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Finding one’s centre is easy – and essential

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Finding one’s centreFinding one’s centre – to be at home with oneself – is the basis of a happy and fulfilled life. There is nowhere we have to go physically in order to find it. We are rarely in the wrong place; it is the mind, or rather our awareness, that is focused elsewhere. The wonderful Thich Nhat Hanh once said that there is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path. Once we find our centre, everything else naturally falls into place.

Coming back home

What does finding one’s centre mean in everyday life? We might hear someone say, “I need to find myself,” when what they really mean is that they are not happy and feel something has to change. When we feel like that, it is because our attention and awareness have become fragmented, resulting in feelings of fatigue and a general sense of dissatisfaction. Our energy, if not our essence itself, is scattered and depleted. On the outside, we may look much the same but, like a cracked vase, we can hold very little.

Go with the season

The winter is a particularly good time to do something about it because nature also tends to move inwards. Even the qi of the body is said to gravitate towards the bones in the colder months, as though consolidating and strengthening us before extending outwards in the spring. Going with the season’s flow of energy, it can be easier to allow the attention to settle so that we are more “at home” with ourselves.

The trouble with moths

Our sense of wellbeing depends on our mind and energy. These are influenced greatly by our environment, of course. The human being is not a closed system and we are not immune from modern life, which has little respect for our natural biorhythms, persistently clamouring to distract us. So many of us are drawn out of ourselves and into the world of electronic screens and the media, like moths fluttering around a light or a flame. Craving for the unreachable never ends well.

Time to stop

Inevitably, sometimes it all becomes too much. When it does, we need to take our attention off the busy world for a while. It won’t fall apart without us, so just stop. This is the crucial first step to being centred. Stop and breathe. It sounds simple, and it is. Enjoy the rhythm of the breath, feeling the belly rise and fall. Standing, sitting or lying down, enjoy just being as you are, where you are. To paraphrase Thich Nhat Hanh, there is nowhere you need to go because you have already arrived. This is being centred.

The Art of Not Doing – How to Achieve Inner Peace and a Clear Mind

I wish you a very happy, healthy and fulfilled 2022!

Andrew

Related posts:

  1. Fear of missing out – FOMO – and what to do about it
  2. Losing those we love, and the search for constancy
  3. Rest: how to get what you really need
  4. Thinking too much? Why it can make you ill

Trees and the sinfulness of tai chi

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There is a wonderful magic about trees. But maybe today we are too concerned with world affairs. Trees have become an ecological issue rather than a beauty to behold. And they can teach us so much. Stand and admire a tree, any tree, and listen. Whether a magnificent horse-chestnut or a scrawny alder sapling, focusing on a tree can help us reconnect with Earth.

Those with some sensitivity may notice that different species impart varying qualities. A stroll through a deciduous wood feels so different from a walk in a coniferous forest, for instance. If we stand by an apple tree, the energy is very much in contrast to that of a mighty oak.

Some meditation traditions employ these differences, knowing that sitting under one type will produce different effects in the meditator than another. It is said that the Buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Not just any old tree.

Jesus doesn’t do tai chi, I’m told

Ignorance is part of all of us but it can be staggering at times. Seeing a shard of light through a window doesn’t make us enlightened.

For nearly fifteen years we have run a not-for-profit tai chi group. Tai chi is wonderful for people of all ages, providing exercise for body and mind. It is recommended by the NHS, Versus Arthritis,  and the Alzheimers Society amongst many others.

This week I made enquiries about the possible use of a sports hall for tai chi. The hall is part of a community centre, which used to be in public ownership and is now owned by a church. They know us well on the community side of things and the wonderfully spacious hall was available. It would have been ideal.

However, the manager informed me that they would not allow tai chi there. It was completely at odds with their beliefs. They can’t allow that sort of thing. Tai chi is “Chinese and it has mystical roots which don’t fit with Jesus and his teachings”. Oh. Nor does yoga or meditation, in case you were wondering. I don’t know what they would think of trees.

Related posts:

  1. It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out
  2. Qi power – secrets of internal energy for health and stability
  3. Chaos? Yes, but there is a way out of this
  4. Something to smile about

Thinking too much? Why it can make you ill

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Thinking too much
“Hmm… I should have thought of that.”

Thinking is a good thing, of course. If we didn’t think, we would get nothing done. There would never be any brilliant new ideas and there would be no education. Life would be a series of responses to basic needs and not much else. The ability to assess, calculate and learn is a staggering faculty that we take for granted. It is one of many aspects of a miraculous state called consciousness, though certainly not the only one. Thinking intelligently is a great gift, but most of us – and I most certainly include myself in this – suffer from unintelligent thinking. It is this that has the potential to make us ill.

Thinking without thinking

More than ever, there is a pressure in society to have an opinion on just about anything at all. It is so important, that corporations spend billions of pounds every year on ensuring that we do. Addiction to social media guarantees that at any given moment millions of people are expressing their opinions on this that or the other. Click Like if you agree. (No, please don’t – that was a joke.) The end result is that our minds are constantly active on things that don’t really matter. So how can this affect our health?

