Expansion And Contraction
Dr. Peter Levine coined the term pendulation.
Pendulation refers to
the alternating states
of expansion and contraction
that we naturally go through in life.
Emotionally, expansion may look
like happiness, joy, or even bliss,
and the contracted states might look like
fear, sadness, and anger.
We are not meant to be static,
remaining in one state all the time,
and we need the contractions
to gain access to more space, or expansion.
The contractions we experience
naturally lead to more capacity
in our system to hold
the good feeling states
and expansion we desire.
Many people chase expanded states,
actively seeking them out through
catalytic or cathartic experiences
with things like breathwork
and psychedelic plant medicine,
expecting that once they arrive
in the expanded state,
they will remain there for good.
Once they arrive in
the inevitable state of contraction,
those seeking expansion
may judge themselves
as having done something wrong,
and resist the natural flow,
shutting down their ability
to access the coming expansion
that results from opening
to and allowing the contraction
to be as it is without resistance.
This expansion and contraction
is the natural rhythm of our being,
that, like the ocean, ebbs and flows.
The waves go out,
and we trust that they will come back in.
By learning to tolerate
and even befriend
the contractions when they come,
we gain more access
to the expansive states that we desire,
such as aliveness, joy, peace, and bliss.
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Check out my new video on YouTube where I go into a bit more detail about expansion and contraction, and please reach out if I can help you with nervous system regulation.
