It takes time to think nothing. This is a restful exercise that teaches you how to clear your mind. It is estimated that people think an average of 13,000 thoughts every day. Unfortunately, most of those thoughts are the same ones they thought the day before.
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| Methods To Calm Down Anger |
Imagine yourself lying on an isolated beach. You are alone and safe. You can feel the warmth of the sunshine on your skin as the cool sea breeze washes over your body, cooling you and making you comfortable. The sound of the sea moving in and out against the sandy shore is like your breath moving gently in and out, in and out. Notice the sky with a few clouds. Imagine, as you sit restfully, that the sky begins to clear, and as it does your mind begins to empty of thoughts. Just as the last clouds reach the horizons, your mind attains clarity and focus.
Abdominal breathing
Sit comfortably with your spine straight. Breathe out completely, then breathe in very slowly and effortlessly through your nose, and at the same time push out your abdomen as though it were a balloon expanding. Move your chest as little as possible. After your abdomen is stretched, expand your chest with air (this fills the middle part of your lungs), then allow your abdomen to pull in slightly and your shoulders and collarbones to rise (this fills the upper lungs).
Hold your breath for about five seconds, then slowly exhale through your nose.
Your own personal oasis
Throughout the ages, the oasis - a small patch of greenery in the middle of a desert - has held a special place in the imagination of travelers, who would dream of its cool waters, swaying palms, and beautiful birds in song. Take a moment to imagine your own personal oasis. Notice whether it has trees, and what type. Have you noticed if there is a well or a pool in the center? What other features can you imagine? Colors, shapes, sounds, scents ...
"So-hum"
"So-hum" is a yoga method for focusing the mind. It is useful at times of stress and upset. Sit in a chair with your backside to the back of the chair so you are sitting fairly upright. Place your hands in your lap. Either close your eyes or focus them on one of your hands. Breathe easily in and out through your nose. As you breathe in, say silently to yourself, "So," and as you breathe out, say slowly to yourself, "Hum." Try to extend the amount of time the "hum" takes. Some bright kids like to breathe out slowly while thinking to themselves, "One thousand, two thousand, three thousand ..."
Color kaleidoscope
Imagine that the way you are feeling now is a color. Close your eyes and select a color. Notice:
- what shape it is,
- what texture it has,
- if it is hot or cold,
- if it is sharp or soft, and
- if it is close or far away.
Creating happiness
The search for ways to motivate the "Click and Go" generation has led me to consider what creates happiness. For those interested in pursuing this research further, there is a world database of happiness available on the Internet (www.eur.nl/fsw/research/happiness/).
For the "Click and Go's" - with their short attention spans, their focus on immediate outcomes, and reliance on the external - the search for happiness could be a major motivator. But given that the world is a fairly unreliable provider of happiness, the "Click and Go's" reliance on external sources of satisfaction may be problematic. To find out more, you can check out Methods To Calm Down Anger.