Walking the Labyrinth Without Going Numb
How to digest massive change, stay human, and keep widening us in divided times
A quick truth before we go further. I am not writing this with my head in the sand.
A lot of us feel like we are watching the fraying of civility, rule of law, institutions, and simple kindness. And like many households and communities right now, I have people I love who see our current leadership and direction very differently than I do. For those of us who do not see it the same way, the gap can feel surreal. How can we be looking at the same country and seeing two different movies?
If you are in the camp that believes we have to fight the good fight first, you may want to start with my post Everyone’s in Fight Club Now. This one may feel too quiet, too internal, or even a little naïve at first glance. That is okay. Different moments call for different tools. Here, I am offering a tool for staying human while you decide what to do next.
When that disorientation hits, my nervous system wants to do what nervous systems do under threat. Tighten. Label. Blame. Retreat into my people versus their people. That is the Us vs Them machine, and it does not start on cable news. It starts in the body.
The labyrinth as a way through
I am using the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth as the image for this post. For centuries, people have walked labyrinths as a way to move through fear, grief, change, and disorientation without going numb. That’s the point here. Not that Chartres is sacred. That your labyrinth is sacred. Your life, your relationships, your nervous system, your choices. This is a way to walk what’s happening without hardening. Because the goal isn’t to outrun what’s happening. The goal is to digest it without losing your heart.
Why this film, why now
For almost all of my past clients, Youth (2015) is a foundational AMP session for living in these times while still trying to keep your heart open. It is not escapism. It is training.
The film takes place in a beautiful retreat setting, but it is not a feel good story. It is honest about what happens when life changes faster than we can digest. Two old friends are walking the later chapters of their lives, carrying regret, tenderness, pride, grief, unfinished conversations, and the question none of us can avoid forever. What do I do with what is left?
That is why it fits the labyrinth. The external setting can look calm while the inner weather is anything but. And when the inner weather is too intense, the temptation is familiar. Numb out. Control more. Pick a side. Find a villain. Collapse into certainty.
This session is designed to help you do something different.
Not to force positivity. Not to pretend everything is fine. But to stay available to your own heart long enough to keep widening us.
Tara Brach and the fear body
A major thread in this session comes from Tara Brach’s teaching on the fear body, that background hum of fear that can hijack our thinking and shrink our circle of care.
In the Youth AMP session, I translated her core ideas into hundreds of belief statements, not as inspiration, but as repetition and practice. The goal is not spiritual theater. The goal is a steadier nervous system and a wider us.
I will include the two short videos in the post so you can hear her framing directly.
A peaceful form of activism
When things feel unstable, many of us fall back on the activism patterns we inherited. Outrage. Arguments. Constant vigilance. Sometimes those are necessary. But they are not the only lever we have.
AMP is my form of peaceful activism. It starts upstream of politics, in the nervous system. Because when fear runs the body, it runs the story. And the story runs behavior.
When you change what you feed inside your nervous system, you change what you transmit. The people around you feel it. Your relationships feel it. Your home feels it. Your conversations feel it. That is not fluffy. That is how humans work.
And there is another way to say it, if that language works for you. When you choose steadiness over reactivity, and care over contempt, you become a kind of under the radar prayer. Not performative. Not loud. Just present, consistent, and surprisingly powerful. A caring prayer activist in the places you actually live.
I cannot control the country. But I can refuse to transmit more fear. That is activism too.
A doorway for skeptics
If you are skeptical, try this simple doorway. Lean on what medicine calls the placebo effect. Placebo isn’t imaginary. It is the well documented fact that expectation, meaning, and context can change what we feel and how our bodies respond.
So yes, in a practical sense, if you genuinely allow the practice to help you, it often does. Not by magic. By attention, repetition, and nervous system learning.
Step One: The Intention Session
This Youth AMP session contains 750 plus belief statements designed to help unwind fear, numbness, and the Us vs Them reflex. Subscribers will eventually be able to browse the full library. For now, the five Let Go and five Allow statements below are a good representation of the resonance benefits.
If you would like to experience the resonance of this AMP session, begin with this simple Intention Session. It helps align your body, mind, and emotions so you receive the full benefit of the work.
You only need to do this once before you watch the film. If you have already completed an Intention Session, it carries over for all of the AMP movies I talk about, so you do not need to repeat it.
Speak these aloud:
I allow the changes in my timing and only integrate what I am ready to.
I have faith that I will receive the benefits I desire.
I am patient with myself as I make my changes.
I let go of feeling I am too busy to take the time for this.
I let go of needing to understand how AMP works and allow myself to receive the full benefits in my own timing.
Engage three simple modalities:
Nod your head yes.
Drink some water.
Take several slow, rhythmic breaths through your nose.
Then simply watch Youth all the way through. Do not force insights. Just notice what stirs. Notice where you tighten. Notice where you soften. Notice who feels like us and who still feels like them.
Let Go statements
I let go of the belief that I have to digest everything at once.
I let go of numbing as my default response to overwhelm.
I let go of chronic control as my protection.
I let go of assigning blame when I feel afraid or powerless.
I let go of the trance of fear that shrinks my heart and my choices.
Allow statements
I allow myself to pause and notice fear in my body without running from it.
I allow grace to meet fear with steadiness.
I allow my mind to return to proportion and perspective.
I allow myself to remember what I love and what loves me.
I allow us to get bigger, one choice at a time.
A simple labyrinth practice for this week
If you want to keep this grounded, here is one small practice.
Name one place where you feel the Us vs Them reflex in your own life. A conversation. A news story. A social media feed. A relationship you avoid.
Then make one keep walking move. One breath instead of a snap reaction. One curious question instead of a verdict. One message of care. One moment of restraint. One choice not to harden.
Each step taken within a labyrinth can symbolize a journey toward hope and new beginnings, helping to release burdens and embrace personal growth. You do not have to sprint. You just have to keep walking.
Your labyrinth is sacred. Keep walking.
If you try this session, I would love to hear one thing you noticed. Where did you tighten, and what helped you soften?
The movie Youth is so enjoyable. Demonstrating what is like when you age and your body has slowed down but your emotions keep going