Tag: Awareness

Using time wisely

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For those of us who live in nanosecond time, a moment becomes very, very short, and in each moment we ask how much we have gotten done. How much did I cram into it? Was I successful in multitasking? As one woman in a class I was working with said to me, “I have finally figured out how to relax. When I go from my job teaching to my consulting job and I’m driving in my car, I listen to a self-help tape, I eat lunch on the way, I talk on my cellular phone, and I relax at the same time.”

This approach to time management simply turns up the speed on the treadmill of our lives. I propose we evolve beyond time management to “timeshifting”-which is different from merely “downshifting.” The practice of timeshifting recognizes that every single moment has a particular rhythm to it, and that we have the capacity to expand or contract an individual moment as appropriate. One way to shift what’s going on in our world is not to try to rush to do more, but to allow ourselves to go deeper into that moment of being present. Our ability to shift gears, to shift our rhythm to meet that moment and be present in it, is what allows us to experience the fullness of life – to create our life in the way we want it to be.

Stephan Rechtschaffen.

Really listening

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“How shall I experience my oneness with creation?”

“By listening,” said the Master.

“And how am I to listen?”

“Become an ear that gives heed to every single thing the universe is saying. The moment you hear something you yourself are saying, stop.”

Anthony de Mello

Six Simple Strategies for a Stress-Free Summer, 5.

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Allow yourself to be Bored

Summer sometimes marks a change from our usual routines. And even though we may have been looking forward to it, we can sometimes find that we have the thought “I am bored”. To most of us boredom feels uncomfortable and we try to avoid it. We immediately believe the thought and then ask ourselves “what else can I do?” and our head plans and looks for a different activity. This summer, try to notice when you are feeling bored and just sit with it.  Boredom is one of the more interesting thoughts to work with. It tries to draw us away from this moment by suggesting that our lives should be elsewhere. The secret to contentment is being in each moment fully. And sometimes our systems need to do nothing and feel the tension of transition from the rush of our normal lives to a deeper calm.

Six Simple Strategies for a Stress-Free Summer, 4.

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Practice Compassion & Kindness:

Studies show that when we perform acts of kindness,  there is a sharp reduction in stress and a release of the body’s natural painkillers, the endorphins. Acts of kindness and compassion can lead to an experience of improved emotional well-being. So this day, look around at others and think beyond yourself. All kinds of opportunities to help, some big and some small, will present themselves if we pay attention.  Regardless of the size of the act, there is no wrong way to perform simple acts of kindness. The possibilities are endless! This day ask: How will I  practice spreading kindness in my life?

Working with Negative Thoughts, part 3

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In the last post in this series, we imagined the mind as a clear sky with all thoughts –  negative, positive and neutral –  as clouds moving across that sky. When we have worked on our ability to do this – to create a non-judgmental space around all thoughts- we can move on to the next step, that of naming the thoughts. We do this by simply putting  a label onto the thoughts we are having – such as “there is worrying” or “there is planning” – without going into the content of the thinking at all. As one teacher said, we simply touch the thought lightly with the words and let it go. For the moment this is all we will do. Do not get carried away into the content of any of the thoughts, do not hook into any of them. Simply touch them lightly and let them go, and return to your awareness of the mind as a vast spacious blue sky or of the breath entering and leaving the body. Notice the attitude you bring to the labelling, avoiding any harshness or disappointement. There is nothing wrong with thinking. We simply, gently, and with a friendly approach, label the thought and let it go.

Thus, if we put the first three steps together, we practice becoming aware of our breath coming in and going out. We keep our attention there. As thoughts arise we simple return to the breath. We can imagine the mind as a clear blue sky, with thoughts simply as clouds passing through. If certain thoughts repeat, we gently label them, and continue to let them pass through, keeping our focus on the breath. We gently practice this for a short dedicated period each day, say for ten minutes.

Working with Negative Thoughts, part 2

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As I said in the previous related post, the first step in dealing with negative thoughts is simply to notice thoughts in general, as mental events that arise and pass away,  almost continually. We saw that we can develop the capacity to be aware of what is happening in our lives, by doing the simple exercise of awareness of the breath entering and leaving the body. However, what we quickly notice is often we are too busy thinking about what is happening, preferring that as a way of relating to life.

Still,  let us persevere. The more we strengthen this,  wider-than-thinking,  capacity for awareness, the more we come to understand that thoughts, assumptions and beliefs are mental events and processes rather than reflections of objective truth. In other words,we begin to see the thoughts as passing through the mind, almost like clouds passing accross a clear blue sky. We begin to realize that thoughts are not as solid as we may think they are. We see them simply as thoughts, not necessarily true reflections of reality, and we do not need to follow them. Nor do we identify with them, but rather we try to create a space around the thought and stay there, observing it in silence and without analyzing it, judging it or interfering in any way.

To do this, we can try a second simple practice. We sit and become aware of our breathing. Then we imagine our mind to be the clear blue sky, spacious and bright. As thoughts come, which they inevitably will, we imagine them as clouds passing through the sky. Some are heavy, some are light, but we identify with the sky, not with the clouds. This is the second step in working with negative thoughts, simply noticing that thoughts arise, touching them lightly as if they are clouds, and letting them go.

We are accustomed to identifying with every large or small thought that comes along. But you can train in identifying as the sky instead. When you do, tremendous confidence arises. You see beyond doubt that you can accommodate it all —sunshine, storms, mist, fog, hail —and never give up.

Susan Piver