Slow down. Even if just for a breath. What are you speeding towards?
Remember the Simon and Garfunkel song?
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
…
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy
When you truly slow down, you find perfection—the “all is groovy” feeling.
When you rush, your unconscious tendencies slip in and you may do things that later won’t feel good. You may be brusque and hurt someone you did not wish to. You may tell your body to speed up, even if speeding is going to harm it. You may do this under the pretext of I have to get a lot of things done today.
There is a compelling force underneath this rushed feeling. A belief that if I can get more done, things will be better. I would have accomplished more. I will, therefore, feel more fulfilled later.
There is a flaw in this train of thought. Because even if you manage to check off a lot of items on your list, you are still often left stressed and unfulfilled. Worse, you may feel frustrated, anxious, and depressed. Introspect about this. In the long run, do you feel you would like to live in a state of speeding or in a state of feeling settled and complete? What if you could feel good now instead of at some point in the future?
When you settle into the moment, the feeling of rushing goes away. You can actually get more meaningful stuff done too. But without that feeling that you are going through some to-do list.
Here is a simple way to slow down through the breath and body sensations. You’ll also find several powerful practices in my new bestselling book Just Be. Find a quiet spot and sit comfortably. Start by noticing your breath. Don’t try to make any changes to your breath, let the breath slow down on its own. As you stay with your breath, witness your breath continuously for three consecutive breaths with clarity. Restart if you are unable to maintain awareness for three successive breaths. Aah! Such a perceptible shift.
Now pay attention to sensations anywhere in your body, noting at least three specific ones. Perhaps pressure, or coolness, or tingles somewhere in the body or on its surface. Just notice.
Finally, consciously release any trapped energy as you exhale loudly through your mouth.
Smile. I’ll bet you are feeling groovy!
Let your inner light shine more brightly.
