Encountering Our Layers of Defense

One of the first steps towards shifting our inner experiences and responses is building non-judgmental awareness of what we are experiencing. Through this practice, we will begin developing our non-judgmental awareness of patterns of disconnection and protection.

Patterns of Disconnection & Protection are the strategies, typically unconscious, we use to disconnect from and protect against. Often what we are disconnecting from and protecting against is our inner experiences that feel too painful to approach. Our strategies include inner strategies and outer/relational strategies. We could also call these patterns our survival strategies.

Patterns of disconnection unconsciously keep us from feeling and connecting to our emotional and somatic experience. They serve an important protective and survival purpose.

Patterns of disconnection and protection differ from painful or uncomfortable emotions. Patterns of disconnection and protection, in fact, keep us from feeling those emotions or create inner experiences that shame, minimize, discount, or judge those emotions.

When we build non-judgmental awareness, we are making the unconscious conscious so we can begin to make gradual and compassionate shifts.

The inner resource we are tapping into is non-judgmental awareness.

Feel free to PAUSE the video at any time to give yourself the time and space to explore.

Inner Security Team

In this practice, we introduced the idea of our Inner Security Team. We will continue to build on this idea, which is rooted in a parts work perspective. What are you noticing about your Inner Security Team?

Feel free to stay with this practice as you map out your patterns of disconnection and get to know your Inner Security Team.