Have you ever had that uneasy feeling deep in your gut, below your belly button, and just knew something wasn’t right? I have, many times and because I was thinking it represented something that was out of alignment with what I wanted, I always got the negative result I was expecting. This was a manifestation of Stress.
Is it the same for you? Do you automatically assume it’s
something negative and then start getting stressed out? If we allow ourselves
to view this feeling in a negative light, that’s when worry, anxiety and fear
start taking over – a feeling of dread consumes us and that can lead to Stress
and the related illnesses such as stomach ulcers, migraines, back and joint
pain and so on – or it could lead to more serious conditions such as heart
malfunction and even death.
After learning about the research, the HeartMath Institute
carry out into the Heart Brain Coherence, which they’ve been doing for almost
30 years now, I started to take notice of when the feeling actually appeared,
made itself known and I realised something that has helped me to turn things
around.
That Feeling isn’t negative, nor is it positive, at least
not until we add thought and emotion to it. All it represents is a Change or
Choice we will be faced with. How we react to that, what we choose to do next,
will determine the outcome.
Focusing on Inner Peace is a great choice when it comes to
stress, but how to do that when you’re almost overwhelmed with worry or
anxiety? Based on a Heart Math exercise, I’ve developed what I call the Inner
Peace Meditation. It’s simple, powerful and only takes a few minutes to carry
out and you’ll notice the benefits straight away. I’ll share how it works
shortly and then we can go through it together.
Practicing the Inner Peace Meditation helps us to include
our Heart when we unconsciously go about our daily activities and make our way
through all our choices, emotions and feelings, it imprints it on our Conscious
Memory like a form of Mindfulness. It creates a sort of Flow by helping us to
regulate the balance between our Mind, Emotions and Heart.
Creating that Inner Peace within yourself is like
manifesting a doorway, or portal. that silently appears just when you need it,
bringing you back into your Present, your Now instead of blundering through the
fog of possible futures created by your negative narratives. It helps you view
the situation in a more common-sense way, a gentle reality check if you like,
encouraging you to reflect on a more positive path that’s safer to navigate.
There are 4 parts to the Inner Peace Meditation and the
first part is to:
Acknowledge
When you notice that fear rising up or you’re getting
uptight, frustrated, impatient, anxious, overwhelmed, angry and so on, instead
of rushing headlong into a unconscious reactive way and allowing your Worry or
Fear story to take over, take a mental step back and acknowledge what it really
is – that it’s nothing more than a possibility and you can choose how that will
turn out.
The next part is:
Heart Breathing
Here you close your eyes, if safe to do so, and focus your
attention on your heart, simply touching your heart/chest area lightly with
your fingers will be enough for your Mind to focus on that area. If you’re
sitting or lying down, it would be best to keep your legs/ankles uncrossed as
that only creates a second focal point and would be a distraction.
Once you are focusing on your heart area, imagine you’re
breathing in and out through your heart and breathe a little deeper and slower
than you would normally. For example, you could breathe in and hold your breath
for a count of five before gently breathing out again. 3 deeper breaths is
enough before returning to breathing normally.
Part Three is:
Add Emotion
As you continue to imagine you’re breathing in and out of
your heart, imagine you’re filing your heart with a feeling of Peace. If you’re
not sure how to do that, it may help if you can recall a time when you were
feeling wonderfully calm and relaxed, feeling that all was right with the world
and you felt secure and safe and recreate that feeling. In this way you are
breathing in Inner Peace with each breath and infusing yourself with a sense of
complete Well-Being.
Finally, part four is
Affirmation
Once you notice that you’re a lot calmer and more at peace
within yourself, fill your heart with gratitude mentally express your heartfelt
thanks and affirm that this state of Inner Peace is now anchored within your
heart and will be with you throughout your day as you carry on with whatever
your routine is.
This simple, but powerful meditation only takes about 3
minutes and can greatly help with reducing the amount of stress that we may
have to deal with on a daily basis.
Until next time, Namaste
Jerry Sadler-Scott
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