Protection Song

###This is your protection song. (set: $r to (text-style: "rumble")) (set: $slowTr to (transition:"dissolve") + (transition-time: 2s) + (colour: white) + (click: ?page))(set: $fastTr to (transition:"instant") + (colour: white) + (click: ?page))(set: $fearTr to (transition:"rumble") + (transition-time: 1s) + (colour: white) + (click: ?page))(set: $playerTr to (transition:"dissolve") + (colour: #3f8a63) + (click: ?page))(set: $scienceTr to (transition:"dissolve") + (colour: #fcf9c5) + (transition-time: 2s) + (click: ?page)) (enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) (colour: #3f8a63)[==(click anywhere to continue...) $slowTr[== Protection Song is an interactive experience to explore your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, which are the nerves that allow you to respond to danger and build safety. ==> (colour: #3f8a63)[==(click anywhere to continue...) <== $slowTr[== You can learn what to expect including content advisory and real-world setup suggestions in the <a href="http://www.moboid.com/protectionsong/precare.html" target="_blank">Precare zine: http://www.moboid.com/protectionsong/precare.html</a> Science highlights will illuminate the medical or biological theories behind the experience. For instance: =><= $scienceTr[== The parasympathetic nervous system is organized by the Vagus nerve, which has two branches: Dorsal (for "back body") and Ventral (for "front body") <== $slowTr[== You will be asked to follow some simple instructions in the real world. Fulfill them to the best of your abilities and comfort level. If you are shy, you may wish to be alone when you play, in order to feel most free to participate! But if not, it's OK, everything is entirely optional. $slowTr[== This experience does not have graphics (other than text). Feel free to either read on screen, or listen to the audio, as per your preference and ability. If you choose to listen rather than read, you may wish to wear headphones, and put the screen out of sight, in order to focus on the sounds and sensations. Real world instructions like these will ask you to do something. For example, here is the first one: $playerTr[== Before we begin, you'll need to gather a few items. * A glass of water * A small handful of nuts, seeds, or crackers to eat $slowTr[== Clicking the outlined text will take you to the next part of the experience. Ready? [[Begin.]]

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== It is the early Cretaceous era on the supercontinent Laurasia. You are a small mouse-like creature living on a land mass which will some day be known as Zhongzhou (中州). $slowTr[== Your home is a hollow at the base of a dying pine tree, where you sleep and hide from fast-running raptors during the day, and emerge at night to search for your food. It's dusk now, and you awaken and stretch. $playerTr[== Roll both of your shoulders in big circles a few times. $playerTr[== Lift your shoulders tightly to your ears, then let them drop, as gravity takes over. $playerTr[== Touch your chin to your chest, then roll your head around slowly a few times in a circle. $slowTr[== It is early dusk, and the voracious raptors are on their last hunts. Soon they will curl up to sleep, but for now they stalk on powerful legs, seeking out a meal to sustain them through the night. ===><= $scienceTr[== The Dorsal branch of the Vagus nerve developed first in reptiles and continued in mammals. Along with the Sympathetic nervous system this enabled two possible kinds of responses to perceived danger: Fight/Flee (Sympathetic) and Shut Down or "Play dead" (Parasympathetic). <=== $slowTr[== You woke up hungry, but it's still too light outside to be safe. Fortunately, you have [[a few seeds]] remaining from yesterday's scavenging.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $playerTr[== Take your food (seeds or substitute) and eat slowly, one bit at a time, perhaps using both hands, like a small creature. ===><= $scienceTr[== The digestive system is connected to the "dorsal" branch of the vagus nerve. In situations of stress, digestion can be shut down, or under conditions of life-threatening danger, the system can be quickly voided. <=== $slowTr[== As you chew and swallow, you sense the food pass down your esophagus and into your stomach, and you begin to feel thirsty. The food energizes your body, and you're ready to [[leave your tree | outside the burrow]] and move quickly in your search for water.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== You emerge from your nest as the sun just hits the edge of the horizon, and you breathe in the heavy moist air. $playerTr[== Place your hand on your lower belly. $playerTr[== Completely empty your lungs of air, and pause for a second with empty lungs. $playerTr[== Then relax your stomach and let your body take a deep breath, entirely filling your belly downward, and hold for a few seconds there. $playerTr[== You may have felt a stretching in your mid-belly area. This is your diaphragm expanding downward to pull air into your lungs. $slowTr[== You move in the direction of the [[small stream]] that fills with water after every heavy rainshower. The last time it rained was five moons ago.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== In the heat of the evening, the high-pitched chirrs of insects fill the air all around you, and you start to look forward to catching some large juicy bugs to eat soon. $slowTr[== Approaching the banks of the stream, you see only dry mud. Crawling further down the stream bed, you reach a place where the mud is less crusted, and you can smell the greenness of moisture. The noise of many thousand insects blocks out all other sound. $slowTr[== With your claws, you scrabble at the caked dirt on the surface to find fresh [[water]] below.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $playerTr[== Drink from your glass of water. $fastTr[== You crouch down to lap water from the puddle you've revealed. Relief fills your body as the last rays of the sun reflect on its glassy surface. $fearTr[== Suddenly, the reflection goes dark and you hear the snapping of razor sharp teeth. A spiked reptilian horror looms overhead. Your stomach lurches in fear, and you feel like you are glued to the spot. $playerTr[== Imagine the fear of a prey animal, facing a vastly more powerful predator. Play dead. Stay very still, hold your breath and still your eyes from moving. ===><= $scienceTr[== The Dorsal vagus nerve is in charge of the most primitive freeze response, involuntarily causing our bodies to shut down when sensing that it would be impossible to fight back or escape safely. <=== $fastTr[== Suddenly, from the branches of some nearby pine trees come loud, high pitched screeching sounds. The dinosaur looks up, distracted by these noises. This is your chance to flee! A burst of adrenaline sends you darting to the far side of the [[creekbed]].

