Habits

One of the cool benefits of Network care is increased self awareness. As you have more awareness, you might find that you have habits that no longer serve you or that you have outgrown.

Sometimes we keep habits even after they no longer serve us because habits are automatic. They from with repetition over time in response to certain environmental stimulus. When these stimuli show up, we respond without thinking or using our rational mind.

Sometimes we are able to stop ineffective or harmful habits by sheer will once we are aware of them, other times it can be more of a process. Either way, changing habits is a great way to grow.

Here are 2 tips on forming new habits from the book, Atomic Habits.

Try habit stacking- add a new habit onto an old habit that still works for you. Every time you do x, you also now do y. A real life example is that I have started spraying and wiping the counters and stovetop after I do the dishes. Doing the dishes is my stimulus which makes it far easier to remember to spray and wipe the counters and stove.

To from a new habit, look for high repetitions and not perfection. We must do the new intended habit over and over. We must make mistakes and not judge ourselves while we are learning.

As Whitney Cummings said, “Perfectionism leads to procrastination, which leads to paralysis.”

New normal

Network care can help you find your new normal. Some changes required for this “new normal” happen automatically, but others require you to put in work. Network is great at helping you find areas that need work, but you are the only one that can actually do it. Said another way, NS care helps give your nervous system strategies to not only handle stress better, but to help you see more options and perspectives. How you choose to act/change/adapt is completely up to you.

So what is the work? It is different for everyone; as your nervous system comes out of stress and into growth, you are more open to new things (or old things in new ways). It is up to you to explore and step put of your old comfort zone. When you find something that feels good or makes you feel good, do it more.

AAA vs non acceptance

We do our best to tell everyone about AAA as a way to deal or cope with uncomfortable emotions, thoughts or sensations. Really it can be applied to any life situation that you do not like. The promise is that once you become aware, acknowledge and accept whatever it is, it is much easier to change it.

I heard an interesting take on this in the book “59 Seconds: Think a little Change a Lot” by Richard Wiseman. The book is about what makes people happy (according to research) and tools that you can do in 59 seconds to be happy.

The author points out that by suppressing thoughts we don’t like aka not accepting them we end up making things worse. Not accepting causes the thought to come back, increases anxiety and depression as well as lowering self esteem.

I found it interesting that his long term solution was expressive journaling, which is very close to the acknowledgment and acceptance we see in AAA.

In fact, the book suggests that research shows journaling is one of the simplest and best ways we can influence our happiness.

AAA tells us that accepting things as they are helps us change them, and 59 seconds tells us that not accepting makes things worse. Either way, acceptance is key to move forward.

Less vs More

Reframe your goals for more energy and a greater chance of success.

There comes a time in growth where it becomes more about moving toward something new rather than away from something old. There is more energy moving towards something, but it seems as humans we default to the lesser moving away.

Look for places where you have tried to make change in the past and see how you can reframe for more impact.

Examples of less vs more:

I want to stop drinking alcohol vs I want to be more hydrated or I love feeling good in the mornings

I want to lose weight vs I love being in shape, I am the type of person who loves working out, or I love getting healthier

I want to hurt less vs I want to feel good, I want to be able to _____ in the future with ______

Small changes can make a big difference in what we tell ourselves.

Emotions and immune function

Donny talks about the relationship between your emotions and immune system. He basically says that if there is too much or too little energy in the emotional system it will effect the immune system by either spilling over into it or leaching from it. Either creates an incoherent state where the immune system is either over or under functioning,

Not being aware or acknowledging emotions can lead to too little energy in the emotional system. This is similar burying your head in the sand to make your problems go away.

Not accepting emotions you are aware of, is how you can have too much energy in the emotional system.

Emotions have been high for everyone during these last two years. How are you doing at being Aware, Acknowledging AND Accepting them?

Network entrainments help you automatically process emotional energy/stress.

Acceptance in Layers

Sometimes things are too big to accept all at once. When this happens, you can accept things in layers. (these things can be current or past stresses/life events)

The key to this is to accept whatever comes up (pain, emotions, thoughts) as it comes up without the expectation that this acceptance will be a cure for all of your ails. There will often be another layer.

