I've heard it before. When it comes time to make a tough, long lasting decision, with potentially dire consequences, the gut knows best. But, why is that supposed to be good advice? What wisdom is in my gut that supersedes that which (I humbly presume) is in my head? What is my gut? (I glance down at my lower chest, then my belly-button. I'm not impressed.) How and when does my gut speak to me? Surely, those who would offer the sage insight must be implying more than just the random gurgling and growling sounds of churning air that accompany hunger in an otherwise quiet room. I don't "get" what I should listen for, yet...
I do, however, feel my gut. When I am aware of them, I notice that my stomach muscles are very sensitive and respond to stress by tightening up. (Ironically, when I am aware of these muscles, I also realize how seldom I experience this awareness.) Health nuts suggest I breathe from my stomach muscles, like an infant would, and not from my chest. This often takes conscious effort on my part. (What an oxymoron - it takes effort to relax!) However, it's not enough to change my breathing pattern as I become aware of it. I must understand why the pattern changed to begin with.
My tendency is to breathe from my chest, and not my stomach, when I am feeling any stress. I'm feeling stress when I'm excessively relying on my thinking - when my brain is overwhelmed with information, questions, or contradictions. Listening to my gut is rather a matter of becoming aware of my gut's reaction to stress. Once I have the awareness that my gut feels tight, I can ask myself why.
I frequently perceive that this world is spinning faster than I was created to process. A tight gut indicates that I am responding to real stress. I can't just use my awareness to change my breathing pattern because the moment I become unaware my gut tightens up again. The operative word is reaction. My gut is not thinking and speaking on its own. It's reacting to stress signals from my brain. I must change my thinking.
The first step is to slow down. Only then can I attempt to simplify the complex, organize the chaotic, rationalize the illogical, and pursue a topic with a healthy curiosity. The next step is to follow through. Process the stressor. Muscles have memory. That's why musicians can improve with practice. It's also why my gut tightens again if I am reminded of an unresolved stressor. The reaction is automatic unless one of two things change: 1) either the reaction is retrained (which is really impossible: it just moves the reaction elsewhere in my body), or 2) the stressor is resolved and ceases to cause the reaction.
How do we process the stressors in our lives? By being truthful about them. So many bad habits and discomforts are tolerated because they seem less painful than the truth. In fact, we often bury the truth with busy-ness or surrender. "I like this job; it keeps me busy." "That's just the way I am." The absolute truth is that we are lonely, discontent, impatient, angry, etc.
The problem is that this world does not offer a safe haven to express the truth. It robs us of our chance to truly come alive. We must transcend the world. How? We can't propel ourselves into a safe haven. Counseling may help temporarily. But, in reality, we're stuck in the muck and mire of what's familiar and natural for us. We must be completely drawn out of it and given a new nature. Life itself is the reward. We only need to let ourselves be drawn. There is Someone who loves us and wants to give us that life. Why do we so arrogantly resist His advances and stubbornly cling to our gravestones? Why don't we listen to our guts?
John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (ESV)
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