Integration: The Process of Embodied Transformation
Timelines flashing before the third eye. A fierce warrior loving presence. Holding its center as the eye in the middle of a hurricane. No matter how intense the winds of the energetic current are, it doesn’t loose its ground. This is the embodiment of integration within the nervous system.
Integration is a transpersonal process. It is when the system recallibrates to the original state of oneness, or wholeness. It is a sort of settling into Self. It is a grounded force of nature which harmonizes the twirling dynamic matter into a state of coherence. Ultimately, it is the art and science of transformation. Genuine somatic shifts happen through the process of integration- new phases and stages of embodiment.It is when the freshness of receiving life is breathed into every cell, danced into the bones, and pressed into spiraling DNA.
In the dictionary explains integration as, “an act or instance of combining into an integral whole”. The etymology is from Latin integrat- ‘made whole’, from the verb integrare, from integer ‘whole’. Integration can be perceived as the embodied expression of healing- which the etymology of healing also means to ‘make whole’.
Wholeness is who humans are at their core. Never broken or shattered.It is who we have been all along-the fundamental state of being which is unshakable. This state of being is also known as loving presence. Within the most subtle dimension, integration is the voluntary process of psychic somatic organization.
There are many dimensions to the process of integration. It is happening across quantum timelines and from the freshness of daily experiences. Regardless if an implicit memory from the sixth grade playground is processing within the soma or if an impactful conversation from an hour prior is brewing within the psyche, all transformation is occurring within the most subtle neurobiological layers of the nervous system. Daniel Sigel states, “Integration”—the ways in which functionally distinct components come to be clustered into a functional whole—may be a fundamental way in which the nervous system functions.”(Siegel)
The system is always desiring to find homeostasis, balance, and connection. Neural integration is a way of opening up communication pathways in the brain which may shut down because of stress. New networks and pathways open up, shifting the default mode networks of the brain through consciously meeting the nervous system with compassionate attunement. It creates fluidity within the energy flow and thaws out blocks through wholehearted warmth. This process is also known as neuroplacitiy, the ability to function in some way that differs from previous functioning.
When there is loving cohesive awareness, the fragmented and disassociated parts of psyche (occurring from traumatic experience ) can reimprint into the system as safety, which allows relaxation within the system and fresh pathways to open up. Sigel states, “These integrative processes can be proposed to be at the core of emotional well-being and psychological resilience. The ongoing, dynamic process of integration may be fundamental to the evolving mechanisms within the life of an individual continual movement toward mental health.” (Siegel)
The reason integration is at the core of wellbeing is because it is a homecoming to relaxed and soothed states of being. Integration can be seen as the glue to the lost frazzled puzzle pieces which allow them all merge into maturation. The key to wellbeing is living in greater states of ventral vagal- which requires nervous system regulation.
There is a theory called Polyvagal. Shame expert Bret Lyon states, “Polyvagal Theory provides an innovative scientific perspective to study feelings of safety that incorporates an understanding of neurophysiology.(Lyon, 2021) There are three elementary states in this theory : ventral vagal (the social engagement system) sympathetic system (fight : flight) and the dorsal vagal (freeze : shut down). Living consistently in sympathetic and dorsal vagal is a representation of unintegrated parts taking up prime real-estate within the psyche: soma.
Ventral Vagal qualities are known as compassionate, mindful, grounded, settled, calmness, curiosity, and openness. Ventral is a parasympathetic state within the nervous system related to health and vitality, oxytocin, and ability to relate and connect to others. In the modality, Internal Family Systems, created by Rich Schwartz this state is also known as Self energy. There are eight main components to Self in this model: curiosity, calm, connectedness, confidence, clarity, compassion, courage, and creativity.
The process of integration is what transforms disassociated and dysregulated states into higher functioning within the system- or organization. There is a capacity to witness the frazzled snow globe with a heightened awareness that you are not the fearful fragmented parts. This capacity to stay centered with is a sign you are functioning within the ventral vagal spectrum.
When Self energy is present it is possible to integrate the younger timelines. Life is a spiral journey. There is constant ebbing and flowing from previous cycles into present time reality, for the potential of healing. Every time you approach a wounded younger time line with an expanded state of consciousness, you are able to lessen the charge within the system and embody greater wholeness. You know there is healing within the nervous system because the charge eventually is non existent. What would have invoked trembling vulnerability, eventually is integrated and firm within the system. It is when the bloody wound transforms into a scar. Still present and part of the body, yet integrated and sealed, now to tell a story and be provided as medicine.
A potent question to tune into when you notice vulnerability or dysregulation is, how old am I right now? Although it may seem as if you are your adult self, so often the thirteen year old or eight year old who didn’t receive attuned love will show up begging for attention from the mature adult, aka loving presence. When you notice a younger child part showing up, you can be in relationship with it rather than it hiijaking your system. In internal family systems model this is called ‘unbending’. ‘Blending’ with the dissociative ego states (younger parts ) is when there is no conscious awareness and the part becomes the self you believe you are. Unblending can only happen when you return to the Self, locate the dissociative parts within the body and focus on the felt sense with warm awareness.
So often in a psychedelic journey (whether it be working with a substance or deep spiritual practice ) there is greater access to innate wholeness, Self energy. For so many this may be the first time they have come in contact with a greater sense of Self, which then embeds a somatic imprint. Returning home to safety and love. When a new somatic imprint encodes, there is availability for neuroplasticity. There is a good ol’ saying energy flows where awareness goes. When there is a somatic imprint of the Self within the system, you can begin to direct your focus into this energetic quality. This creates optimal distance and spaciousness from the dissociative parts, which allows the deep primal process of neurobiological transformation. Integration after a psychedelic journey requires noticing where new imprints opened up in the system and consciously feeding these somatic imprints as a daily practice of awareness.
Integration is a conscious daily practice. It requires voluntary action or the free will to direct awareness. Working intimately with the maco and micro realities is a potent way to energetically hydrate the unification process. The maco practice may look like integrating peak experiences. The micro practice may look like consciously tuning into energetic (or archetypal) qualities and then drenching your nervous system with these exalted states. Macro practices may include creating daily space to journal, meditate, reflect authentically with loved ones, or create art. The micro practices may look like intentionally anchoring radical self love and safety while driving, mind:body practices, sitting with and savoring a potent conversation or podcast you just listened to, etc. It is a mixture of subtle energetic awareness while wrapping up experiences with a contemplative bow. It is a way of allowing experiences to come together as a whole.
When there is a sense of settledness in the system, there is a high probability integration is transpiring. The nervous system is often like a snow globe, shaken up with parts floating in every which direction. After the snow globe settles it lands in a space of cohesiveness. Integration is the process of the system returning to a calm center, a perpetual sense and process of completion.
CITATION:
Siegel, D. J. (2001). Toward an interpersonal neurobiology of the developing mind: Attachment relationships, "mindsight," and neural integration. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22(1-2), 67–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0355(200101/04)22:1<67::AID-IMHJ3>3.0.CO;2-G