Phase Two Practice Exercise

The Trigger: Think of something in your life that ‘is not working.’ It could be something you’ve suffered for a long time, or it could be recent. It might be related to your home, your relationships, or your work. On the other hand, it could be your state of mind, finances, or mental, physical, and emotional health. Remember; don’t dig for something traumatic or worry about the details. Just write a short description of the first thing that comes to mind when I ask: What is not working in your life?

Close your eyes and check in with your body. How do you feel physically? While thinking about this issue, are you feeling tightness or pain anywhere? Do you feel fatigued? If are feeling physical suffering, where do you feel it in your body? How do you feel emotionally and mentally? What thoughts do you have? What are you feeling? Record everything you can about how you feel in a ‘triggered’ state. How do you feel emotionally, mentally, physically?

Connect for a moment with the suffering. Don’t write yet, just be in it for a minute. Think about the many ways it affects your life, relationships, sleep, and physical well-being. When you’re ready, answer this question; How is this situation affecting your life?

Select a State of Consciousness from the State of Consciousness Log that best represents how you are thinking, feeling, and existing at this moment. What State do you think you’re experiencing? Write it below and take note of any additional feelings, thoughts, and experiences associated with this State of Consciousness that are not currently listed in the log. Add them to your State of Consciousness Chart if they feel significant.

If you are in a Fight-or-Flight State or feeling triggered, do a Phase One Exercise for 5 – 10 minutes before continuing. When you have reduced the trigger enough, do a Phase Two Exercise for the remainder of your 20 minutes. If you are in a Rest-and-Digest State or better, do a Phase Two Exercise for 10 – 20 minutes. After you’re done with the exercise, close your eyes again and check in with your body. If you feel better, record it. If you don’t, try another exercise. Try multiple—if necessary—until you feel a difference. Once you’ve found a practice that works, one that improves your experience, make a note of it above. 

Then, record how you feel after doing the practice below. How do you feel physically? What are you thinking? How are you feeling emotionally? 

You should be able to notice a difference between your three states of consciousness after this exercise. What is your current state of consciousness? Is there anything significant you’ve noticed from the practice?

Congratulations! You just completed your first Phase Two Practice. When you are finished with at least 20 minutes of practice, your experience of life should feel significantly improved. If you don’t, it’s not a failure of you or the process. Just try a different activity. Again, there is a one hundred percent success rate for people who properly work this program, but not all practices work for everyone. You just need to find the practice that works for you. Try one practice and then another until you find the one that creates a shift for you. Pay attention to how much the processes change your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and even the way you view the world and yourself in it. Notice epiphanies or more advanced thinking patterns. Everything in your life should get steadily better. If you can build this habit, there is nothing to stop you from accomplishing a truly amazing existence. 

I recommend doing Phase Two practices for at least two weeks to a month before introducing Phase Three, offered at the end of this book. If you feel like you’re a centered person—low stress, no anxiety or depression—and you’d like to move on to Phase Three sooner, there is no harm in trying. Just remember to return to Phase Two if the practices become difficult or if a practice is not working. As your brain function improves, you may need to adjust again, so make sure you check-in with yourself on a regular basis. Commit to never giving up. Your health and well-being depend on your determination.

Remember to be willing to take your time, enjoy the practices and be willing to become proficient at Phase Two. This is the last step of your baseline. Let’s make it a strong one. Trying to rush forward may get you far, but it won’t do much good if you’re going in the wrong direction. If you need additional journal pages, they are available in our online store under Phase Two Practice Journals. 

I’m so happy to see how far you’ve come! You are ready now to experience Phase Two consciousness and well on your way to not just improved health and well-being, but the opportunity to continue improving brain function as well. You can now return to the practice if you would like to do more centering or you can spend some time contemplating your experience. How will you modify your current schedule to include Phase Two Practices? Are you ready to deepen your commitment in any way? I do want to remind you as you consider your schedule, go directly to Phase Two Practices if you can. If Phase Two is ever difficult, try Phase One for 5 minutes, then return to your Phase Two practice or try a different one. Within a short period of time—if you do the practices every day and you do them correctly—you should be able to dive into your Phase Two practices regardless of your trigger.