One of the most frequently asked questions we hear from members is this: “What do you do when you’re in the Energy Enhancement System chamber?” Our answer: As little as possible. Taking a nap is ideal. Your body, mind, and spirit rejuvenate during rest.
Of course, we’re not advocating for you to live your whole life in chill-out mode (although that might be kind of nice!). Growing and getting stronger in any way requires pushing ourselves a bit or rising to an immediate challenge. Neuroscientists call these hurdles to overcome the “challenges of the moment.” We certainly need the ability to overcome challenges of the moment. Sometimes our very lives depend on that ability. It’s when those challenge moments become all day, every day that problems arise. When that happens, there’s no time for holistic recovery. No time for our minds to wander creatively or for our bodies to recover. Stay on that frantic path too long, and you go up in flames – mentally, physically, and spiritually. The common term for such a result is “burnout.”
Thanks to some creative research, we now know that there’s a network of areas in our brain that come alive during rest. This same network shuts down during focused tasks like filling in spreadsheets, attending meetings, making presentations, or checking off items on your to-do list. Known in scientific circles as your “Default Mode Network” or “Resting State Network,” it’s your brain’s “autopilot,” flying your plane when you relinquish control or stop telling it what to do. Scientists used to think that brain activity only increased when presented with a challenging task, but now we know that when presented with a focused task, some areas of the brain light up, but your Default Mode Network (DMN) or Resting State Network (RSN) switches off. So, idleness leads to a more active DMN, and focused challenges lead to an inactive DMN.
Why should we care, you may ask? Because a more active DMN/RSN, facilitated by idleness or rest, makes your brain work better. Many areas of the brain are specialized for performing certain tasks. For example, the visual cortex processes visual information, while the amygdala generates warnings and is involved in activating the sympathetic nervous system to “fight or flee.” The DMN specializes in mind-wandering or daydreaming. A flourishing DMN/RSN gives your brain a chance to wander around and find creative connections and solutions to problems (a.k.a. those insightful “aha!” moments), process experiences, regulate emotions, reinforce learning, make better decisions, and, ultimately, be more productive. Rest also allows your nervous system a chance to slow down, which results in greater relaxation, lower blood pressure, improved digestion, less anxiety and depression, and less muscle tension. Who doesn’t need that?
So, back to your EESystem session. Take this time as an opportunity to let your DMN/RSN autopilot take over. Don’t make phone calls, check or send emails or texts, or catch up on social media. All those activities accelerate the challenges of the moment. Instead, just be. Sleep, meditate, pray, take deep breaths, focus on your positive intentions for the session, but nothing more. It’s surprisingly difficult to go from obsessing about everything to doing nothing, even if only for a couple of hours. But instead of thinking of this time as “unproductive,” reframe it as a chance to soak in some good energy and make an investment in your psychological, physical, and spiritual health. Because that’s truly what it is.
Reference Source: Smart, A. (2023). Auto-Pilot: The Art & Science of Doing Nothing. FINGERPRINT!: New Delhi, India. Adapted from: https://trinityschool.org/blog/index.php?pid=107&p=.
