The most important thing we can do in these challenging times...

by jul bystrova

Standing Rock has been a compelling symbol for our times, partly because I believe it is a microcosm of what is going on nationally.

What I see in the camps is a heightened social mix of love, fear, confusion and amazing courage and prayer while people are trying to hold true to the overall intention. Many have and are falling into distress because of their own trauma, and are not able to clearly be a support. This is part of the package when resistance is called upon and change is imperative for the survival of a community.

Those who are able to help the most are those who have been able to stay calm and focused and not give their attention away to drama and conflict. They will need to have done and are doing a lot of healing on themselves in order to be this way. The land, the ceremonies and the prayers invite a supportive healing opportunity for those who can receive.

The lessons learned there are the lessons that can be applied now to all of us as a whole.

These words are from my heart to yours, so here goes:

The most important thing we can do today and everyday to help the world and all it's insanity: Meditate.

Meditate in whatever way or mode that works for you whether its a simple walk in nature or a full on sitting practice; even just 5 minutes out of your day will do wonders.

Meditation is the prescription for living in a fear based culture. Decisions and reactions made from panic and anxiety are not helpful at the least or lethal at the worst.

Meditation helps unwind your nervous system and changes your biochemisty in a way that supports your overall health and well being. A balanced and relaxed state is a much better place to make decisions from as you are more likely to be responding to events instead of reacting. Most people today (and you can certainly see this in so much social media) are running at a high level of anxiety. This is understandable. Our animal body is triggered and switches into survival mode. Look at your life and those around you. Are you in actual immediate threat? If not, then it is imperative that you find a way to calm your nervous system if you want to find balance.

Taking a break from the news can really help.

Survival mode is not a good place to be making long term decisions for the safety of our families and our communities. What happens, and we see this all the time, is we get swept into fearmongering which can lead into mass hysteria if it isn't stopped.

I understand that the opposite fear is that if we ignore the threats and become complacent, it could be much worse---and it is from that place we sound the alarms. Many of us come from the intention to be informed and not complacent or in denial and we should applaud and support this. I am in no way suggesting to meditate in order to promote denial. On the contrary, it is to be able to be constructive about the challenge before us.

What will work best for us as a collective is to:

• Be informed (but vet the sources!).
• Meditate
• Make a conscious decision on how to respond instead of looking at the whole and getting overwhelmed (which then paralyzes). Find what category of issue you can realistically help with.
• Connect with your communities and discuss ways to help.
• Encourage everyone to stay calm and do self-care.
• Organize with others to make a positive difference.
• Meditate daily to keep this calm foundation, as there is fearmongering about us to throw us off.
• Try to moderate your intake of the entire challenge so you don't go into overwhelm and fear.
• Stand strong in what you know to be true in your heart. Know that that is your anchor.