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A
free monthly newsletter about living with greater inner peace and happiness and
seeing the splendor in your life instead of what is wrong or lacking. This
newsletter is based on the workshops by Kevin Stacey. For previous issues,
please visit the archives at Forward
this to anyone who you think would benefit from it. If someone forwarded this
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In this issue: 1.
Monthly Article: Quiet the Busy Mind 2.
About the author. 3.
Privacy statement. 4.
Subscription
information. ================================================
1. Quiet the busy mind §
Lessens anxiety. §
Promotes relaxation. §
Aids in digestion. §
Lowers blood pressure. §
Increases concentration and memory. §
Helps you sleep- you know you have a busy
mind if you have trouble sleeping. §
Increases creativity- the busier the mind
is, the less room there is for creative thoughts and solutions to enter.
There are many informal techniques to quiet
the mind. Whenever you totally immerse yourself in an activity and focus only on
the present moment, you are subconsciously quieting your mind. Afterwards, you
may be surprised at how much time has gone by without your noticing. Many people
have an activity or routine that they do periodically in order to relax. If
someone tells me, for example, that gardening relaxes them; I always ask the
person, “What do you think about while you’re gardening?” The answer is,
inevitably, “I don’t think about anything at all. I’m
just focused on the gardening.” BINGO! That’s exactly the goal. Other
examples can include watching TV, cleaning the house, exercising (getting out of
the head and into the body), yoga, cooking, playing an instrument – anything
that takes your total attention.
While these informal techniques are
helpful, you can also utilize more formal techniques such as mediation. When you
meditate, you block off a period of time to do nothing but sit up straight with
your eyes closed and the specific intent to quiet your mind. Below are six simple steps on how to incorporate meditation into your life. 1/ Start off slowly. My goal is to
meditate 4 days a week for 15 minutes a session. From this reasonably small
amount of time you will notice many positive benefits. The interesting paradox
is that the less time we think we have to sit down and mediate, the more likely
we are to be in need of it. 2/ Don’t expect it to be perfect;
be gentle with yourself. The number one reason why people give up on mediation
is they get frustrated and think they are not doing it right. The intention is
the most important element. Try not to place unrealistic expectations on
yourself. 3/ Find a quiet place with no
interruptions. Easier said then done for a lot of us. 4/ Have a focal point for your attention.
It’s imperative that you focus your mind on something other than your thoughts
and mental chatter. There are many options here, and you can be creative and
find the focal point that works best for you. You can visualize a peaceful
place, continually repeat a mantra (a phrase or saying), focus on the process of
your breathing, or listen to something. For those with a spiritual connection,
the focal point could be a prayer. Some say that praying is talking with God,
and meditating is listening to God since He can’t communicate with us through
our own internal chatter, only when we quiet down and make room. My personal
preference is to pay attention to the process of my breathing. I count my
breaths until I reach the number 10, then I restart the numbering. Many times
I’ll catch myself at number 13 or 15, and then I just gently remind myself to
restart. 5/ When thoughts arise, notice the thought
and gently return back to your focal point.
This is the most important aspect of meditating, and the key word here is
gently. Don’t beat yourself up about having a thought or starting to think
about something, that just defeats the purpose by creating more thoughts. A
thought is a thought is a thought. Thoughts are very seductive; it’s easy to
allow them to draw you in and take you down a road where you don’t want to go.
What’s most important with meditation is not the initial thought that enters
your mind, but what you do next. Do you have the self-discipline to get past the
thought and gently return to your focal point? No thought can grow unless you
give it your attention and energy. 6/ Understand that you never stop your
mind; you just notice the thoughts and return. Just like our hearts naturally
beat, our minds naturally think. If all you do for a fifteen-minute period is
just notice and return, that’s great. At least you are not letting anything
snowball. The key is in the returning. Eventually, your thinking becomes more in
the background instead of the foreground, and you pay less attention to it and
don't attach yourself to it.
That’s it! It doesn’t have to be any
more complicated than that, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to be
taught how to do it. If you’re looking for more information, a recommended
book is, “Full Catastrophe Living,” by Jon Kabat-Zinn. He is the founder of
the nation’s first mind-body spirit stress reduction clinic in my hometown of
Worcester, MA. For more information on the book, click the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385303122//ref=sr_1_6_1/102-0667415-6516101 Finally, just remember to do it, and to ask
yourself what it’s costing you if you don’t! ================================================= 2.
Kevin Stacey is a professional speaker/trainer who works with organizations that
want to enhance their bottom line by investing in their most important resource,
their people, through training programs that increase their effectiveness and
eliminate negativity and self-induced problems. He develops and delivers
captivating programs packed with practical information that seminar
participants can immediately put to use. With an extensive background in
clinical healthcare through both civilian and military settings and the managed
care industry, he has developed a variety of training programs and presented to
over 5,000 participants in 26 states and 3 nations. Contact
Information: Trainright, Inc. 43 Kosta St. Worcester, MA 01607 (617) 680-2600 E-mail:
Kevin@KevinStacey.com Web:
www.KevinStacey.com or www.TrainRightInc.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.kevinstacey.com/Programs.htm ================================================= 3.
PRIVACY STATEMENT: Your name or e-mail address will never be distributed, sold,
traded, or rented, to anyone without your permission. ================================================= 4.
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Copyright 2002 Kevin Stacey/TrainRight, Inc. This
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