….
Alan Watts speaks of human game (of the individuality)… where he states much of our anxiety is our temporal interpretation of a “universe at play”.
…. your purpose young being is..
in not in your end,
it is not in your beginning.
anxiety is a meter of end points
,
sing your song
not the note
before the first
after the last
—Chris
….
Viewing life as a time line is a very handy thing to do. it allows us to predict, and find casualty of events in our modern life.
It is the core our modern thinking, with such as topics as “progress” and cause-effect science. we have grown up with this thinking: refined in our educational institutions.
However the past and future concern can take us away from our “here and now” being…. creating anxiety.
our most un-anxious being… is our spontaneous being where we are not concern with our time lines.
1. start with a good sized inhale.
2. Exhale and count out “5..4..3..2..1..0″
Count whispering while exhaling
I Don’t worry about how fast I’m Breathing & Counting at first..it ok to start off fast.
If I cant count from 5 to 0, nonbig deal start with [4 to 0] or [3 to 0]
3. Inhale through the nose
4. Exhale “5..4..3..2..1..0″ Just as no 2.
5. continue to step 3 and 4 :
I slow down my counting with each exhale
5…4…3….2….1…0
5…..4…..3……2…..1……0 slower and slower each exhale.
6. I do this for about 3 to 5 minutes or so
7. (optional) inhale, then exhale an whisper “I’m Safe” .
Exhale and “I’m Safe” replaces the counting.
“I’m Safe“ is a bit of self talk, particularly if one is very distressed, just having a panic attack or a feeling enraged, overwelmed, etc.
**
I am not a doctor or health care professional, but I have used breathing exercises for along time. they are a good free and portable stress management plan and tool.
Breathing and Counting is the first Breathing exercise I have learned.( from a Mental Health Nurse).
Its best to practice this exercise daily, good for stress management, Mental Wellness Management. and to have it ready when feeling particular distress.
Many people, especially mental wellness managers, are more prone to feeling very distressed. These intense distressed periods may manifest them selves in:
Panic Episodes (aka “Panic attacks” – I used to suffer from these)
Angry outbursts.
Restless or Obsessive or Intrusive thinking, or concentration breakdowns( I still manage this “intrusive thinking” Its less a problem for me than in the past.)
Breathing and Counting is a good tool regain control of our breathing and emotions.
For me,It has been helpful not the fear momentary Intense emotions of a very distressful episode( panic episode or strong feelings), but to allow them to happen through the body and out of the body , while breathing and counting, and reminding myself afterwards that I am safe.
otherwise Breathing and Counting is a good plan health exercise and helpful to calming down clearing the mind.
(video is credited to and post at Youtube by Sunnyisfunny.)
This gives a step by step guide to a meditation very close to Zazen (or Zen Buddhism meditation).
I also like the phrase “witnessing the breath“. While meditating: one does not concentrate or force oneself to be conscious of an anything. Meditation is a witnessing of being. an observation without any judging.
I , during the process of meditating: I witness our posture, body breath…. and then finally…
the active state of being.
*the first step of meditating is sitting comfortable place: It can be a chair or in a floor in a preferred leg position.
When sitting it is important to be in a relaxed and confident body posture. I am very conscious of my back and neck posture. Sit and witness the posture.
* the second is the breath.
I do ,at the beginning of this step,st consciously breath below the diaphragm and count each breath backwards from 10 to zero. This is done in Zazen meditation, contrary to this video,… its not necessary, its an aid.
The important thing is to witness the breath. let go of the chattering mind, questions of why… or judgement on how… or how I am breathing.
The chatter of the mind can be quit persistent. and When I witness my chattering thoughts I simply return to the breath.
Stopping here can be a good meditation. simply witnessing the breath and letting go of thought is good for stress relief and clearing the head.
but I go further.
the third step is just being.
witnessing our posture/body senses in and outside/breath/surroundings as one active state. witnessing just being.
