Intuitive Resilience
Accessing resilience when life feels like rough seas
"Be still, my heart: for you have endured things worse than this before."
Homer, The Odyssey
In life, we can have a map. We can have some planned destinations. We can have ambitions and quests. We can align with factors, that enable us to have a bit more control of the journey through life.
These can include wisdom, determination, education, strong health, financial security, the right environment, and good people. Other factors can also help. Yet, with all that said, our control over things can also still be limited, at times.
The wise ancient Greeks remind us of this. In their rich mythology, we see Odysseus, the cunning warrior king from Homer's poem, having his ships getting so badly blown off course, that it takes years and many perilous adventures for him to return home.
Jason and his Argonauts are also beset with unforeseen challenges, on their quest for the Golden Fleece. These tales illustrate that in life, we can all suddenly find ourselves, in unexpected situations, surroundings, and circumstances.
Sometimes, they can be testing, in ways one is less familiar with, subtle yet vexing. Or, they can make us feel like Jason's ship The Argos, as it gets bombarded by external, other worldly forces.
Such situations may hit with heart-jolting intensity but be fleeting; or they may represent a vaster thick, muddied terrain that one must trudge through, with a more enduring temperament.
Today, therefore we look at things, from Tri-Tier's middle tier.... resilience.
Unexpected situations can, at times, represent engaging experiences. They can shape us and we learn from them. I say that as someone who was most certainly born under an adventurer's star. (Yes that's a small wordplay on a song from Paint Your Wagon!)
Much of what I share, in Tri-Tier, has come out of unexpected situations, challenging encounters in both my work and travels, as well as exploring methods, not so easy to find.
My training is designed to help people in personal safety situations or even work related based encounters, depending on one’s field. It has to help when the person is under pressure or when handling hostile third parties.
In referring to those unseen scenarios that life can present, I'm talking about the experiences, we’d all rather not have to go through.
When such moments do present themselves, they can have different effects on the physical, psychological and spiritual levels. Some situations may carry a sting, based on our unfamiliarity with them-especially if it's something we’ve not experienced before.
Or, it could be that on any other day, such a situation would have less impact. It often depends on where we are in our lives.
Yet, if multiple tribulations arise, then our resilience is placed under much more pressure. It could be that the testing moment seems to be going on and on- like a war of attrition on our morale.
Then, there are these different forces- the titans that no mortal can fully escape. We will all, at some point, face such forces as fear, grief, anger, pain, conflict, worries, loneliness or disappointment, to name but some.
Their inevitable presence on our path, necessitates that we have some tools to help us better handle them.
Different aspects of Tri-Tier or the disciplines, taught within it, can be especially helpful for letting go of some of these feelings. Or dissolving them, by placing one in a specific, optimistic higher energetic state. Sometimes though, you won't know which aspect will be helpful, until faced with that moment.
Each challenging experience can be unique. Training enables us to feel how specific practices may be beneficial in certain situations.
The art is to find the resilience key that’s accessible to you, in the moment. This sometimes has to happen on the subconscious level. Think about the intuitive manner one might select food or choose what to wear.
Certain practices one might associate with the stillness tier, might be great, when one just wants to calm the body before sleeping, or after a busy day. Yet, may be less appealing, when dealing with intense feelings. It’s very much about the interplay between stillness and movement…Something that you will often hear me talk about in Tri-Tier.
Other exercises may not give the deeper feeling of energetic accumulation or flow but will be very helpful when a sudden moment of stress hits us. One also has to explore a bit, to see what proves conducive. Still, having accessible choices helps.
There are some quite interesting breathing exercises that help, when facing an immediate fear-based scenario. Different traditions utilise different approaches here and it helps to be open to these various methods.
In a later post, we will look at how specific types of fear affect different systems of the body, along with breathing practices that can reduce the impact.
It would be wrong to give the impression that all these resilience concepts can make us impervious to the various types of stress, particularly if they are ongoing. What they can do though, at the very least, is reduce some of the harmful effects. Or, they offer a way to build back up, after taking some blows.
There are restorative movements and breath practices; as well as diagnostic ones. Don’t be hard on yourself though, if you do feel you’re hit badly by stress or find some tension is being persistent.
Realisation of vulnerability can lead to growth and deeper capabilities. The strongest of warriors acknowledge this.
There’s also a line of thought, in some internal arts, not to fight with, or strive too intensely, to remove the feelings that spring up. Maybe, it's also a way to show we won't play the piece on the game board for other forces; we won't be lulled into the drama.
Even in The Odyssey, we see times where some of the hero's encounters with initial adversaries later unfold, with the adversary then being of assistance. Our challenges can give us gifts or sign posts.
There can be a balance between using practices to remove tension or clear away negative energy, with just being the observer- letting the feelings pass, or staying with them to see what they are revealing…
Understanding the way practices can be affected by external environmental or energetic conditions can also be helpful.
Regardless of one’s knowledge of these subtle aspects, it's the intuition that will often help us find the right way.
So stillness can help calm the inner state; even if the outer world is out of our control. Then, resilience can inspire us to action when facing challenges...to keep going.
Resilience is like the ship of our Greek heroes. It can be made strong so it can withstand the crashing waves or denizens of the deep. It can also be rebuilt should it receive damage in the storm.
Then, there’s the third tier of Tri-Tier...tactics. This goes beyond self-defence. It can be about tactics that help us to be resourceful... to negotiate through the bad situation.
Odysseus is described by Homer as polytropos. The opening sentence of the poem is:
‘Tell me about a complicated man.’
But a better translation of polytropos is not complicated but actually- a man who can turn in many ways. This could mean one who is wandering or well traveled but it can also mean resourceful, cunning or versatile.
One of the lessons that Homer's epic thus brings forth, using these interesting heroes, who are still just men with their own flaws and human vulnerabilities, is that our approach to handling difficulties surely needs to be adaptable.
Aran
About the author
Based in London, Aran Dharmeratnam is the founder of the Tri Tier training system. He specialises in risk reduction, resilience, and self-protection training, often working with high-profile figures and their families. With experience in various areas of the security sector, Aran also works with global security companies, involved in private investigations and strategic intelligence. He’s been deployed on the ground, in numerous cases. Aran’s insights have appeared in The Financial Times, The Spectator, LBC, Aviation Security International, and Security Management Today.
For consultations or training contact: office@tri-tier.com