Life can feel like a constant up hill struggle. Such a mountain to climb.
And perhaps it’s the constant need to keep on climbing that is where we go wrong.
Do we take much time to stop, take a breather and enjoy the view? When the climb looses its sense of fun, adventure and excitement, its time to take a break. To take stock, kick back, do something that’s for fun to remind you what the journey is all about!
Remember, the journey IS what it’s about. Not the destination. Destinations will come and go as you grow, as your horizons change. We birth and death destinations every day, every moment. So its crucial to enjoy the journey. So be at ease with the present, where you are now.
And that may well mean becoming at ease with disease. At peace with pain, with tension, with sadness. It may bring you to ask, “How the hell can I enjoy this???”
How do I remain in a peaceful state of joy and peaceful acceptance when I have huge anxiety in my solar plexus? How do I enjoy being depressed or sad? How do I enjoy pain in my back or the grief of loss?
But what is the alternative? To deny them only empowers them. To judge and criticise only embolden them. Denying, judging, criticising; they make you identified with the very feeling you wish weren’t there. Statements like “Why am I feeling like this?” or “I wish this would just go away” they simply help create more of the very thing you are trying to be gone with!
So there must be another way.
Welcome to the practice of Mindfulness. You practice being aware that you are always more than just one feeling or sensation. That you are a hundred different things all at the same time. Some of which are painful, uncomfortable. Some which are pleasurable, nice, comforting. And some that are neutral. Neither registering are either ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
So the practice of Mindfulness is the art of awareness. Of widening out that awareness to give you a broader outlook. Yes there may be pain, discomfort etc. But there is also love, pleasant feelings and sensations. Like a horse made to wear blinkers, we tend to hone in on the problem to the detriment of our wider experience. Remember that our consciousness can only process five to seven stimuli at any one time. So if we are focused on that pain its impact on us increases. Like a flash light illuminating in the dark. The rest of our experience gets altered.
So Mindfulness is the recognition of all that we are in each moment and making a conscious choice where we’d prefer to place our focus. Do we want to zoom in and empower a feeling of pain? Or would we prefer to hone in on something that is pleasurable, comforting, joyous or just simply neutral.
Perhaps mastery of Mindfulness is when after recognising and accepting a pain we immediately can let it go from our conscious minds. Does the pain “go away”???? Perhaps it can. Perhaps if we continue to choose in each moment where our focus will be we can permanently live free from pain and suffering.
I am not there yet. But I see the possibilities. I do not in anyway underestimate the power of the human mind. Of mind over matter.
To use an analogy, its like a juggler juggling seven balls. Each representing one piece of any one moments consciousness. He decides which balls to juggle. The one he drops does not disappear. It drops down into the sub-conscious mind. He can choose to pick it up, play with it, examine it, juggle it when ever he so chooses. He is empowered. He is in control of his consciousness.
Okay. So how do I being to master Mindfulness? As the juggler, you CHOOSE how to pay attention. And just because you normally respond to something one way does not mean that you have to respond to it the same way time after time. Some difficult feeling coming to the surface is an invitation. But just like parties, we can’t necessarily go to all of them. If its an important issue that you drop back to your subconscious then have no doubt at all that it will keep resurfacing until it has been dealt with.
BUT. The most important request that any pain or feeling or memory has is just to be loved and accepted. Loving and accepting these difficulties is like bringing fresh vibrant flowers to a friend who is having a rough time. You bring something pleasurable, joyful, fun into her consciousness. She temporarily drop her pain ball as she fits in the flowers ball. Her mood lifts. You would not turn up at her hospital bend with dead, decaying flowers and expect her to be cheered up!!!
So we must learn to choose consciously which balls to juggle and when. Difficult feelings, emotions, memories will come up all the time. By loving them, accepting them and then choosing whether now is the time to juggle with that particular ball, we are empowered to create our reality and to move from pain and suffering to peace and joy.
In this new paradigm, we are able to creatively choose our reality moment by moment. The is what is meant by enlightenment. The ending of suffering.
I hope you enjoyed my first Blog! I hope to write more as the mood takes me!
May all beings find the hearts release.
KarmaKarl.com
Article as published in Kemp Town Rag & The Alternative Guide
Feeling like there is never enough time? That you are always rushing around like a headless chicken with too much to do? Stressing out over the pressures of life? Well, join the club you certainly aren’t alone. Its seems stress and anxiety are becoming so common place in our increasingly fast paced 24/7 world, that you’d be hard pushed to find someone who isn’t suffering with stress and anxiety. It not nice and can feel very overwhelming.
So what to do about it? Well firstly here’s a startling fact to raise your blood pressure still further: Stress and worry is one of the biggest causes of ill health, disease and premature ageing. Its right up there with smoking. Great! Heart attack anyone? Well relax. Take a deep breath. Combating your nerves is not rocket science and a few simple changes can have a profound positive result. Here’s my top five musts for staying cool, calm and collected...
Time Out.
Yes. Nothing beats making sure there is time everyday to chill and relax. And no, that does not mean flopping like a zombie in front of the telly – sorry! Have abath, enjoy some yoga, just lye back and listen to some relaxing music. Go for a walk with nowhere to go or go sit on the beach or on a park bench. Make timeout for yourself an everyday priority. Reset, recharge, ground out and give yourself some well deserved down time and space
Cut out Stims.
If your house is one fire you’re unlikely to go and turn the oven on. So if you are feeling stressed and worried, it would be wise not to add fuel to the fire. Switch to de-caf coffee and tea or go herbal. Swap chocolate for dried dates and apricots. Reduce or better still quit smoking and recreational drugs and watch the alcohol too. It’s a win win. You loose weight, become healthier, get mental clarity, save dosh and help yourself combat stress and anxiety all at the same time.
Supplements.
One of the biggest helps for your nervous system by far is taking high strength Vitamin B Complex. There’s plenty of food containing your B’s like bananas, tuna and marmite. But a supplement will ensure you get all your body needs. You might also consider Valerian fondly described by many as natures answer to Valium,. Taken on its own or combined with Lemon Balm, its highly effective at calming the nerves and helping you get a good nights sleep. Kava Kava, Hops, Tissue salts and Bach Flower remedies such as Vervain, Impatiens and Rescue Remedy are also worth investigating. But don’t take everything all at one or you’ll have no idea what is actually working. Holland Barrett & Neal’s Yard are good places to get advice.
Meditation
Anxiety and stress feed on themselves so some sort of mind training will help you to take control. The single most effective, long term way to rid yourself of all that tension and fear is to practice some kind of meditation. You don’t have to be spiritual to do it. There are plenty of ways to learn (actually its easy to learn the skill - its just practising that’s harder). Sign up to a course, find a teacher or read one of the thousand or so books on the subject! Meditation will change your life.
Hug a tree.
Well, maybe not. But certainly, getting yourself off into real nature regularly is a great way to unwind and de-stress. We are spoilt for gorgeous countryside, all in very easy reach of Brighton. So by car or by bus there is lots to choose from. Nature is the perfect antidote to our hectic and manic city lives. Being in nature regularly helps to ground us and encourages all those troubles and worries drain away leaving you feeling refreshed and peaceful. And yes; go hug a tree. Go on! Give it a try.
Okay. That’s more than enough for you to be getting on with. I guarantee if you were to put this advice into action you’ll be well on the way to feeling more relaxed, more in control of your life and more able to handle the inevitable ups and downs of life. You may also benefit from professional stress & anxiety management and life coaching.
