The Aliveness comes from Within

Creating one's subjective reality

I attend events with a lot of authentic connection, acceptance, mindfulness, ecstasy, and immediacy. During the events, I have an easy time opening up and feeling happy. I get an overall increase in mindfulness and calmness, feeling joy and aliveness. The effects stay for a couple of days after the event, greatly enhancing life.

After those few days, there’s a regression to the mean where I fall back to a level akin to the pre-event one. I can notice a trend where my default way of being moves in the direction of the way I am during the events.

When talking to people familiar with such spaces, it’s common to hear talk about “Our Bubble” vs “The Default World”. This way of talking about the existential shift makes it seem like it’s some kind of area-dependent effect.

I’m fairly sure this way of being isn’t generated by the places themselves. I’m fairly sure the way of being is generated within each of the participants.

I am aware that no person is an island. It makes total sense that generating liveliness is easier when embedded in a social context that promotes aliveness. It also makes sense that the deadness of many “Default World” situations brings about an inner deadness in people caught off-guard.

And yet! The aliveness comes from within! The knowledge that I generated the way of being reminds me that it is possible to regenerate the aliveness no matter the context. I’ts probably hard as fuck, but such is life.

I have been able to shift mindsets “manually” before, going into a cozy mood on demand. It’s hard to describe using words, but I kind of relax and appreciate sensory input (touch, noises, fragrances) in a calmness-enjoyment kind of way. Most things are rather cozy if you stop, relax and enjoy the coziness.

I’m sure there’s a similar mental shift I can use to go into aliveness mode. I’ll keep experimenting and reflecting on the shift and the way of being. But I won’t become a victim of circumstances, telling myself that I need some external X or Y to shift my way of being.

The aliveness comes from within.