We all seem to be striving for that future state of happiness. We work long hours so we can have our dream homes, dream cars, go on dream vacations and ultimately experience our dream retirements.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t strive for these things. They have their place and each has it’s own value. I know when I’ve achieved something noteworthy, like buying a new house or having the kitchen remodeled, I feel pretty good about it and also gain a feeling of happiness from achieving it. It feels good.
What if you could not only experience that happiness for brief periods when you accomplished something you wanted – be it planting a special tree in your yard, finding a particularly comfortable and cool looking pair of shoes, or being promoted – but could also get that feeling for a little while each day? Wouldn’t that make life a little better, a little more worth living?
Sounds good doesn’t it? Imagine yourself feeling happy: no worries, no concerns, no outside pressures. That state of mind when realized, reduces stress levels, helps reduce blood pressure, relaxes the body, fortifies the mind, and strengthens the immune system.
Great, so how do you get there? It’s actually much simpler that you might think. It comes from a state of mind you can easily learn to adopt at different times during the day, and the more often you do it the more you find yourself feeling good for no particular reason. The key is to ‘let’ yourself experience it and to do this, all you do is let go of your worries and concerns for a few moments. It’s called mindfulness.
One way to to experience this state is simply by closing your eyes and focusing completely on the sounds in your environment. By this I mean the sounds, not what makes the sounds. When your mind runs off thinking about what the sound means, let go of that and just listen for other sounds. Focus on the direction of the sound, it’s pitch, it’s volume, while at the same time listening for other sounds.
Using your focus in this way for 5 minutes can give you an incredible sense of well being. This is what practicing tai chi does for you and it’s one of the reasons why people become addicted to it. On top of feeling better on an emotional level because of that state of mindfulness tai chi cultivates, it also strengthens the body in a multitude of ways.
So whether you’re interested in tai chi or not, find something you can focus on completely, several times during the day. The simplest way to do this is to focus on one of your senses completely without analyzing any of what you experience. The brief sense of well being you experience will make the rest of your life seem even more worthwhile. The good times and the not so good times will take on more meaning when your stress levels are lower and you can keep things in perspective.
Oh and one more thing. When we’re not stressed out we tend to make better decisions, leading to even lower stress levels. Your thoughts?
John
P.S. I found this pic here: http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/3d__and__animation/sound_and_vision
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Sheldon (75 comments)
713 days ago
Hi John,
yes I agree we are all too stressed, so relax!
Concern, anger, frustration are concepts, states of mind, outside of your mind they don’t exist in nature.
So relax, relax, relax… Sung is the chinese term, go with the flow is another popular expression that applies.
I don’t mean to not care or be aloof, but with a clam mind we can look at the situation without the encumbrance of emotion, and solve it… so simile… it makes others wonder what you are up to. LOL
Is that Taichi John?
John Crewdson (479 comments)
712 days ago
Sheldon,
I think you nailed it.
John