I have been using IG for several weeks now and love the way I feel when I do it, and on the occasions that I am able to reproduce it during the day. I too am able to notice my jaw being tight, or my eyes tightened and consciously relaxing them, etc.

However, I was wishing that you had responded to Sue above (March 15), as I am experiencing a similar thing. After a few weeks of using IIG almost daily, all of a sudden my anxiety levels went through the roof. I have struggled with this for many years and have been doing better and better, and it is discouraging to have it recur like this. Unfortunately, it comes on literally as soon as I awake, before I am even up, I can literally feel the chemical “dump” into my body as I am just emerging from sleep. So then I awake in an already agitated state, at which point it is extremely difficult to access the default. I have been actively “making the choice” as you said above, and taking time out several times a day to reset, but once the chemical trigger is activated, I cannot seem to stay in the default once I come out of the focused state of accessing it. I am familiar with “healing crises”, where the problem seems to get worse for a while after a healing. Is this the case here? Can you make any suggestions for this situation?

Thank you again for this amazing work and making it available in such a generous way. I am sooooooo grateful for this wonderful tool.

WaterBird

First off, with regard to doing the whole install in one sitting – feel free to split it up. Ken sent out a tracked version of it; use that. You can listen to your favorite tracks, skip some, move around – enjoy yourself.

In terms of being able to be in your Default while you’re in stressful situations, in addition to listening to IIG, that takes a decision and a firm commitment to implement that decision.

The decision you want to make is to bring the feeling you have when you’re taking time to yourself (eating somewhere, etc.) and bring it to the stressful places in your life. Now the reason I say it takes a firm commitment is because you have to be willing to stop what you’re doing when you notice you’re ‘off’ and take some time for yourself right then and there.

You need to interrupt the old habits and wire in new ones. Pick one area of your life first and commit to bringing peace and relaxation to that area of your life. Then track your progress.

I would be surprised if you were able to do it the first few times. Heck – you may not even notice that you’re tense the first few times. But I would be equally surprised if by the tenth time you hadn’t started to actually feel some of the relaxation creeping in around the edges of your awareness and into your muscles. Once a week (or once a day depending on how committed you are) check in with your progress. Notice where you’re succeeding and where you’re not. Then add new ways to improve your results.

As for describing what you’re like in your Default state – the most important thing is to be able to be in it – not to describe it. your description above seems a good starting point. If you want to get more specific and well-versed in it just be open to it. No need for pressure. Just set a general intention that you’re going to be learning more and more about yourself in your Default and then let it come. I’ve been doing this for nearly two decades and I still get new information on it. The trick is not to try. Just set your intention and Allow.

Best,

Devon

I think the answer in this case is the ever elusive obvious. If your body starts to hurt – shift positions. Hypnosis is not designed to be torturous. On the contrary – it should feel good!

And if 72 is too long, use the tracked version and split it up. No need to listen to the entire thing all at once if that’s not what works for you.

Major point of IIG – pay attention to your body signals. Don’t read into them too much. If you hurt, shift positions. If you’re bored, do something else.

Cheers,
Devon

And yes, I am wishing you more of your Default
I find that the more you’re there, there deeper and more pleasurable it is AND the less there is to want because you’re already living inside of Have.

Enjoy the adventure!
~Devon

Thanks for writing. While being able to move certain muscles is one of the ways I help people access and establish their Default – it’s just one. You can certainly do it without movement. Because the Default position is wired in from conception onward it existed before any of the musculature was actually in place.

When I write the word cat – you think of a cat. It doesn’t matter if there’s a cat near you or not. Now if I say, pulling my hand against the cat’s soft bristly fur sent a tingle up my arm, you’ll have a deeper experience of the cat. What I’m doing is simply using words to direct attention. In this case I’m directing your attention to the feeling of this particular cat. When you read the words, your mind makes meaning of it and represents that meaning in whatever ways it can.

One of the things that research has demonstrated is that practicing things in imagination actually leads to the development of the motor skills necessary to accomplish those same tasks. Three-point shots in basketball for example.

The same thing is true of the Default. You don’t need to be able to move the way you did when you were 12 in order to be able to experience it. Heck, if you follow my logic, the perfection was there when you were a zygote with no muscles at all. So the key is to put your attention on this idea…this state called the Default…and then allow yourself to have the experience associated with it. Allow yourself to have the experience in whatever ways you can to start – and then be fascinated by it…find out where it takes you.

Just like the cat, if you put your attention there for long enough (and often enough) there are lots of things you’ll be able to remember about it. And a lot of those memories will begin to stir particular feelings in your body.

In fact, I’d go as far as to suggest that learning to simmer in that kind of awareness for long periods of time may even begin to allow a cooling and shrinking of some of the inflammation.

Theresa, a Feldenkrais practitioner, is talking about this kind of attention in a comment above when she says that sometimes she will ‘take 45 minutes to move and become aware of every little movement and its’ shadow movement just to turn (her) head’.

I’ve seen clients with little to no movement capacity access and stabilize their Default. In fact, because of the limitation of their movement they weren’t distracted by larger movements and began with awareness of the deep access points that it takes most people many years to discover.

Let me know how it goes.

All my best,

Devon

Unfortunately YouTube has a time limit they put on videos. The Jean video (above) is too long so I couldn’t post it to my YouTube channel. Sorry.

Cheers,
Devon

I just responded to another of your comments but now I’ve explored a little deeper and see you’re already all over it. Love your blog and the resources on it. And as a photographer I have to add – I love your pic.

As for people who has no desire to go deep, we agree – Caveat Emptor!

Thanks for all your comments!

~Devon