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Take
Leave of Your Mind
by Lorane Gordon |
In order to be mindful, leave your mind out of
it!
What does being mindful really mean? It’s
about being aware; aware of everything that is going on
within and without. When we’re mindful we experience
the color of the sky, the green of the grass. We really
see the blossoming of nature and smell the fragrance in
the air. We feel the essence of another and see their
soul within their eyes. We recognize that we’re part
of the life energy that is all around us and within all
things. This understanding brings about a feeling of
quiet joy, a feeling of reverence, a feeling of peace.
This is bliss consciousness, and it can be yours!
Let me explain. Our mind has over 60,000 thoughts a
day. Each and every day! Imagine the amount of words it
takes to simply form that many thoughts. More than 95%
of those thoughts are nothing more than repetition.
Think about it. Have you ever noticed that when you’re
trying to solve a problem you just keep repeating
yourself? In the course of the day we are constantly
saying the same things to ourselves, over and over
again. When your mind is full of noise you don’t have
enough silence to hear what is being said let alone come
up with a solution to a problem. In order to be mindful,
we have to first quiet the mind.
When your mind becomes quiet you are aware of a deep
feeling of peace. Yes, there is peace down there,
somewhere under those 60,000 thoughts. When your mind is
that busy it’s pretty difficult to come up with the
solution for a problem. How about trying to create
something? That is, if you even feel like being
creative. Imagine the creative urge trying to get
through the traffic jam of thoughts in your mind?
Again, once your mind has quieted down, you discover
a sense of peace. Now you can hear the messages of your
inner self and become aware of your true feelings.
Perhaps for the first time in our lives we begin to know
who we really are. If, like so many of us, you feel that
your life is all right, yet you suspect that
something is missing, it’s most likely because you
aren’t paying enough attention to yourself to even
recognize your own needs. If you don’t know what you
need how can you possibly satisfy yourself? Before you
can get to this place of knowing yourself, you have to
quiet your mind.
There are many ways to quiet our minds, and they all
begin with awareness. For example, are you aware of the
constant chattering in you head? That non-stop yacking
is so much a part of our lives that we don’t even
recognize it. It’s like a background noise that
annoyed you at first, but then you became accustomed to
it. Can you imagine the relief you’ll have once you
quiet that down?
So how do you quiet your mind? The first thing to do
is develop a relationship with the Observer. The
Observer, or as some people refer to it, the Witness,
is simply an impartial reporter. That’s it! This means
that it doesn’t tell you you’re doing it wrong. It
won’t tell you to do something better, or differently.
Nor will it tell you not to feel something, or even to
feel something else. The Observer will simply
tell you what is going on. But, you have to learn
to hear this voice. Believe me, that voice is
always here; but the mind can be so noisy with the
obsessive chatter that most of the time we don’t hear
what it has to say.
To start, make a conscious intention to listen to
your Observer. You will then begin to hear what
you are saying to yourself. Notice how that makes you
feel. Recognize how often you project yourself into an
imaginary future and see how often you go into the past
with feelings of regret or remorse. You will notice how
you keep yourself separate from others by judging them.
You will know when you’re feeling frightened, sad or
dissatisfied. Can you see how these thoughts keep you
from being happy, or even content? Believe it. All of
these things are constantly going on, only our minds are
so busy we don’t have the time to recognize them!
Notice how often we are in judgement. When we see
ourselves judging, it’s good to stop for a moment and
notice how it separates us from others. Each time we
"size someone up" (judge a person), we deprive
ourselves of the opportunity to see or feel who that
person really is. By judging people, we presume to know
who they are. But we don’t. We can’t know the
spirit of a person if we are busy judging them. Now take
a breath and let your guard down. It’s our Guard
that needs to do so much judging anyway. This brings us
to another topic.
FEAR. Why do we need a Guard if we aren’t afraid?
Don’t go thinking about this too much, because the
answers to questions like this won’t bring you into
mindfulness any more than projecting into the future or
living in the past -- or any of the other mental games
we play. The idea is to notice when we’re feeling
fearful. Once we’re aware of the fear, we
automatically begin to render powerless the very thing
that we’ve have been afraid of. NOW we no longer need
the Guard. When we aren’t guarded we become available
to ourselves -- and to others -- as the Being we
really are.
Our mind's habitual tendency is to project itself
into the future. A future imagined as either better or
worse. It goes into the past to reminisce about the way
things used to be, often regretting that things have
changed, or wishing we would have done it differently.
It makes unconscious decisions today based upon events
of the past. It constantly judges and compares
everything around us, people, situations and events. It
even judges us against ourselves. All of these thoughts
bring you out of the present moment and keep you from
living your life NOW. When we are truly present we aren’t
thinking, we’re being.
