Initially there is internal chaos as we separate ourselves as a person in an environment. The internal chaos gets projected out as external chaos – drama, life struggle, any attempt to stay separate.
The interaction between the two, the ‘person’ and the environment comes to life through resistance to “what is”, which, in turn, creates memories and habits. This turns into ‘conditioning’ – which is a pattern of prediction and perception projected onto the present moment.
The life that is lived then becomes a play, the “Story of Me”, played out in time through thought. This creates tension and anxiety, which increases over time. Effectively living life then becomes learning how to manage and/or relax the tension and anxiety that is created through the “Story of Me.”
Tension Management
There are both destructive and constructive strategies for tension management.
Destructive strategies are addictions and behavior that is “tissue destructive” (picking, high-risk behavior, being accident prone, autoimmune diseases, overweight, etc) or in some other way, self-defeating.
Constructive strategies include resolving trauma and releasing the conditioned neural patterns that are based in memories and habits, while incorporating tension management strategies to ease the internal chaos. These strategies include changing ones’ involvement in the “play” and developing a mature philosophy of life. This includes doing activities that nourish the body/mind, such as yoga, meditation and eating nourishing foods.