No.3 Shifting Our Set Point in Life

In the last post I talked about the importance of our psychological ‘set-point’ as a determinant of the overall level of happiness and satisfaction that we enjoy in life. I want to open up this concept a little further since it is central to our concern with self improvement at almost every level.

A set-point manifests as some level of performance or behavior – whether in our professional or private lives – that we have difficulty exceeding or overcoming. It is a level to which we always seem to return, despite our best efforts. We may become aware of our set-points when we notice the recurrence of certain negative situations in life. Clashes with authority, relationship difficulties, uncontrollable anger manifesting as 'road rage' or office bullying, problems with money, and the experience of failure just as we are on the brink of success. These are all classic signs of unconscious feelings manifesting as destructive behavior.

Typically, most of us have little understanding of the underlaying ‘mechanics’ of why negative situations keep recurring in our lives. We may, however, feel that in some fundamental way, we are not fulfilling our potential. This is not surprising, since the underlaying reasons for our problems may well lay in early childhood or even, as Stanislav Grof’s research has shown, in the perinatal period of life (the period from conception through to birth). It is therefore not surprising that, on occasion, our behavior manifests as seemingly autonomous, self-sabotaging traits.

I would like to emphasizethat we are discussing the experience of average people going about their normal lives and not people diagnosed with mental health problems. People in this latter category need to follow the supervision of a qualified therapist. Breathwork can be a powerful adjunct process to other therapies, but only under proper supervision. For everyone else, breathwork can be a powerful, efficient and safe process for releasing the invisible ties that bind us to the past and undermine our ability to realize our full potential in the present.

When people feel a need for real change, and are strongly motivated to move beyond their limitations – their ‘set point’ – in life, then rebirthing breathwork can be an optimal approach to freedom. The essence of all successful breathwork is the integration of past issues, issues that we have long grown out of and which no longer serve a useful purpose. The process of breathwork raises our internal energy and this highlights any hidden problems, causing them to stand out from their surroundings. Placed in relief, we can then apply a range of approaches that will ensure their integration and permanent resolution.