Understanding Protective Programs in the Body

One of the biggest stumbling blocks we encounter when we begin to talk with the Body Being as a sacred companion and messenger for us on our healing and growth journey is that when we begin to “talk” with the Body through its language of Somatic Sensations (what I’m feeling happening in and around my body), we have a TON of hidden and not-so-hidden protective mechanisms that we run directly into, which have opinions and ideas about what we are connecting with.

For example, if we feel the sensation of pressure or pain in a joint, we have a story about where that pain came from and why it is just always there. We may even have a story or a little voice that says that pain is hiding something that is really wrong and brings forward fear and worry. We may even have another thought that if our body was doing its job correctly and healing, we shouldn’t have that pain. Additionally, there might be another voice that worries that if we stay with the sensation of pain too long, it will overwhelm us because it will begin to awaken all the other “pain” that we have. So we take a supplement or medication to “stop” the sensation of the pain in the joint and move on.

But what if that sensation of pressure or pain wasn’t the old injury at that moment?

What if it were a messenger from a deeper part of you, seeking your attention to start a dialogue about the pressure you’re feeling, the hard choices you’re facing, and the sense of being unable to fully express your thoughts and ideas without fear of backlash?

What if it is a message from your Heart and Soul trying to help you tend to the old injury in a new way that will do more than mask the pain temporarily?

There can be many different messages layered within the different felt sensations we have happening in and around our body at any given moment because our Body Being is the main way in which all the different aspects of us—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—talk with us and share their thoughts, ideas, wants, and needs.

Many of the sensations we feel in and around our Body Being are the messages that share helpful insights and guidance that will help us understand what will help us bring our:

•  Physical Body into greater balance and wellness,
•  Mental health and inner thoughts into greater freedom, kindness, and overall wellness,
•  Heart Being to have more freedom to share our inner dreams and inspirations, and
•  Our ability to connect with our Soul’s voice and guidance on what will be in the highest good and benefit for all.

However, there are also a whole host of other voices and stories that are present and often screaming at us, restricting our Body Being’s ability to connect us with the helpful types of messages I just mentioned. Those voices and responses come from our protective and survival adaptations and programs that are designed to keep us safe at all costs. Our automatic defense mechanisms are incredibly strong and have the ability to override any other level of guidance that is present in our system. While this protective system is amazing and absolutely necessary to help us survive time periods of our life in which we are not able to meet our own needs directly or have the complete freedom to make a choice that truly matches our heart’s desires, such as our childhood and young adult years, as adults these automatic programs can become extremely problematic and even scary. When we feel our Body’s nervous system being flooded by sensations of anxiety, fear, the need to defend and fight, and even a total freeze and shutdown response kick in without our conscious consent and knowledge, cutting us off from what feels like the ability to pick a different response, it is understandable as to why we feel that our Body Being is something foreign to us and often betrays us.

Recently, as I was working on writing the outline for an upcoming Soulful Practice Podcast episode, I was taking a walk through the woods, seeking the quiet support of the nature Beings near me to help me sort through how to best share the first steps of befriending the Body Being as a sacred messenger for helping us gain clean and clear guidance. I was running through the different ideas when I heard movement in the trees next to me. I looked over and saw an adolescent possum scurrying up a tree trunk and out onto a branch. As we locked eyes, I paused and offered a silent message that I wasn’t a threat to him. I wasn’t afraid for myself at that moment, but more for the possum. If his nervous system registered me as a threat, it would automatically immobilize him and cause him to fall off the tree limb and hit the ground, potentially harming himself.

The saying “playing possum” or “playing dead” is often used to imply that a person decides to act “dead or dumb” so they don’t have to deal with what is happening. It is also associated with a fearful or cowardly response. However, that is the exact opposite of what happens to a possum. Their defense mechanism overrides any choice points and forces them into a complete catatonic shutdown response that is involuntary.

Therefore, the spiritual symbolism of Possum energy invites us to reflect on the different defense mechanisms that truly have the power to override our conscious choices and force us into reactions that, while they might keep some parts of us safe in the moment, don’t allow us the opportunity to make a true choice on how we would like to best respond to any given situation and stressors that are present.

As the possum and I looked at each other, I was so grateful for our crossing of paths. Luckily, he never had to react all the way into a full freeze reaction and was able to tolerate my presence, even beginning to feel safe enough to move back down the tree. As I continued my walk, his presence reminded me of a key aspect to share with others: as we work to understand our protective programs and defense mechanisms, we must have the utmost love and compassion for the fact that our physical body has protective programs that we can’t always override or even predict until we find ourselves in them. We can either shame ourselves for them, labeling them as wrong or bad and trying to instantly change them, OR we can honor the role they once played in our survival and, from that honoring, see what other new potential responses would better serve us now. Like the possum, without them in the past, we would not have survived. However, now they are no longer serving us as our main response.

So the question then becomes: how do we begin to notice our protective programs so they don’t immobilize us anymore, like a possum? How do we help our system to consciously pause and be willing to see a different option to help us work through the “stressors” that are present? How do we pick different defense mechanisms now that we are in a different physical time period of our life and have more freedom to make different choices? How do we start to reprogram our survival-based nervous system to have greater tolerance and willingness to be with the things that might frighten or trigger us in a different way?

I took these questions into Episode 26 of the Soulful Practices Podcast. In this episode, I begin the exploration of how you can sort through and recognize when a protective program or response is present in and around your Body. From this starting place, you can begin to identify your protective stories and invite your Body’s sensations to share what else is there too—the messages of the Heart and Soul Being offering guidance and support. These messages can help you soften your automatic defense mechanisms and empower you with true choice: the ability to choose the response that would best serve you and others in the moment.

You can watch Episode 26 on YouTube or listen on Spotify to start better understanding your own protective stories and programs, allowing you to liberate your ability to choose a different response.

Soulful Practice for you to reflect on:

Feel into Possum Energy.

What is it bringing forward for you to explore at this time?

What automatic defense mechanisms are currently trying to influence you, and how?

Take a moment to invite Reiki energy to be with you and help you recognize where and when this defense mechanism served you and helped you meet the demands of the world around you.

Next, invite Reiki energy to help you connect with what current choices or responses would better serve you.

Invite yourself to set an intention to engage in a flow of actions that align with your new choices and Soul Level guidance, rather than the protective programs of the past. Remember to be kind to yourself as you are rewriting a literal program in your nervous system to allow access to new choices and actions, instead of defaulting to automatic protective responses from the past.

Offering you light, love, and JOY on your journey.

Want to go deeper?

I have additional resources to help you explore the different protective stories and responses hidden within your Body Being. One of my favorite programs, Evolving the Empath, is now available on-demand in a self-paced format. Click here to learn more about the course and how it can support you on your journey.