Mind Calm (18 page)

1

CONNECTION

MORNING MIND CALM SITTING

OM CONNECTION (Soles of Feet) Calm Thought only

(Recommended duration: 10–15 minutes or longer if you have the time.)

DAYTIME MIND CALM GAME

Reality Check: Tune in to your senses to notice now

DAYTIME PEACE WITH MIND PROTOCOL

Get peace with aspects of your BODY that you don't like

EVENING MIND CALM SITTING

Use all 10 Calm Thoughts

(Recommended duration: 10–15 minutes or longer if you have the time.)

Calm Thought Meaning:
Everything in the cosmos is connected. You are connected to the Earth, the air you breathe, the food you eat, the water you drink, the nature you live within, the people on all corners of this planet and all living organisms both seen and unseen. Connection sits at the heart of consciousness and all existence.

Calm Thought Purpose:
Getting too caught up in your mind causes you to lose connection with the Earth, become imbalanced, feel isolated and be less effective in the world. Being less engaged in the mind often leads to an awakening to the intricate interconnectedness of everything and everyone in the universe that, when known and experienced, radically transforms your relationship with your Self and life itself.

Calm Thought Focus:
Feeling your feet is a very simple way of drawing your attention downwards to be less in your mind and more grounded. Using OM CONNECTION while focusing on the ‘Soles of your Feet' helps you connect with Mother Earth's healing and transformative powers. You find that you begin to really appreciate the beauty of the physical world and your connection to it. This is also a great Calm Thought to start any Calm Sitting, as it gets you out of your busy head and into body awareness, and acts as a great way of connecting to the meditation you are about to do.

The more you are in the moment the less you are in your mind and the quieter it naturally becomes. Furthermore, as you become actively aware of what is happening now, you experience the still silent fragrance of what your awareness is like. This Reality Check involves taking your attention to your senses to fully see, feel, hear, smell and taste whatever is occurring right now. For this game, there are the full instructions and also a quick-start version if you are on the move and don't want to explore sensory awakening in detail, but still want to get some super cool and calming results.

Visual:
Notice an object that is currently in your field of vision that you were unaware of previously.

Audio:
Notice a sound that is currently occurring in your proximity that you were unaware of previously.

Touch:
Notice something that you are physically touching that you were unaware of previously.

Becoming attentive to these new visual, auditory and kinaesthetic things in your immediate environment can cause your mind to become calm.

Notice what you can see:
Only look, without labelling. Look at the colours. Look at the shapes. Look at the textures.
Notice the light. Look at the distance between objects. Be aware of the space. Focus on individual objects, noticing things about them that you may have missed previously.

Notice what you feel:
Now notice all that you are touching. Notice your clothes, the ground and the chair, if you are sitting on one. Feel the air dancing all around you. Feel the temperature. Notice how it feels to breathe. Feel life inside and around you. Just feel.

Now listen to the sounds:
Tune in. Avoid labelling or judging. Just listen. Be super-stereo, tuning into sounds that you may have been missing previously. Are there birds or traffic in the distance? Is there a ticking clock? Or can you hear the sound of the air travelling up and down your nostrils? Tune in and listen as if the volume has been turned all the way up.

Now notice the smells:
Take your attention to your nose by feeling the air as it enters your nostrils. Simply being fully aware of the air moving in and out of your nose can be an extremely enjoyable experience if you are fully attentive and involved in each breath. While you are at it, focus fully on what you can smell right now. Is the smell sharp or dull, high or low, sweet or sour? Take your attention to your nose and notice how your mind becomes clearer when you do so.

Now notice the tastes:
Void of food, what tastes are already present within your mouth? Also play with sensory awakening with different foods and drinks. Totally tune in to your taste buds, the textures of the food and, of course, how it tastes. What it is like to hold the liquid temporarily in your mouth before you swallow? How does the food
feel between your teeth as you chew? The simplest foods and drinks can be the most delicious experience if you eat consciously.

By filling your attention with your senses you leave less attention for the thinking mind. Naturally you think less and become more fulfilled with whatever you are seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting.

Use the Peace with Mind Protocol to heal your relationship with aspects of your body, including:

• Shape
  
• Weight
  
• Flaws
  
• Illness(es)
  
• Food
  
• Habits
  
• Fitness
  
• Energy levels
  

Using the above list for inspiration, consider what you currently perceive to be a problem relating to your body. Then use the Peace with Mind Protocol to get peace with the thoughts and emotions that you are having about a specific issue relating to your body.

State the problem that you want to heal your relationship with today.

Be here now by tuning in and noticing that this moment is happening.

Temporarily engage the story in your mind about the problem.

Notice the ‘special thought'
you are resisting and where you feel it in your body.

Let the ‘special thought' and feeling be present within you with no resistance.

Play with ‘seeing it, not being it' during a Calm Sitting.

