As a whole, the Seven Life Processes allow us to navigate an amazing range of life activities and experiences. Through them we can be open, yet protected; nourished and influenced by what we meet, but also able to let go of what we don’t need. After “Breathing”—the first life process which was introduced in the last newsletter and can be read about here—comes “Warming.” This follows a very understandable order: The very first thing babies do at birth is breathe, then they need to be wrapped up, dried off, held and kept WARM.
“Warming” happens in more than one direction. We can move warmth in or out. Both are important in terms of encounter.
One part of warming does need to go inward, for if we were always only in open, breathing contact with the world, there might come a point when we felt indistinguishable from the surrounding environment. That might be great for exchange and openness, but would come at the cost of our own inner space. So, that is why the tissues of our nose and upper airways work to warm and humidify the air we take in. We aren’t like a bellows or pump that simply moves air in and out; once air comes inside of us, we meet it and begin to adapt it.
Regulation of our body temperature is another inner part of “Warming.” It’s actually an incredibly refined process, managed through sweating, shivering, “goosebumps,” flushing, palor and other nuanced ways that our blood circulation moves. If our body temperature gets pushed too far, so that we can’t maintain a proper inner warmth, then we get ill. Big shifts in our experience of warmth (such as chills and shivering at the beginning of an illness, or strong warmth and sweating at the peak of a fever) mean that we are making adjustments to correct and balance our “warming” process.
This warming life process has been classically described in this way:
“To maintain bodily life, we must develop a certain degree of warmth in our body that does not depend on the warmth of the surroundings; rather the processes within the body maintain our own bodily warmth within certain limits”
We continuously work to hold and protect our warmth inwardly. But a second, important part of warming turns the other direction and extends out towards what’s around us. It happens when we encounter something long enough that we start to feel its warmth, that we start to recognize what it is.
Breathing lives as a rhythmic process, usually 16-20 breathes a minute, and goes on for our whole lifetime. Warming happens more slowly and needs more time, more connection. We have a lot of expressions that refer to this process, such as whether someone is “warm and welcoming,” or gave us a “cool reception.” Perhaps even more interesting is the phrase “I’m warming up to the idea.” This means that what at first was strange, unwelcome, surprising, or unknown, now is seen as something that can potentially be worked with.
Bodily warmth, outer physical perception of warmth and social dynamics of warmth overlap in lots of ways. Not sure? Pay attention to the mood of a group when hot food is served, versus cool food. Or, if you need help maintaining your own inner space during a social gathering, try dressing with enough layers (especially on your core) so that there is no way you can get a chill. These factors make a difference!
What’s the sign of a really good, balanced “warming” process? Probably when both directions are balanced, so that we can be open and interested in a flexible way, warming towards what is around us, and also able to maintain and protect our own inner qualities of warmth.
Need to boost your warmth this Winter? Don’t forget about good friends like ginger or rosemary, body oils that contain Solum (peat moss), as well as thick socks or a hat. Strengthen your own warmth and then it will be easier to have extra to give to those around you…
Be well,
Dr. Blanning