Now, what do we do about this? When the observer
tells us that we’re projecting into the future, the
mere act of observing is enough to bring ourselves back
into a state of mindfulness, or present moment
awareness. Once aware that we’ve been in judgement
we suddenly find we have the space to recognize what we’ve
been doing and redirect our attention into the present
moment. Observe yourself feeling fear. This alone will
allow you to "dissidentify" enough to lessen
the fearful feelings. Remember, the Observer is
the key. The act of observing will, by itself, bring
about a dramatic shift in your life.
Now that our Observer has let us know we aren’t
present, what do we do? Take a breath! It sounds
so simple, so trite. Yet it is simple. That’s the true
beauty of it! Just take a breath, but not the way we
usually breathe. Most of us have forgotten how to
breathe properly. Watch a baby breathe. The baby’s
belly rises on the in-breath and falls on the
out-breath. Now notice yourself take a deep breath. It’s
just the opposite. On the in-breath most people suck in
their diaphragm and puff out their chest. On the
out-breath they allow their belly to fall forward. Try
this. Take a deep "belly" breath and bring the
air in through your nose and down into the bottom of
your lungs. Allow your belly to balloon out. Now exhale
through your nose and slightly contract your belly. This
will get rid of the stale air in your lungs and make
room for another clean breath. Now, do it again. Just
take a breath. The oxygen alone is enough to help you
feel calmer. The mystics know that breath is spirit.
Remember the old saying, "Take a deep breath and
count to 10." It really does work -- but first we
want to "re-learn" how to breathe. We want to
learn to breathe consciously.
Okay, now you are beginning to hear your Observer.
What if it tells you that you aren’t present?
This is what you do:
- Simply acknowledge what is happening and say to
yourself, "Yes, I’m not present." Don’t
fight it, just acknowledge it and except it. Once you
realize that you aren’t present, you are present!
- Take a deep belly breath, and then take another. Now
another. This gives you the space to become centered and
in touch with your essence. At this point any action you
take will now come from a place of presence.
The question you might be asking yourself is,
"Why do I want to be mindful? What am I
missing?" Look back. Can you remember a time when
one of your children was trying to tell you something,
something that you now realize meant a lot to them, but
you were too busy to really hear their message? How
about a time when your mate -- or your ex-mate -- was
telling you something that in retrospect, appears
crystal clear. Again you weren’t present enough at the
time to hear the essence of what they were saying and
therefore really be there for them in the way
they needed you. Or how about those old "woulda,
coulda, shoulda" thoughts? Had you really been
present during those times, you might have seen that
which is so obvious to you now -- and taken a different
kind of action.
It’s not too late. As a matter of fact, the best
time is NOW! Learn to be right here, right now. I can
promise that you will notice more beauty then you ever
thought possible. You’ll love more freely and receive
more love in return. You’ll feel closer and be more
comfortable in your relationships. When you’re with
your friends and loved ones you will truly be with
them. Those goals that have seemed so elusive may
suddenly manifest. The miracles have been here all
along, but you haven’t been. When you’re not present
you’re not able to see the gifts that are all around
you.
Make it a practice to check in with yourself daily.
At first just do this three times a day. At those times
simply ask, "What is going on with me right
now?" The answers will surprise you. You will
become aware of that critical voice inside. The one that
strips you of your enthusiasm and convinces you that you
just aren’t good enough. Once you begin to notice that
voice, you will free up enormous amounts of energy. How
does this happen? It happens simply through the act of observing.
There is nothing to do but observe. Once you
become aware of this, you will be amazed at how quickly
that voice quiets down and eventually stops.
The healing has begun. The simple act of noticing
creates the magic. We notice when we are feeling
fear, which allows us to feel less fearful. We notice
ourselves judging, hence we feel more loving and
connected to everyone and everything. We notice
when we are tormenting ourselves with that inner critic
and therefore we feel more accepting of ourselves
exactly the way we are. We notice when we are
projecting into the future and, because of this, we
experience more joy in each and every moment. We notice
when we are living in the past - and thus we are free of
the ties that bind us. Now we are free to be mindful,
now we are free to be present…now we are free
to be.
© Copyright 2002 Lorane Gordon. All Rights Reserved.
Lorane Gordon is a wife, a mother, a teacher…and a seeker. Since
the age of thirteen, Lorane has traveled the world
studying and meditating with enlightened masters. She
made the transition from "seeker" to
"finder" when she realized that all spiritual
paths lead to the present moment: NOW.
An
extraordinary communicator, Lorane has a genuine love
for people and a heartfelt desire to help others. In a
matter of hours, this charming inspirationalist will
safely guide you to a place of true presence, where you
will render your fears, phobias and pains powerless!
"Allow me
to give you the key to the Present Moment. There is a
profound transformation taking place in the collective
consciousness NOW! Be part of it! Begin living your
happiness NOW, without struggle, without the guilt of
the past, without the illusion of the future."
--L.G.
Lorane Gordon is an author,
lecturer and creator of the A
Journey Into NOW
seminars, classes & workshops. For more information
visit www.ajourneyintonow.com,
email: lorane@ajourneyintonow.com
or call 818 878-9944
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