This can be difficult at first. When meditating is a new experience: the body tenses up. one might witness some aches and pains, also so some anxiety or emotions.. sometimes after meditation thinking seems to speed up temporarily. This can be overwhelming until one gets used to meditating.
It is amazing how something so simple as meditating can be difficult… at least first.
In my humble opinion meditation is requires discipline and repetition. the process of learning good meditation is something to witness!
Breathing is the center of our being and wellness… Quietly simply put: If you stop breathing you wont live very long.
Breathing is a important part of our metabolizing ,our Nervous system and our bodies “Fight or flight” anxiety response.
Thus the process of breathing directly impacts the process of thinking, as well as most other bodily process. I think therefore I am? well I breathe therefore I am
A simple exercise:
remembering not to worry about how fast one counts:
remembering not to worry if misses a count.
exhale 4-3-2-1-0, Inhale 1-2-3, continue to repeat.
after a couple minutes slow down the counting.
end whenever one wishes, but give it about 5 minutes.
This simple breathing exercise can be helpful in an anxious moment; for momentary stress management, or focusing ones thoughts when they feel momentarily “scatter brain”
I learned this simple wellness tool in a doctors office Years ago. I was feeling the symptoms of BiPolar Disorder I: in this case anxiousness and the intrusive inability to focus my thinking. I was not able to even speak clearly, that day. A mental Health nurse taught me the simple breathing exercise above .
We did it together and I was able to focus my mind for a period of time.
Breathing exercise are not only a helpful form of stress management, They are a free and complete portable tool… one can even do them in a crowded room with no one noticing.
~
Today my experiences with Breathing Exercise has greatly helped me what understand meditation is. (and what it is not)
In my case today I use Zazen (zen meditation) and Mindful meditation primarily.
breathing exercise and meditation are not just for consciousness, they a great help for over all mindful and physical well being.
Waiting for the sun to rise
on a brand new day
The dusk that closed the day before
Seemed so far away.
I found myself at a point where i can see a bright future, where I can pick up and move forward. Further my education and move on. I always have hope of “now”. But for once I was looking forward. The hope of being an impact.
Every morning opens with
With hopeful new day shine
But the Darkness of the day before
is never far behind.
Then I remembered. I been at this point before. I’ve done this before. At the cusp of moving forward with my life… I fell down. repeatedly. And I am haunted mistakes that will never go away. i can’t change the past.
The new day would be blinded by
The hope of rays that are cast
life is shaped with out lines
with dark colors of our past
But I’m realizing that repeating past mistakes only comes…
with not recognizing past mistakes.
Wisdom come “with falling down” in our past. The past does not have to be an obstacle. Successes and failures that we perceive make us who we are. Our experiences let us handle our decisions. They shouldn’t hamper our decision making.
I am going to Start taking more classes again. And set the goal of obtaining a bachelors degree in the Future.
This post will be my reminder.
Catastrophizing—expecting or concluding only the worst possible outcome.
We often catastophize are circumstances present, past and future.
However,
Bad Things are usually never as terrible as they seem. Our defenses often overplay and distort circumstances that scare us.
*Catastrophizing is a form of thinking where one leaps to the worsed possible out come..
examples….
“My son is out driving and he is two hours late… my God he has been in a accident.”
“I made a mistake at work… I’m gonna lose my job”
“if this party doesn’t go perfectly… my relatives will hate me.”
~
The first step in reducing catastrophic thinking is awareness. writing thoughts down in journals.
working through this kind of thinking error takes time. One way is to right down the possible out comes.
“My son is out driving and he is two hours late…possibly Because :
He was in a accident.
He lost track of the time
He is stuck in traffic.
which is more likely? This is a rational approach.
Also we must find ways to express our emotions about the possible outcomes. create a dialog between the our thoughts and feelings.
” I feel afraid and powerless over the possibility of my son being in an accident.”
The more aware we are of our thinking process :the more we are able to control the useful tool..
….and intergrate it peacefully with the rest of our being.
you breathed