December 17, 2017
When I was a kid my family life taught me that my mind was a very safe place to be…I was pretty young when I learned that if I thought about things hard enough 99.5% of the time I could figure them out.
And that "habit energy" (as it has become over the course of these last 55 years) has indeed served me well in many ways.
But ever since I went into business for myself 15ish years ago sometimes that habit energy has begun to gang up on me because even when I'm not working I'm usually thinking about work…aha's and epiphanies about some issue I've been wrestling with often come to me at the strangest moments which suggests to me my "monkey mind" never really shuts up…hmmmmmmm :(
But I always think of the Tao (or as many people refer to it, the "Yin Yang") as a wonderful metaphor for life: in other words ANYTHING, if taken to its extreme, becomes its opposite. And I've certainly discovered firsthand, especially in the last few years, that when the mind becomes chronically overactive there's no way to really relax. I often wake up in the morning feeling is if I've been chairing Board Meetings or at least talking all night long…before my feet even hit the floor I’m POOPED :(
So especially at this time of year when most of us can't resist the almost magnetized pull of holiday hyperactivity, it's especially important to take a break from time to time.
What…you say you can't afford an extra vacation or two this time of year when all your holiday bills are about to come due?
Then I have good news!
Join me for a mental vacation at the historic Buzzware Village Center in Arden, DE where I'll be hosting "A FREE Taste of T'ai Chi Chih" on Saturday, January 13th!
“Exactly how does this mental vacation thing actually work?” I can almost hear you wondering. Believe me, it’s EASY!!! But first, I’ll tell you a little back story.
Many years ago when I first started hearing about the many benefits of regular meditation I really liked the idea of meditating but was simply unable to sit still long enough to get it done. And not only was the sitting still part super-challenging, the empty-mind part seemed almost mindBLOWING. And I’m sure my initial forays into the mediation world were not unique because these days, when I suggest meditation to a client as a viable treatment option for almost any kind of nasty condition you can imagine, I’m often met with a look as if I've just suggested that he/she should slit his/her own throat!
Then about 8 years ago (when I’d actually completely given up on ever being able to meditate) I walked into a T’ai Chi Chih class by accident one day. A stubborn hip injury had finally ended my ability to practice karate just a few months shy of testing for Second Degree Black Belt and I was pretty much going out of my mind missing all those Wonder Woman-ish feelings karate aroused in me. So I decided to try T’ai Chi Ch’uan – the slow yet powerful martial art – and walked into a T’ai Chi Chih class at the YMCA where I worked without a clue my world was about to change COMPLETELY.
There are no mistakes though, right? But I digress…so finally I’ll land the plane by telling you exactly how the mental vacation thing works.
It happens by accident.
Wait…WHAT?!
Yes, it happens by accident…the monkey inside your head gets tricked into shutting up while you’re simply paying attention to the soles of your feet. You start with noticing the feeling of your feet touching the floor, then shift your weight and notice how that feels, then shift your weight again and notice how that feels, etc.
There’s a little bit more to it than that but you’ll just have to come to my FREE workshop on Saturday, January 13th and find out for yourself.
Oh and BTW…did I mention it’s FREE?
(Are you getting it yet this is a really good deal???!!!)
Truth be told, even though I’ve been teaching T’ai Chi Chih along with a few other meditation techniques for several years now, I still have a very chattery monkey mind most of the time (sometimes I even have thoughts about my thoughts!!!) But with T’ai Chi Chih in my toolbox, however, I’m easily able to give that little chatterbug inside my head a banana whenever I feel like I need a break…meet me at the Buzz and I’ll show you how to give your little guy a banana too! :)