For example, you might notice that you regularly resist the shape of your body. To use the protocol, consider what it is about the shape of your body that you don't like. Your first thought might be:
I'm fat
or
I'm too big
or
I'm too skinny
. Once you are clear on the special thought, notice where you feel it in your body. Then progress to the ‘Bring It On' part of the protocol by letting the thought and emotion be present within you.

Doing so will reduce your mind's resistance to it and the emotion will subside accordingly, making the thought less personal. By all means, at this point, continue to do whatever you can to lose or gain weight if it is healthier to do so, but you will be more at peace with your current body shape while you go about making whatever changes you desire.

2

POWER

MORNING MIND CALM SITTING

OM POWER (Base of Spine) Calm Thought only

(Recommended duration: 10–15 minutes or longer if you have the time.)

DAYTIME MIND CALM GAME

Noticing Now Space: See the context of still silent space

DAYTIME PEACE WITH MIND PROTOCOL

Get peace with your POTENTIAL to succeed

EVENING MIND CALM SITTING

Use all 10 Calm Thoughts

(Recommended duration: 10–15 minutes or longer if you have the time.)

Calm Thought Meaning:
You are much more powerful than you may think. Living within you now exists the same power that moves the oceans, grows the forests and transports the planets. It is the driving force that gives birth to everything in creation.

Calm Thought Purpose:
Identifying too strongly with your mind by believing all of its opinions about your capabilities, how confident you are and how impactful you can be, often leads to feelings of powerlessness or actions driven by ego-based ruthlessness. Depending on your beliefs, on one end of the power spectrum, you can end up timid, scared of engaging life fully, hide away and never live the purpose for which you were born. At the other end of the power spectrum, you can end up headstrong, driven by fear (although you wouldn't want to admit it!), end up forever forcing your will and pursue your best interests without concern for the impact on others or the world you live in. Somewhere in between these two points is a balanced power, based in love and the joy of exploration through creation.

Calm Thought Focus:
Using OM POWER with your focus point at the ‘Base of your Spine', can help you to find the inner source of all power and then use it wisely for the benefit of yourself, all of humanity and the world you live in.

As you are reading this I am going to assume you have a page in front of you, either printed or on a reading device. I want you to keep looking at the page as you notice your left shoulder. To notice it you don't need to look at it or move it, just tune in and notice your left shoulder. OK? Easy? Perfect.

Let's continue.?Now notice your right foot. Again, keep looking ahead at the page as you notice your right foot. You can keep reading. You don't need to wiggle your toes or anything like that. You can simply take your attention to your right foot and notice it now. OK? Still easy? Great. Let's continue.

Now, without trying to figure out what I'm asking you to do, I want you to notice the space between you and this page. Just do that now. You don't have to look around between you and the page, just keep looking ahead and simply notice that the space exists. It's been there the entire time; all you are doing is noticing that it is there as you continue to keep your gaze on the page. Still easy? OK, let's continue playing.

Now I want you to notice the space around the page. Don't look directly around the page; keep looking directly ahead as you notice this space. Notice the space around the page for a few moments before continuing. You are doing great.

Now I want you to notice
the space in the entire room. Like a switch in your awareness, let your attention notice the space in the entire room. As you do that, I want you to notice what it's like to do this.

What's your inner experience as you notice the space in the entire room? Remember, keep your gaze forward and don't look around the room trying to find or see the space. Trust me, it is there. All I want you to do is notice the space in the room. As you continue to do this, what word or words could you use to describe your inner experience, as you notice the space now?

I've asked literally hundreds of people to do this. Common answers include ‘calm', ‘peaceful', ‘still', ‘open', ‘expansive', ‘light', ‘comforting', ‘home' and ‘freeing'. As you notice the space in the entire room, what word(s) could you use to describe what it's like to notice the space? Don't stop noticing the space to try to describe it as that will start you thinking and stop you experiencing. Just notice and trust your first words.

Let's continue. Now I want you to notice that this moment is happening. That you are sitting where you are, reading this word. Observing this word being read. And now this word. Simply notice that this moment is happening. What's it like to notice quietly? To do nothing except gently watch this moment occurring. What words could you use to describe your inner experience as you do this? Common words used to describe this are ‘calm', ‘peaceful', ‘quiet', ‘still', ‘spacious', ‘open' and ‘free'.

Using this marvellous Mind Calm Game you can begin to cultivate context awareness, which is very similar to conscious awareness.

Use the Peace with Mind Protocol to heal your relationship with your power and potential, including:

• Ability to succeed
  
• Fear of failure
  
• Out-of-reach goals
  
• Making changes
  
• Taking actions
  
• Personal limitations
  
• Confidence
  
• Self-esteem
  

Using the above list as inspiration, consider what you currently perceive to be a problem relating to your power and potential. Now use the Peace with Mind Protocol to get peace with the thoughts and emotions that you have about a specific issue relating to your potential to succeed.