DEBORAH CROMBIE: I suspect that many of us these days find ourselves in a fairly constant state of stress and anxiety, with the daily firehose of distressing news. I know I keep realizing that my shoulders are up to my ears and I have to remind myself to take deep breaths. None of this is very healthy, or good for productivity!
In search of a coping mechanism, I've turned to my old transcendental meditation practice. And I do mean OLD. I took the TM course with my parents back in the mid seventies. TM was very much in the news in those days, with the Beatles and other luminaries having visited the Maharishi's ashram in India a few years before. (Photo of the Maharishi courtesy of Wikipedia.)
This course was, of course, my mother's idea. My mom was quite the hippy in her day, an adopter of meditation and health food--she was a big believer even then in what we now refer to as a Mediterranean diet. She was always worried about my dad's health (he lived to be 96) so I'm sure that was her motivation. TM is reputed to have a lot of benefits, including lowering blood pressure and relieving stress. It's also supposed to improve concentration, something I needed then, when I was finishing my college degree, and I could certainly use now.
It's not hard. You sit quietly in a chair for twenty minutes twice a day, while repeating the "mantra" given to you by your TM teacher. (Don't quote me, but I think the repetition of any word works.) I've been managing twenty minutes at least once a day, and trying for twice. It really does help.
Dear REDs and readers, what do you do to find moments of calm in a sea of worry?
Here's a lovely little treat to help you relax, which I came across in my college newsletter, the Austin College a capella choir singing a piece called "Northern Lights." And I will shamefacedly admit that I listened to a minute and then almost scrolled on, because "I didn't have time." But I made myself slow down, relax, and listen to the whole piece, and I was so glad I did. I swear my blood pressure dropped in that five minutes!
Quiet, gentle music is always calming [as is NOT listening to the news] . . . . and the choir piece is lovely . . . .
ReplyDeleteLike you, my Mom was an early believer in Mediterranean diets. I grew up knowing it was a given that we would always have salad at the dinner table. However my Dad loved red meat so my Mom often included beef or meat for dinner.
ReplyDeleteQuestion about TM - was that the philosophy that Louisa May Alcott’s Father believed in?
Thinking about what keeps me calm. No glancing at the news until after I have a cuppa tea or coffee and something to eat. Remember to take deep breath. Do some stretches and other types of light exercises when I wake up. Mindfulness is another way to keep calm by focusing on what I am doing at the moment.
Great topic and I look forward to reading others comment.
Fear not, my friends, this will not be a 50000 wd essay on meditation. I am a daily meditator, BUT many years ago I learned the 'multitask' meditation technique. In a sense meditation is a practice that teaches the mind to become disciplined. So 20 mins a day does not have to be 20 continuous minutes. Brushing your teeth? Do it with awareness, Washing dishes? (my favorite) do it with awareness, driving in traffic and the road range is creeping up, breathe through it and think awareness. Be present to the presence. In this beautiful world filled with 8 billion opportunities to see ourselves in others, breathe. After all breathing is the very first thing a human does when they come into this world, and the last thing we do as we transition to somewhere, somewhen or someother place.
ReplyDelete