Glimmer

 Do you know what a glimmer is?

In his Polyvagal Theory, behavioural neuroscientist Dr Stephen Porges describes the process in which our neural circuits read cues of danger in our environment, where we are involuntarily and constantly scanning situations to see if they are dangerous in order to protect ourselves.

The concept of glimmers was part of this theory however the term glimmer, was introduced in 2018 by licensed clinical social worker Deb Dana.

A glimmer is the opposite of cues of danger and helps bring one back to a sense of happiness or safety. In our overstimulated and ‘negative-news’ biased world where we are constantly getting triggers which activate our sense of fight or flight, glimmers can help regulate our nervous systems and calm them down. In other words they are tiny stimuli which give us hope and happiness and peace.

Ever since I heard about this, I have been making a list of my glimmers and trying to ensure I get a dose of them on a daily basis, whenever I can.

My glimmers are:

·     A much loved old song

·     A perfectly made cup of coffee

·      A photograph from a holiday taken

·     Happy time with family

·     Talking on the phone with mom and sister

·     Spending time with Green plants

·     Reading and re-reading a beautifully crafted sentence in a book or article

·     Viewing and clicking picks of sun, sky and clouds

What are your glimmers? And are you ensuring you are accessing them on a daily basis ?