cultivating calm

In these anxious times, it is a good idea to bring calm into your life. Doing this (or should I say, being this) is simple and perhaps obvious, but a reminder and a path are sometimes called for.

Mindfulness is the first step, bringing your mind into the present. Supporting your body in such a way as to encourage calm is the next.

After that, it is useful to wean yourself away from excitement – the adrenaline fix to which we become, often unwittingly, attached. Excitement takes so many forms, and we are so habitual about going there. We must be deliberate in finding those ways we become hooked.

Anger, for example, is a source of excitement. We are so frequently irritated by things; we use that habit energy to take us in the direction of those things about which we obsess, to the point where they can engage our very sense of self.

Try catching yourself the next time you feel irked by something. Take a few deep breaths and bring yourself into the present, into a place of calm. You may find that there are positive side effects: Calm and insight are quite complementary. The deeper the calm, the greater the potential for insight. Be peace.