When Meditation Doesn’t Seem to Be an Option

What do you do when you desire to have guidance from God, the peace of God, and can’t seem to get quiet enough to gain any kind of perspective on a problem in your life?

The challenge of a peaceful perspective is very good question and often the case when we are at our most anxious and fearful moments. We have established a good prayer and meditation practice. We get to a peaceful place almost every day. Yet, when it comes time to actually use our practice, we fall short.

You are not alone in your striving. The point to having a meditation practice, however, is that you train your mind to go to a place that is more of an omniscient observer of your problem. In times of distress it is better to stand on a bridge and be able to look at the issue from above, instead of swimming in the water below with the fish, which in Buddhist parables represent the problems you face.

At times, I have found myself struggling and too anxious to listen or get still. When I get to that stressful place, my favorite way to handle it is to create action. If you can’t get still, move forward toward your peace.

My action usually is a heartfelt prayer of release, which may sound something like this: “God, help me release this problem to the greater good. Aid me in being more compassionate to myself and to (the person involved). Let me see the entire picture and trust that all of it is in your hands!”

When I say this prayer “out loud,” the negative energy immediately begins to disperse. My heart vastly opens as I release my problem to unlimited resource.

Another option is to take a long walk in times of great stress. Some people prefer to run, instead. This is a great idea if you have so much energy you feel as if you could burst.

In times of duress, our propriocepters, which connect our brain to the movement in the body, are firing quickly. Therapies exist to make the propriocepters slow down. Medication is one option: anti-anxiety medication like Xanax or Klonopin. These slow down or tranquilize the body and mind.

The nonmedical ways to slow down our brain are to stimulate nerve centers in the body to confuse the propriocepters. You can take a very soft brush and stroke the inside of your palm or the inside of your thigh with a brush. This sends shivers up my spine and definitely brings a quick sense of wellbeing throughout my body. Also, you can use weighted pillows while you rest or ankle weights while you walk, which temporarily throws your body off balance. Your brain uses its functionality to get you in balance, instead of worrying. We use these same techniques with restless legs and in an effort to decrease pain.

Some people sit on fitness balls to keep their bodies at a constant state of imbalance if they have consistent pain or troublesome thoughts. It’s a good idea to do something like this for your back, anyway, if you have a desk job from nine to five.

Clearly, meditation is a practice. When you have chronic anything, it takes practice to undo any situation. The body memorizes pain and depression. It also holds trauma like a magnet. So, if you want to begin to unfold from any of these problems, you must begin a spiritual practice today such as yoga or meditation.

Anxiety is exponential in people who have no God center. If you don’t believe there is a Something Somewhere helping you, guiding you, and loving you, it makes life way more difficult. A spiritual center has been proven in many case studies that it aids in the healing process, and also with people who are addicts, it is by far the most common practice to help rid a life of addiction.

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Bo Sebastian is a Hypnotherapist and Life & Health Coach, available for private sessions to QUIT SMOKING, Lose Weight, New Lap-Band Hypnosis for Weight Loss, CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE! at 615-400-2334 or www.bosebastian.com.

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