Emotions can have a corresponding physical pain. Sometimes it is easier to AAA the physical pain first – this can help make it easier to be with and AAA the underlying emotion. 

Everyone’s layer cake is a unique mix emotions and physical pain, Some people have more emotions and others more physical pain. Do your best to AAA whatever comes up. Also be sure to give yourself grace if you are unable to accept something- you will probably get another chance soon.

The Season of Awaken

Now is a fantastic time for Awaken energy! The season of awaken is about simply being- it is beyond the minds comprehension. It is the experience of love and gratitude and the connectedness between us all.

In the season of awaken, everything is already perfect and we are able to find the gifts in every situation. We are able to connect with ourselves, others (community) and the greater free energy around us. In awaken, we are overflowing with available energy and can freely share with the world around us.


On the table, you will mostly be face up with your hands on the table or on your thighs. This helps drive the energy/ wave through your heart. We might also pick one of your legs up in the air while you are face down to access this season.


Awaken is a wonderful place to visit, but not a very productive place to live from all the time. You would likely never get anything done as everything is already perfect. Next time we will discuss integrate or mixing of the seasons.

The Season of Discover into The Season of Transform

A common misconception is that we graduate from discover care. This is not the case , especially in todays world.

Americans are under an enormous amount of stress each and every day. From finances, traffic, sitting too much, emails, texts, relationships, toxins in our food water and air, and the list goes on and on. The human body was never designed to experience so much on such an ongoing basis.

Discover care helps us process our daily stress. When that happens that energy can go into Transform or Awaken instead of weighing us down/keeping our system in fight or flight. For these reasons, we will usually make at least a few discover contacts during each entrainment. These contacts help to liberate bound energy to be used for transform and awaken care. 

Transform starts with frustration that the problem/issue keeps coming back. It is at this point that we decide that we are done with a particular pattern. We say enough of this or feel like we need to take our power back. At this point we are moving away from an old pattern or way of being.

This leads us to middle to late transform where we feel ready to take on what’s next, even if we do not necessarily know what next is. This is a crucial point as we start to move towards something new rather than away from something old. This allows for a greater bandwidth of energy aka more transformation to happen. We build more and more momentum until we reach a breakthrough.

The season of transform is all about having both your conscious and your subconscious mind working on solutions/ optimization. This is in contrast to discover where it is all about finding the problem or what is not working.

On the table, you might notice us holding contacts longer and/or deeper. We might ask you to lift or stretch a particular part of your body, and you also might feel like spontaneously lifting/ stretching/moving parts of your body. Your muscles will start to engage in a wave like motion allowing for further reorganaztion. 

Discover what to expect when you start Network care.

From any single entrainment, your body will process past (distant and recent) stress/ trauma. Your body will adjust itself as it releases built up tension. Some muscles will relax while others might fire more as your body realigns itself both globally and segmentally. You might feel a sense of calm or relaxation as your system moves more towards a parasympathetic state.

This effect magnifies over time as you receive more entrainments.


Over the course of time, the reorganizational effect of Network comes more into play, and so do the seasons of wellbeing. (The seasons of wellbeing are Discover, Transform, Awaken, and Integrate) The reorganizational effect describes the “leveling up” of the Nervous System (aka The Human Operating System) using stored stress as the fuel.


People new in Network care typically experience the season of Discover first. In Discover, you begin to notice the respiratory wave (large breath during entrainments) and unwinding of connective tissue via large muscle movements.


You also begin to notice recurring patterns in your life that are not working anymore. You find areas of your body and life that are not working or have problems. Towards the end of the season of discover, you start to recognize your role in the reoccurrence of the pattern, and you take personal responsibility for the way things are. You often feel stuck/frustrated which helps build the fuel needed for the breakthrough into Transform.


Link to Donny Epistein video on Relationships

For those that missed it or wanted to watch again, here is a link to Donny’s interactive about relationships.
https://www.facebook.com/EpsteinDonny/videos/185282922708738/

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