To me; Coherence is multifaceted.
We can find coherence in oarsmen synchronizing their movements to propel the boat, female and male dancers doing different yet complementary movements to provide single attractive choreography, or orchestration of bodily functions in order to sustain one’s life.
Coherence can be basically defined as the sum of different parts that provides a greater whole.
Let’s dig a bit deeper.
Coherence is the harmonious interaction between different parts to achieve single unity, which implies the absence of separation, conflict, dissonance, and resistance.
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An individual can be in state of coherence or out of coherence in two different levels.
The first one is coherence with his inner world.
Essentially, each one is unique. To live in accordance with external values that are not aligned with your core ones is to be separated from real self and suffer inner conflict. It usually feels like you are alienated from yourself and lacking wholeness, which, in my opinion, is the reason of chronic anxiety.
Carl Jung said “Who looks within awakens” this is exactly how one can restore his inner coherence. In order to heal such separation and inner conflict one needs to find his core values and to drop external ones, aligning his mind- body- soul system to act in unison to seek and maintain what is profoundly meaningful to him, finding his own answers to universal questions, and to be free of self-doubts and obsessive self-judgment.
It also takes acceptance of what arises within himself to attain coherence.
Emotions are an accumulation of energy that arises within the physical body. How someone feels at any moment is part of him as a whole being. You simply can’t resist part of who you are. Thus, resisting negative emotions adds to the original pain, feeds it with more energy and increases its intensity. But, when allowed internal balance and self-control are restored. With time, emotions lose their energy and diminish.
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The next level is coherence with life.
Coherence with life can’t be attained in any moment but the present moment. Life is nowhere to be found before or after, except as a thought in the mind. Living in the past or apprehending the future implies separation from and resistance to the only moment that is.
On this level; Coherence is the graceful acceptance of whatever unfolds on the physical plane.
We are faced with personal and collective events on daily basis. Some we appreciate and some we reject. We create inner contraction, tension, and separation from life when we reject external reality. Acceptance here doesn’t mean indifference. Every one has to do what in his faculties to fix a situation, but you either react from a state of contraction, rejection, or anger; or from a state of hope, wholeness and openness.
