I want to share another practice with you. We introduce it in Love Lab 101 and it never ceases to amaze me how connected the group becomes after doing this together.
We call it “Cosmic Frames” and it’s a way of actively choosing the memories we store in our bodies.
Life is constantly happening around us, to us and for us. Being alive means we are at the mercy of millions of other humans around us each making their own decisions. Every decision impacts us, some more adversely than others.
These experiences can lodge themselves in our bodies and stay there for years, lifetimes and even generations. We are wired for this to happen — it’s an evolutionary trait that helps us remember where the lions live and that the stove is hot.
It is also possible to intentionally store positive memories in our bodies. Satori is the practice of inhaling while remembering a certain memory and imagining it imprinting in every cell in your body. I wrote about it a few months ago.
I’d like to add another layer to this practice and I hope you give it a try.
It involves closing your eyes and allowing your life to play out like you are watching a movie. You can get lost in this experience but I like to set a timer for a minute and keep it to the highlight reel.
The idea is to scan for the times where you felt most alive—the moments where your sensations were heightened and you are alive in your body. These may not necessarily be happy or comfortable moments. For me, giving birth was not a pleasing experience but it was the most present I have ever felt, connected to an infinite chain of ancestors and offspring.
Doing this practice with others is a beautiful way to know about them. People have shared big life experiences like holding hands with a parent as they take their last breath. They have also shared the small ephemeral moments that comprise a life: riding a bicycle down the street, holding hands with a crush, the smell of hot asphalt on a summer day.
I recorded the practice for you (see above) or you can read through it and do it on your own.
Here’s how it goes:
Begin to breathe deeply and see and feel what arises in the movie of your life.
Now, choose one moment that you want to store in your body.
Take a moment to savor the memory.
Where were you? Was anyone else with you? What sounds do you hear? What is the temperature of the air? Is it humid? Dry? Dense? What are the sensations in your body? What colors do you notice? Can you taste it?
Now, inhale deeply while filling up on this memory. Let it penetrate every cell in your body.
Exhale.
Inhale. And hold it.
Take another sip of air and fill your lungs even further.
Your body is making new memories right now.
Your neurons are wiring up a new path so you will have easy access to this moment.
Hold it a bit longer.
Until you can’t anymore.
And then exhale.
And that is a Cosmic Command Save.
I like to do this practice for the future, too. You can play out the movie of the rest of your life and choose a single moment to savor and imprint into your entire body.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
And if you enjoyed the recording, let me know. It’s the first time I’ve done that and I would love to know if this is something you want more of.
FROM THE INSTITUTE OF PLEASURE STUDIES
We are launching the next round of Relationship Tripping starting May 18th. If you and your partner are looking to go deeper in your relationship, if you desire to feel everything you are capable of feeling and want to have beautiful practices and tools that open the space for heart-melting connection, this is for you.
We meet Wednesday evenings from 7-9 PM EST. Space is limited. We have room for 7 more couples. If you want to find out more, email me and we will set up a time to talk.
Curious about the science behind memories, how we store them and why we keep some and not others? This NOVA episode of Memory Hackers has answers, great visuals and an 11 year-old boy who remembers everything.
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