is essentially good versus life is ugly, brutish, and short—essentially control our health by allowing expectation to express or distort perception. Bruce Lipton refers to it as “the Biology of Belief.” He is exactly right.

Biologists use electron microscopes to discern cell behavior on this level; I contend that all you need is a mirror. In it is visible the tangible, physical expression of the biology of belief in the form of functional posture. If action is an expression of belief, posture is an expression of action(s). By way of original intent, posture’s purpose is to effectuate common, everyday actions and fundamental belief—walking, running, throwing, stretching, embracing a mate, cuddling a child, striking an enemy, giving a gift to a friend, and so on—all expressions of fundamental belief in the wisdom of the body. One quick look at our posture tells us what we are capable or incapable of doing.

Glancing in the mirror—literally and figuratively, since we need no looking glass to truly know our posture—the perception processes of the body provide feedback on who we are and who we can be; our confidence ebbs and flows; and energy levels adjust. Best of all, posture is what-you-see-is-what-you-get. It provides an honest template of enormous potential and awesome nobility.

* * * * *

These E-cises have the power to switch postural awareness back on. You will feel the body responding to the stimulus and informing you about what is working and what isn’t. Be patient. Expect success. If you are still uncertain, don’t force it. Take a day or two off and then try again. As you run through the menu, note any changes. Is an E-cise harder than the last time? Easier?

Give the menu another full ten days. Meanwhile, bump up your physical activity levels. Go for a walk, work in the garden, dance. Monitor your moods, sleep, and appetite.

You should feel changes. If not, run through the same series of steps with the other menus.