What are you trying to accomplish today?
Take a breath. Just asking the question tends to rev you up somedays, doesn’t it? The revving up comes either from the anxiety of not knowing the answer or the length of the “to-doing” intended for your day. Or perhaps from being in the midst of a challenging time in your life where getting anything accomplished is the furthest thing from your mind.
Now is a good time to practice the art of Brain Stilling.
This is not “brainstorming.” You already have enough storm activity in your thinking. Stilling the mind, to whatever degree is possible in any moment, has plenty of benefit for your mental, physical, and spiritual health. You know this at the core of your being. And there is plenty of research and your direct experience to confirm the benefit of stilling.
When you get revved up, for tiny or huge reasons, stress chemicals flood through your body.
Your heart beats faster, muscles clench, skin feels hot or sweats, and thoughts race. Before you curse this stress response, reflect for a moment on how useful it was when a predator appeared unexpectedly in your cave and threatened to eat your food and your family.
Back then, your stress chemicals were the greatest thing since sliced bread …. or perhaps fire.
In the 21st century, this glorious response system fires up at the many perceived and real threats you face. And you do face them. Living in a complex society, life became complicated. The mind became busy in response. That’s why it is so helpful to take a breath and put things in perspective.
Compare the perceived and smaller stressors to a predator attacking your cave while you reach for your little spear.
Many mind made dramas and annoyances aren’t so bad. Most stressors you face can be managed well by your inner resources. If you can access them. Your stress response system was designed to be flexible and empower you to rise to meet the challenges in your life. It was meant to serve you beyond the simple fight or flight response by supporting skill development.
Scientists have estimated that you receive 2 million bits of information through your sensory channels each second.
Every single second. They suggest that approximately 134 bits of this information is actually processed on the conscious level. The remaining information gets stored at the subconscious level. Beneath the tip of the iceberg.
All of this data is ignored as it doesn’t match the “programming” of your brain’s search engine.
This “Google” function of your brain is mostly unconscious and works in coordination with the search engine “rules” which were learned (conditioned) as you grew. These rules guide your focus and influence perception and response to your reality. Becoming aware of your unconscious programming – those rules that guide your search engine and allow the 134 bits of information into your awareness – will help you tweak the rules that govern your living.
Brain Stilling also shifts stress chemicals to feel good chemicals that increase comfort, peace, and enjoyment.
Meditators know this experience. When you quiet the outer noise, those unconscious “rules” bubble up to the surface for your review. Once seen, you have the possibility for transformation. The benefit of stilling the mind and nervous system is enhanced when this practice is integrated in your waking moments.
Choosing a minute of stillness multiple times throughout the day has great benefit.
It just feels good to sit still. To stop moving, put down the phone, and step away from the tasks of living. Choosing a beautiful, natural environment encourages this practice. It doesn’t have to be complicated. I often stand in my driveway before leaving for work. Brainstilling: One Minute at a Time.Or sit on my deck and watch the trees dance. I sit in the dark at the end of the day or spend a minute in a parking lot before entering a store.
These minutes of stilling add up to a quieter mind and a calmer nervous system.
Brain stilling and becoming quiet is a dedicated practice. It is so simple that it requires reminders for most people, including me. While there is a benefit of a once a day stilling practice, you’ll get a more sustained effect when you build in minutes (or more) of stillness throughout your day.
It goes without saying that stilling involves silence.
The mind doesn’t quiet, nor does the body, when you’re yapping away. Create some mini space where you won’t be disturbed. Keep your eyes open. Just notice how your body is breathing you. And where your eyes wander. Thoughts will come and go. No need to manage them or prod them with your tiny spear.
Stilling is simple: Breathe in life. Sit still and be quiet. Enjoy the peace.
A silent, stilling practice will enhance your mental awareness and support health within your body, mind, and emotions. It opens a way into exploration of your inner nature and the spiritual path that beckons. In this complex, contentious society, simplicity is useful. Allowing your discovery of what’s below the billion bits of data flowing through the mind.
Discovering that stillness is your essential nature.
Peace be with you and with all. No exceptions.
Stilling the mind allows for creativity to flourish. And good things emerge. Like Fugees Academy which began as a soccer team for refugee boys. Eventually the team expanded to tutoring, a summer camp, and then a small school. Recognizing that refugees are at a disadvantage in our school systems, especially for those age 14 or older, this creative school seeks to empower creativity, individuality, and academic success. Transformation emerges from the quiet, creative mind.
Learn the one essential skill that allows you to face any challenge with confidence, sturdiness, and inner calm.
More than a technique. It’s a game changer.
In September, I’m returning to the Temples of Humankind in Damanhur, Italy. It feels like an understatement to claim that this is a place of power, mystery, and majesty. Yet, I’ve found this to be true for myself and those I’ve met who’ve traveled within the extraordinary to the Temples and the community of Damanhur.
One cool Spring morning, I stepped on the treadmill at the gym looking forward to walking a few miles. Recovering from an injury, I had to walk at a moderate pace so I had brought my copy of What Is Enlightenment? magazine to explore. I always found something to inspire me within this publication focused upon consciousness, culture, and cosmos.
Stress is a natural experience in life. It’s often viewed as a doorway to disruption of wellbeing, peace of mind, and a clear navigational path in a challenging situation.
I’m a bit of a news hound these days. As one who hasn’t watched a newscast in years, I’m surprising myself. Ordinarily, I wait for the news to come to me. And it does. When something is important for me to know or respond to, I hear about it. Kind friends, clients, my husband, or a random stranger share a soundbite which cues me to look into a situation further. I’ve been very comfortable with this level of engagement for years now.
In the midst of our country’s woes, I’ve got Lucinda Williams singing in my head.
“You can’t rule me
you wanna go and tell me what’s good for me
you wanna tell me what I’m payin’ for
Well, the game is fixed, it’s plain to see
I ain’t playin’ no more”
I drove through a hail storm today. It began gently, offering a musical accompaniment to my journey. Intensifying, the hail noisily demanded my attention.