Too much focus can easily create tension

Energy flow

For good health, we need vitality. For that, our energy needs to flow easily through the body. When the flow of energy is blocked or restricted for any length of time, discomfort can build up, eventually leading to illness. We know if we are too sedentary or eat unwisely, there can be a negative impact on the body. But probably we don’t consider the effects on the body of our thinking.

Awareness, not thinking

The fact is that all our mental responses affect our energy circulation in some way. In short, too much thinking creates tension that interrupts the free flow of energy. Yet the nature of consciousness is not to be in a constant state of activity – it is to be aware. It really does pay to stop sometimes. Stop thinking and just be aware. It’s a treat for the body and a boon for the mind. Oddly, it’s great for our health, too.

How we can reduce unnecessary thinking is explored in my third book The Art of Not Doing. Available in print and on Kindle.

Related posts:

  1. Clarity: why it’s a vital antidote to this mad world
  2. Action: Why everything you do and say is more important than you think
  3. Mortality: why our own impermanence is such a wonderful gift
  4. Time: why keeping an eye on the clock shortens your life

Chaos? Yes, but there is a way out of this

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Chaos in the worldChaos seems to be the order (or rather disorder) of the day. Wars still carry on, megalomaniacs continue to run nations and in the UK one might be forgiven to think we are governed by headless chickens. The history books of the future will provide much wonderment and amusement about this age of chaos. Perhaps global warming will have been sorted by then. We are not in the future, though, so what can we do now?

Chaos is the result of lost connections

Humanity has gone rogue. Some people go rogue when they stay in a hotel. If they were staying with a friend, they wouldn’t steal the toiletries and the towels, or worse. They feel no connection with the hotel and so their not-so-good human qualities come to the surface. Humanity is rather like that at the moment. We forget we are an integral part of the world. Instead, we behave as though we were staying at Hotel Earth – guests without any responsibility. The result is chaos. We are not guests, though. This is our home.

A paradigm shift is essential, but how?

As the chaos is the result of humanity’s collective consciousness, how we think must change. Education, both formal and informal, is a major player, then. But there is something else. We have to restore our energetic connection to Earth. Our minds are too Yang and we need the calming effect of Earth’s Yin energy. When we allow that to happen, how we think changes and so our behaviour does, too. Standing Like a Mountain is one of the simplest ways of reconnecting to Earth Qi. Just a few minutes, or even a minute, can help to restore balance. Meditation is also enormously helpful. We may think we don’t need to for ourselves but the effect isn’t just for us. It’s for the world. And we need to do it now.

Learning how to stop overthinking

Free guided meditations

Related posts:

  1. Motivation: how using Nature’s power can change your life
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  3. Thinking too much? Why it can make you ill
  4. It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out

Qi power – secrets of internal energy for health and stability

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Qi power vitality Qi power, the product of cultivating internal energy, is the stuff of martial arts fantasy films. Flying onto and across rooftops, walking up walls and performing endless miraculous feats are as normal as a stroll down the road. It could be fun, couldn’t it? As wildly imaginative as such stories may be, tales of fiction are often inspired by something that has its basis in reality. Qi power is one such example, or rather catalogue of examples, of the extraordinary having its roots in truth. Sadly, it is extremely unlikely that we will fly through the air without props of some kind. However, we can learn to harness this amazing energy to better our health.

Qi power for health – it’s free!

Qi is vital energy. It pervades the universe, our bodies and the environment. Qi power is what comes from optimising the flow of qi. Just as diffused light can be focused, and water can be channelled or allowed to dissipate, it is possible to cultivate this marvellous energy for our own health. Wonderfully, it costs nothing, just a little time. There are three key things to its cultivation: posture, breath and, most importantly, mental focus. There are many qigong practices – sets of exercises (or stances) with co-ordinated breathing to develop qi power – but we may not be able or willing to commit to those. Even so, we can do something that is quite simple and very effective.

Qi power mountain

Standing like a mountain

With just a little practice, this simple exercise can build up a feeling of both inner and outer strength. Qi or vital energy becomes more stable and stronger in the lower part of the body. It connects us mentally and energetically to the Earth and our surroundings, calming the mind and pacifying the nervous system. This is the amazing effect of qi power.

The posture
  1. Stand with the feet shoulder width apart or even a couple of inches wider. Adjust the feet so that the toes point straight ahead of you and the feet are parallel to each other. Relax the knees so they are not “locked” straight. The weight should be evenly balanced.
  2. Straighten the back and then relax the shoulders so that they drop. Tuck the chin in a little so that the neck is straight and feel as though you are suspended by a thread from the top of the head. Turn the hands so that the palms face backwards and are slightly out from the side of the body. Bring them forwards an inch or two.
The technique
  1. Now for the inner position. Place the tip of the tongue just behind the front teeth. Relax the abdomen. The gaze should be horizontal, as if you were looking out to a distant horizon.
  2. Breathe so that as you inhale the diaphragm comes down and pushes the abdomen out slightly and when you exhale the abdomen relaxes inwards a little.
  3. Allow the energy in the body to settle, rooting you to the Earth. Let the mind empty.
  4. Sometimes feel the feet or the hands, but always come back to the lower abdomen as it moves with the breath.
  5. Feel as though you are very tall, very strong, and unshakeable. Remain standing in this way for 2, 3 or even 4 minutes.

You can find more on this in The Great Little Book of Happiness, available in paperback and ebook.

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