Finding Peace In the Midst of Pain
Peace is found in creative order. Your amygdala, vital for life, was designed to take over and protect you in moments of danger. But it cannot think. It can only react. Impacted by the fall, it triggers you into mindless reactivity that can be overcome by self-regulation.
When being formed in your mother’s womb, chemicals released by her fear, bombarded you. Your amygdala triggered you to try to be safe by tensing your muscles.
Science says your mom and grandmom’s fear were written into your DNA. Unless your amygdala came into balance by your mother resolving her fears, you were born with a hyperactive amygdala, whose memory was shaped by fear.
Memories Link With Your 5 Senses
When your mom was frightened, if there was a certain scent of aftershave or “I’m a Believer” playing in the background, each time you smell that scent or hear that song by the Monkey’s, you will be triggered to feel threatened.
Senses activated during trauma or abuse become intertwined with the event. The sound of an ambulance or a storm, the sight of a gray car or a black cat, the touch of a rough cloth, the smell of fire experienced during the trauma were locked into that memory. They will trigger you today.
Though not in danger, your amygdala triggers an involuntary action in your sympathetic nervous system, throwing your body into high alert. In a sense, you relive the past – as if it is just happening. That is scary!
Right Pre-frontal Cortex
Can you ever be safe?
As the right pre-frontal cortex begins to mature, your imagination is shaped. But triggered by the amygdala, it will lock your focus on the need to feel safe. Hyper-vigilance is learned behavior as multiple triggers throw you out of control and create the need to always be on guard.
The right pre-frontal cortex engages in dialogue as you relive things from the past in your imagination. Repetition strengthens neuronal pathways of cyclic thinking with brain chatter that simulates safety and produces illusionary feelings of being in control. But it strengthens triggers that throw you out of control. Unless you teach the imagination self-regulation, you live out of an illusion.
Pampered Slaves
Reactive, Israel died in the wilderness, clinging to discontentment, ingratitude, and bitterness. Trust requires vulnerability – which feels dangerous. Clinging to illusionary control, they refused to walk in freedom.
Locked into a slave mentality, they manifested the voice of slavery – murmur and complaint. Blinded to God’s love, they demanded He pamper them with the foods provided while slaves in Egypt. Forgetting the torment and shame of slavery, they rejected self-regulation, feeling happiness came from leeks and garlic.
Ungrateful, they felt entitled to do what they wanted. Believing God was a cruel slave master, triggered by fear, they refused to enter the Promised Land. They chose to disrespect themselves and remain slaves.
Safety
Having spent years hiding from King Saul, David understood safety was a legitimate God-given need. He said, Jehovah is a stronghold, a cliff, an inaccessible place, a high tower, a defense, a refuge[1] for the oppressed; for those who have been crushed, broken, and afflicted[2] (Psa 9:9).
Moving in soulish reactivity, our amygdala doesn’t shut off. The ability to rest or develop healthy bonds of attachment is the work of our spirit, but driven to self-destructive activities, we smother our spirit.
No Longer a Slave
Cyclic thoughts are lies that take your brain captive. Punishing voices of ridicule, accusation, guilt, shame, and slander feel authentic, but are a mime of your voice. A mime subverts true artistry and creativity to produce stolen or false artistry. It subverts the work of Christ and makes you a slave.
The blood of the Lamb – shed for you – overcomes the lies, the slavery, and brings peace.
Peace
Self-regulation feels dangerous. BUT is the path to peace and contentment.
Freedom is a choice to respond without becoming slaves to the opinions of others, slave to the one who hurt us, or slaves to our own amygdala.
To experience peace in the midst of pain, let Christ become your boundary. He is Peace!
Recognize Your Trigger
PAUSE
Be present in the moment.
Breathe.
Deep breath out.
Let Jesus answer the door.
Declare Your Freedom
I am safe. I am not in the past. I am here. The light is on. Jesus is with me.
How Does the Trigger Manifest?
Anger, fear, passivity, manipulation, shame, blame, leaving the room?
Name it. Say,
“Sin! you are dead. I was crucified with Christ. You died too. When Christ arose, His hands were empty. You are dead.”
God ordained you to walk in His good works (Ephesians 2:10).
Be intentional.
Choose to put off the old and put on the new nature, created in righteousness (Ephesians 4:24).
Speak mercy to yourself and others.
Choose Life.
Father, forgive us when we try to be our own savior. Hide us from danger. Help us walk as individuals of dignity and worth. Breathe your Life into us. Please teach us self-regulation so we walk in peace with you, with ourself, and with others – even in the midst of pain.
1] Stronghold: Strong’s Hebrew 4869; מִשְׂגָּב misgâb. Accessed 11 Apr 17.
2] Oppressed: Strong’s Hebrew 1790; דַּךְ dak. Ibid.
