Do Not Fret for I will Be There

This dialogue reflects a process of recognizing the continual possibility of returning to presence. This return is conditioned by openness and by being “touched” deeply enough to wish to re-orient to grace. When such openness is absent, repeated patterns of distraction appear as nuisances or very hard, impossible traps. These distractions may feel valid but function as mechanisms of avoidance, keeping attention away from a deeper “wound of separation.”

The wound is not a literal injury but as a system-level memory trace—something without fixed location, yet carried in the body–person. As the speakers witness experiences without identifying with them, heightened discomfort, fear, and confusion arise. This represents the nervous system’s maladaptive threat response cycle (mTRC) becoming ready to become updated to safety. Autonomic activation generates uncomfortable bodily, behavioral and cognitive states, which the "mind" interprets as danger. By sustaining impartial awareness, the system eventually self-regulates; the sensations dissipate.

Witnessing these fixations without identification allows metabolic re-organization. Implicit (dorsal) processes—felt as confusion and threat memory—shift when held together with explicit (ventral) processes—face–heart openness, curiosity, and presence. The upper thoracic interoception (heart/lung sensations) combined with facial awareness creates a neurocognitive channel that helps transform fear into openness.

Social engagement and co-regulation are implied prerequisites for this process; the “being touched enough to return” is relational safety as the spark. Transformation happens not by escaping the wound but by being moved through it.

The biblical imagery of Jesus in the desert serves as metaphor for this process. Temptations—whether fear, lust, or distraction—correspond to autonomic, behavioral, and cognitive fixations. They intensify when faced directly but lose force when met with steady presence. Victory is not through suppression but through remaining, allowing the nervous system to metabolize the energy and return to regulation.