Written By Alan Good
Do you want to age well? Want to handle stress better? Wish to be more in control? Are you reacting, instead of acting? Use your mind—or rather, don’t.
Being mindful means filling your mind with nothing (or no-thing), rather than with your many thoughts. Clear those thoughts and be. Be in the moment. Be still. Be thoughtful but not full of thoughts.
A meditation study called, the Shamatha Project, showed differences in those in the trial, verses a control group, included “30 percent higher levels of the anti-aging enzyme telomerase in the meditators,” as well as changes in psychological factors such as a reduction in vulnerability to stress and difficult emotions.
Generally speaking, higher telomerase levels reflect lower stress reactivity, and greater perceived control is just what you want for responding to stress more mindfully rather than reacting to it automatically. The results of this study demonstrated a good indication that intensive meditation practice can lead to a major shift away from stress reactivity that is reflected at both the level of biology and psychology.
Another study showed that people with documented coronary heart disease who completed a twenty-four-day intensive lifestyle-change program that involved a low-fat, low-cholesterol vegetarian diet and daily meditation and yoga practice greatly reduced their previously elevated blood pressure responses to a range of tasks inducing psychological stress—such as doing mental arithmetic under time pressure.
While it is normal for blood pressure to go up when we are stressed, the people who went through the program were able to change their stress reactivity dramatically within a short time.
Now, I’m not suggesting you take a lengthy visit to a retreat or some spa, though that would be nice. You can practice this at home and improve your life. Watch your blood pressure drop. See improved health results, like less pain, more energy and so on.
Start by setting aside five or ten minutes when it’s best for you. It can be mornings or afternoons. Make it a time you will not be disturbed. Then, just breathe. No need to make this occur as your body does it naturally. Listen for your breath as it flows out and in. Feel your body contract and expand. Feel it from your stomach. Listen to air ebbing and flowing.
Now, thoughts will come—lots of them. Don’t worry or force them out. Be gentle with yourself and see them for what they are, just thoughts that float into your mind and can float out as you allow them to go without spending time with them.
Take a thought like, “I have a doctor’s appointment at 1 o’clock”. Don’t start thinking further on the event. Focus on your breath. Don’t plan out what you’ll wear, who will take you, etc. Just see it as a thought, true but not real because it’s not occurring now.
Perhaps it is that you fear the appointment, what information you may have to hear. See it as that—fearful thoughts. Then allow it to pass out of your mind all the while focusing on your breathing. You can still be organized. Still plan. And this is not some spaced-out mind meld.
Doing nothing is really doing something. It’s improving your life by clearing the mind of clutter. Do this every day and soon you will find yourself feeling better and spending longer at this. More next time.
