The Addiction to Story: A Threat-Fueled Distraction

We are, each of us, addicted to our stories. We cling to the narratives we've woven about ourselves, our pasts, our futures,and our place in the world. These stories, while comforting and familiar, are often fueled by unresolved threat, creating a prison of our own making. We get lost in the drama, the intrigue, the emotional rollercoaster of our own minds, all in an attempt to avoid the discomfort of the present moment.

This tendency to zone out, to escape into the world of our thoughts, is our clinging to comfort.. It's a refusal to face the reality of our experience, to acknowledge the subtle (or not-so-subtle) unease that permeates our being. Instead of discharging the threat response through movement and expression, we suppress it, burying it beneath layers of mental chatter.

We often get lost in the emotions of the story. The emotions are nothing less than the residue of threat that needs to move.There is nothing more to emotions. Stop letting them fuel these stories. They are there to discharge threat and return to ease, nothing more. Don't make your whole life revolve around these echoes.

The key to breaking free from this cycle is to recognize the futility of story. The narratives we create about ourselves, our past, and our future are not the truth. They are simply mental constructs, projections of our fears and desires. When we become aware of this, we can begin to let go of the stories. We can stop chasing after them, stop rehearsing them, stop believing in their power to define us.

Instead, we can turn our attention to the present moment, to the sensations in our bodies, to the world around us. We can allow ourselves to feel the full spectrum of our emotions, to experience the raw intensity of life without judgment or resistance.

This is not about denying the reality of our experiences or suppressing our feelings. It's about recognizing that our thoughts and stories are not the ultimate truth. They are simply tools that we can use to navigate the world, but they are not the world itself.

When we let go of the stories, we return to a state of ease. We reconnect with our bodies, our senses, and the natural flow of life. We discover that there is nothing to fix, nothing to change, nothing to achieve. There is only this moment, this breath, this vibrant aliveness that is our birthright.