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== You reach the base of the thick tree and scramble over roots, trying desperately to get purchase on the trunk. Overhead the encouraging cries of your fellow mammals grow closer, and your heart pounds with the effort of pulling your body further up the tree. $playerTr[== Place your left hand on your neck artery as you pant for a few seconds. Feel the speed of your heartbeat pick up. ===><= $scienceTr[== The heart sends and receives messages to the brain through the ventral vagus nerve. One of the important measures of a person's neural health is "Heart Rate Variability," which compares the slightly quicker heart rate when you breathe in to the slightly slower heart rate when breathing out. A greater difference between these two heart rates reflects better self-regulation by the nervous system. <=== $fearTr[== The frustrated scream of the dinosaur pierces your ear as you reach a horizontal [[branch]] on the tree, which is just high enough above the ground that she can't jump up this far.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fearTr[== The dinosaur's head whips around on her long neck to follow your motion as she begins running in pursuit. You feel her hot breath on the fur of your back, and her gutteral screech shakes your bones, as her quills crackle menacingly against each other. $playerTr[== Take a sharp in-breath, like a gasp. Begin panting with shallow breaths. ===><= $scienceTr[== The Sympathetic nervous system enables air-breathing creatures to respond quickly, rapidly oxygenating their blood to move quickly and escape danger, or empowering them to fight. <=== $fastTr[== While your eyes stay on the muddy ground ahead, high pitched squeals from the [[tree]] guide your direction. Chunks of dry mud fly out from behind your tiny feet.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== Safe in the tree, you watch as the dinosaur loses interest and finally stalks away. Around you the restless chittering of the other furry creatures gradually quiets, as the immediate danger passes. $playerTr[== Take a deep, slow breath, pursing your lips as if you are sucking in through a straw. Blow it out the same way. Perhaps you can feel your pulse decelerate as you gradually fill and empty your lungs. $slowTr[== When the raptor seems finally out of earshot, one of the animals [[approaches]] you and tentatively sniffs at your fur.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== Some of the older, larger mammals in the group begin crooning a call of welcome. Instinct wells up inside you, and you answer back with a song of shared fear and belonging. $playerTr[== Make some sounds with your voice. Singing, humming, chanting, or even gargling some water are all effective ways to stimulate and "tone" the vagus nerve, improving its responsivity to change and reinforcing neuroelectric connections. ===><= $scienceTr[== The larynx and vocal cords are connected to the Ventral, or front, branch of the Vagus nerve. This later developmental adaptation of the Parasympathetic system allowed mammals to communicate, and form social bonds of safety with one another. <=== $slowTr[== As you begin to vocalize, more tiny mammals peek around their branches and out from their [[nests]] to peer at you.

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== The mammals cuddle and murmur. You listen to them and they listen to you. Your pulse returns to normal, and you let out a tiny sigh. $playerTr[== Massage your outer ears with your fingertips. Squeeze earlobes gently, and bend the cartilage gently down or forward. ===><= $scienceTr[== Our ears are connected to the Ventral Vagus nerve branch. We mammals developed specialized inner ear bones which allowed us to better hear a wider range of sound, to hunt in darkness, and stay in contact with our group. Finding one another and being together provides safety and also makes us <i>feel</i> safe. <=== $playerTr[== Use the tip of your finger to put gentle pressure on the bones of your skull in the center of your earlobe. (Stay at the outer parts of the ear, not the canal.) ===><= $scienceTr[== Mammalian young are often born helpless, and must be taken care of while they develop. Communicating with our caregivers and peers from the moment of our birth is a crucial survival strategy. $scienceTr[== Emotions are mammal's social language, and the Ventral vagus nerve is our neural pathway to experience and express them with each other. <=== $slowTr[== Night falls, and you're all [[safe]].

(enchant: ?Link, (text-style:'outline')) $fastTr[== Thank you for participating in <i>Protection Song</i>! ===><= $scienceTr[== Humans co-regulate our nervous systems with one another during face-to-face interaction, including play! Play allows us to feel a combination of Sympathetic mobilizing energy, combined with positive feelings from social engagement with other people. <=== $playerTr[== For some suggestions to help you process this experience, and learn more about the science and the research behind this piece, you may access the <a href="http://www.moboid.com/protectionsong/aftercare.html" target="_blank">Aftercare Zine: http://www.moboid.com/protectionsong/aftercare.html</a> here. $slowTr[== Goodbye!

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This is your protection song.

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