TAKE TWO ASPRIN AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

To a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile who’s been under considerable stress:

For five minutes, once a day, for three weeks – take your mind offline as follows:

[If you can’t sit comfortably on the floor, sit in a chair. The physical part of this Rx is to eventually be able to readily get up and down off the floor!]

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Optional: use a meditation app if it helps you focus. I like “Insight Timer”. I suggest something you can synchronize your breath to.

Sit comfortably. Close your eyes almost all the way.

Breathe “manually” into your stomach: expand your stomach as you inhale; contract it as you exhale. “Navel away on the inhalation. Navel back on the exhalation.”

Focus 100% of your attention on the mechanics of breathing. Observe the sensations. Try not to hear words of judgement or analysis in your head. Literally just enjoy witnessing your body breathe.

The long-term goal is to be able to sit upright comfortably while breathing rhythmically and subtly (i.e., quieting our physical bits in preparation to still our mental bits).

I recommend a pre and post flight system check: scan your self (again, without words) observing your physical, mental and emotional states. Did anything change between check-ins?

Mechanically, you’re distracting the typically noisy, thinking conscious part of your mind, and settling into your quieter, deeper, calmer, otherwise sub-conscious mind – thereby taking it “offline”.

Learn to give yourself, specifically your busy tired mind, a chance to rest, restore, recharge, and refresh – at will!

As an added bonus, each time you do, you draw a little closer to nirvana: the source of that sense of calm stillness, your awareness itself.

Hugs, Skip