My son has Sensory Processing Disorder and as part of his therapy we have used The Engine Program. He has three different engine possibilities and for the sake of understanding we labeled them; Tigger (high), Pooh (perfect), Eeyore (low). His engine is not the same as his emotions-it’s part of his processing of the world. If his engine is Pooh, he can deal with sadness and disappointment in a healthy, typical way. If his engine is Eeyore, however, that same sadness or disappointment would crush him, in fact anything and everything crushes him when his Engine is Eeyore. It’s hard to put words around it, but we all who have witnessed these different ‘Engines’ understand. So we do check-in’s regularly and prescribe appropriate therapies to return to a Pooh level if needed. and those seasons that find him bouncing between Tigger and Eeyore, Tigger and Eeyore, not able to regulate-those require a diligent daily Sensory Diet until he is able to maintain that Pooh level again. Another thing to note here is that the therapies always have a delayed effectiveness-i have never found it to be immediate.
I like Pooh, I have ever since I was a little girl…..i interrupt this post to bring you a brief reminder on how wonderful the Pooh stories are…..
It was a drowsy summer afternoon, and the Forest was full of gentle sounds, which all seemed to be saying to Pooh, “Don’t listen to Rabbit, listen to me.” So he got into a comfortable position for not listening to Rabbit…..
–In Which Tigger is Unbounced by A. A. Milne
moving on….
I’ve been studying the beginnings of Israel’s wilderness wanderings. Growing in understanding of Who the Lover of my soul is, and the truth that He is my only Hope, my only Security. Knowing that the more i grasp the truth of this, the more i am free to enjoy the withering grass and fading flowers. Freed from the requirement of comforts in order to experience JOY. Enjoying a thing vs. being enslaved by a thing -oh it is truly for freedom that He Has Come.
With those thoughts percolating for a few weeks, on Sunday I find myself listening to wisdom from Solomon. and among the nuggets of truth, these words are read aloud and i catch my breath.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
-2 Corinthians 4:7-10
This is what it means for me, a Christian-to have an Engine that is Pooh!
those years of therapies culminate for me on this day into a real object lesson that i can grasp.
when my Engine is Pooh, i possess an inner joy and inner strength. and i can be hard pressed, but not crushed, perplexed, but not abandoned. But when i’m bouncing between Tigger and Eeyore, Tigger and Eeyore, i need a ‘daily sensory diet’ to get my Engine regulated. The effectiveness isn’t always immediate for me either. this Engine is still a bit of an unpredictable mystery even after all these years. but consistent and daily therapies do produce results. Over time i’m given Power to Grasp, and that Freedom that truly sets me free. and my Engine maintains at Pooh on a more regular basis.
and when it doesn’t i meditate on words like these:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power…in this You greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
-1 Peter 1:3-9
To draw further in; Exodus 19 and 20, slowing down especially on 19:3-13; 1 Kings 3:7-10; 11:1-6; Ecclesiastes 11-12