Guided Meditation #2 – Alert Level Adjustments

Listen, Then Practice

Guided Practice: Tune the Alert Level to Now

Choose a place where it is appropriate to pause. Sit or lie down and feel the earth supporting you through the floor, chair, bed, or ground. Notice that gravity is working.

Imagine an alert meter. A broad green area means present, aware, relaxed, and confident. Yellow means something is changing and deserves more attention. Orange fits a complex or potentially dangerous situation that calls for strong focus. Red, with sirens and flashing lights, represents an emergency where immediate fight, flight, or freeze responses may take over.

Where is the needle now?

Wiggle your toes and notice your joints. What color fits your feet and ankles? Your knees? Your hips and pelvis? Move attention into the abdomen and the place where the belly meets the rib cage. Notice the chest and throat. Different parts of the body may show different colors. Nothing is wrong if the meter bounces.

Notice the front of the brain behind the forehead. How active, worried, or alert does it feel? Then bring attention to the back of the skull near the top of the neck, deep and protected by bone. Sense the Primitive Brain reaching through the rest of the body. Guess what color fits; accuracy is not required.

Imagine a dial beneath the meter. Reach toward it in your mind or with your hand. If it feels appropriate, turn the alert level toward green by one small amount. Take a breath and notice whether the body follows. Do not force it.

If resistance appears, open your eyes and look around. Is an emergency happening here? For the next minute or two, would it be appropriate to sit, breathe, and lower the alert level slightly?

Cooperate with the Primitive Brain and the body’s sensors. Pain or uncertainty may still be present. Find the setting that fits your actual life now rather than demanding complete calm.

Turn the dial another small amount if that feels right. Notice the experience of bringing conscious choice to the alert level.

All parts of the scale are useful. An intersection calls for more attention than holding the hand of someone trustworthy. An emergency calls for action. Even then, enough awareness to locate an exit, move promptly, and assist another person can be more useful than panic.

Give yourself permission to be anywhere on the scale. The practice is to notice and adjust toward the level that is right for what this moment asks of you. Take one more breath. Feel the support beneath you, and return with that range available.