A Simple Tip for Tranquillity
When you peer in to a lake, if a wind is blowing you will not be able to see your own reflection, or the reflection of the world around you.
The human mind is much like a lake.
When we engage with, and begin to feel strong emotions, it creates waves within the lake of our mind. This means that our perspective of both ourselves and the world around us can become distorted.
A tranquil mind is clear and reflective. It provides us with the opportunity to have an honest view of reality and to use its reflective surface to radiate our positive energy out in to the world. We can move forwards and take action with focus.
Emotions are a response to a stimulus. When a stimulus is perceived by the mind, the biological systems within our bodies take action to elicit a response. They key word here is “perceived”.
Human perception is a tricky beast
We are often not aware that our perception stretches outside of the present moment. This means the human mind can fabricate a very real perception of a stimulus which either occurred in the past or may occur in the future. Examples of this are people feeling regret about some past behaviour, or feeling anxious about a job interview that is coming up in the future.
Humans are experts at learning from the past and strategizing for the future. This is behaviour at the core of the success of our species. It is these very same processes which if left unchecked, can create turbulence in our mind and prevent us taking effective action.
The key is to shift our perception to the present moment.
A Two and a One
One of the simplest ways to do this is with two questions and one deep breath:
- What time is it?
- Where am I?
- And breathe…
Question one: What time is it?
Erm… 16:09. And when is that? Erm… The 10th of February. And when is that? Erm… 2021. And when is that? Erm…
The only logical answer to this question is Now. The time is now.
Question two, where am I?
Erm… In my office. And where is that? Erm… In my house. And where is that? Erm… Huddersfield. And where is that? Erm… The UK. And where is that? … You get the point. If you keep asking the question, eventually your perception will expand to the entire universe; and if you can answer that then please do enlighten me!
The only logical answer to this question is Here. You are here.
Realise: The time is now and you are here.
Take a slow, long deep breath in, feeling the air filling your lungs, pause then breathe out; out noticing the sensation of your chest gently falling under the weight of gravity as the air gently leaves your nose and mouth.
Repeat.
The two questions slice our perception like a razor, and the deep breathing centres our focus to our physical body. A body which exists in the present moment. When our perception shifts, the emotional stimuli of the past and present are removed. The lake in our mind is calmed.
Use this tactic to create tranquillity in your mind and free yourself from the turbulence of false perception.
This is a skill. When you begin to master it, you can learn to use the wind to help you sail faster across the tranquil lake; boosting your progress towards your destination; but more of that to come in a different post.
Enjoy.