Q: When the world is out of sorts, when we as individuals feel out of sorts, what is the fastest way to recalibrate?
Start by reattuning the body to nature’s rhythms. Wake up with the sun. Spend time outside. Spend time in contemplation. Once darkness falls, sleep when the body is tired.
This includes participating in nature’s cycle of renewal, of reawakening, regrowth. Plant any kind of seed in the springtime, tend it, and watch it grow through the seasons, until winter brings dormancy again.
Limit the time spent in front of backlit screens to a minimum. Even to go so far as to read by candlelight. Not because this is an attempt to rewind the clock to some previous nostalgic age, but because fire is elemental. It brings a feeling of safety and gathering round. Just as bird songs convey to the body that all is safe, one need not fear. Candlelight also stimulates a deep subconscious sense of greater connection to the All That Is. It also removes the hum of the electrical flow through the wires, so that the body can experience true quiet and rest. Even though most are not consciously able to hear the sounds emitted from electrical devices, they nevertheless emit sound.
Q: What’s causing this period of chaos?
There are many causes, but the basic truth is that this is just another cycle—one that you happen not to like. The more helpful question to ask is: “I want to experience greater joy in my life and develop a habit of presence. Re-tuning into my environment. Becoming more aware. Feeling more whole. What steps would help me achieve that?”
The quest to be on is: How can I make where I am, and who I am, as good as I possibly can? Because I understand that is all I have control over.
Q: I feel like I know the steps that need to be made on that quest. Why is it so hard to take them?
Because there are no immediate rewards. It is a cumulative strengthening that happens. And because we’re trained to seek and look for immediate results, because patience is thin, frustration quickly arises. So the best of intentions get left by the side of the road. It should not be a to-do list or a self-improvement program. It must be a way of life for the rest of your life. Short of that, don’t waste your time.
Q: Meditation is one of the key steps, I know. But what exactly is it that makes meditation so beneficial? What is happening that makes it such a powerful experience?
It allows the mind to quiet, which allows other centers of the being to experience connection with the root source. To be able to hear the hum of the universe. It is like being put through a spiritual car wash. No matter how dirty the car is when it enters, when it exits, it’s completely clean once again.
There are numerous benefits, but that is the largest one.
Q: So, it’s the idea of shutting down thoughts that makes it such a powerful experience?
No. This is the mistake that is commonly made. It has nothing to do with thoughts or no thoughts. It has to do with turning inward, and whether there are thoughts or no thoughts doesn’t matter, because that is not the focus. The focus is the inward movement to connect with the All That Is..
Q: What do you mean by going inward?
Tell me where you are right now in your body. Where are you?
Q: In my head, I guess.
True. Now drop out of your head into your solar plexus. Move the awareness from the eyes and the center of the forehead and place it in the solar plexus, and breathe energy into the solar plexus. Where is the awareness now?
Q: It’s more in my heart now.
True. How long did that take?
Q: 30 seconds
Exactly. This is in and down, and out and up. It is that fast. But people fight with their minds and think it’s about the mind and thoughts. Think of your thoughts as like trees in the yard. You don’t need to do anything with them. You can engage with them. You can cut them down. You can grow them back up. You can change their variety. But there is so much else outside that one can be focused on.
Release the attachments to thought—that thought equals being alive, thought equals sanity, thought equals being smart, thought equals accomplishment. And so on and so on. The truth is thought equals thought. Period. Do not give it greater value or place attachments. Just like the trees in the yard do not define you, thoughts do not define you. But so many make the mistake of attaching value and emotion to thoughts.
Leave them alone, and they will begin to leave you alone. They are not the enemy, so don’t fight with them.
Related Posts: