M i n d B o d y S p i r i t
Peace Starts When ...
We Learn to Put Things in Perspective
an ’ t wait to take that vacation so
Cyou can sleep late , move about at your leisure and be peaceful ? Live all week anticipating that day off to feel free and happy ? Perhaps you say to yourself , “ I take yoga classes , go on retreats , meditate , yet , cannot find peace in everyday life .” Sound familiar ?
If you can control the rising noise of your mind , there will be peace no matter where you are . Easy to put into words , more difficult , yet not impossible , to achieve . Like any great achievement it takes practice . Recognizing our reactions , and learning to put things in perspective without attachment are tools that help still the mind .
It ’ s important to recognize when we become upset . Automatically reacting is not the correct way to recognize because we ’ re lost in a moment of negativity . Awareness of how we reacted is just as important . Whether it ’ s verbally out loud or through internal thoughts , be impeccable with your words . Don ’ t say , “ I ’ m upset ,” this creates attachment to something with the word “ I ’ m .” Change your wording to , “ Something is upsetting .” Separation creates space , which allows one to see things more clearly . Creating distance from what ’ s upsetting gives us the capacity to get in touch with that gut feeling , our true inner voice . Perspective now has its own turf on which to work . It ’ s important to remember when putting things in perspective , don ’ t judge , criticize , or over analyze . Otherwise this territory , our workplace , becomes cluttered with unnecessary thoughts .
Let ’ s say you just sat down in your by Karen Britton
favorite cushy chair , and picked up that book which had been sitting on the nightstand for weeks . Maybe catch up on work with your sleek little laptop . Loud noises come from another room . Your first reaction may be irritation annoyance and perhaps angry . You might say to yourself , “ How can they allow such noise ? Such inconsideration ! It ’ s ruining my peaceful time . What ’ s wrong with people ? I can ’ t get anything done !”
It ’ s easy to criticize and judge without knowing the circumstances . Whoever is making the noise may be unaware of how loud it is or if it ’ s disturbing anyone . Now , you ’ re lost in your own story , and attached to the reaction by using the words I ’ m and my .
Here ’ s a more specific situation many of at Fitness Incentive are familiar with , yet can be applied anywhere . The Yoga Studio here in the gym happens to be next to the spin room and a large set of weights just outside the door . We happen to share space with several members . The yoga studio was put here on purpose and I don ’ t mean by Cor and Ken Brown . Someone or something did it for a purpose . Things happen for a reason . Noise coming from outside walls of the yoga studio is a provides us with an opportunity to learn something , which is to relax with noise outside and within our minds . We should be grateful for this because if we can relax with noise , then we can learn to relax with many other things . Can relaxing with noise really help me with bigger stuff , you may wonder . Yes , it can . Here ’ s how . Recognizing when and how we react . Detach from the situation , put things in perspective , and mindfully choose your words .
Using this example of the Yoga Studio : You ’ re sitting in the yoga room . Lights dim , gentle music plays in the background , eyes closed and you hear a soothing voice of an instructor guiding you to focus on the softness of your breathing .
You begin to feel your shoulders relax , heart rate slowing down , a little smile appears upon your face . All of a sudden , from the room next door , an unexpected powerful voice forces it ’ s
way into your consciousness . You become aware of outside music seeping through the walls with a one , two , three beat . Behind you , a sudden thud startles you and claims your peace . Someone has dropped weight plates on the gym floor . And you can ’ t help but hear a voice on the other side of the wall imploring the spin class , “ COME ON , YOU CAN DO IT !!” LET ’ S GO PEOPLE — GET IN THE RED !!’” Your mind utters , “ What ? Get in the red ? What the @#$% does that mean ??” Your mind maintains this conversation , “ This is so annoying , I can ’ t concentrate , it ’ s ruining my peaceful time .”
There was a reaction , then an attachment to a reaction , leaving no room to separate from thoughts . This leads to an unsettling mind and yoga class . Recognize , “ there is noise .” Space is created . In this situation putting things in perspective is saying , “ all that ’ s going on next door and outside the room are people exercising and taking care of themselves .”
If we can ’ t relax with noise coming from another room , we ’ re in for a whole lot of trouble . We will face deeper adversity down the road of life . Sudden unimaginable things can happen at any time . Need we waste our time getting upset over noise when in fact we can learn , make the best of moments and build our characters strength ? Ponder this for a while .
Sure , it ’ s understandable that we ’ re human and things bother us , but we can only use this excuse for a short while . It ’ s your choice to be happy or unhappy . Using tools of recognition , being impeccable with your words , detachment and putting things in perspective will go a long way in achieving a still mind and peace . We may not be able to change the situation , but we can change how we react to it .
A quote by Cathy Better :
“ Life is raw material . We are artisans . We can sculpt our existence into something beautiful , or debase it into ugliness . It ’ s in our hands .”
Karen Britton is a certified Yoga Instructor and a regular contributor to these pages . She teaches Yoga classes and programs at Fitness Incentive .
Summer 2016 FIT to Print
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