You don't have to be Christian to understand that anxiety and "noisy" thoughts will muffle that Spiritual Voice seeking to communicate with us. Those whose religion is a practice of general spirituality understand this well as do psychics and mediums. Christians may call the "noise" sin. Though I believe that we must sometimes rid ourselves of wrong motives, I view the majority of noise as more like negativity and less like sin.
Negativity is not always developed by our own doing. It is picked up automatically from many places outside of ourselves. I heard a good analogy once. We are all like radio stations. We can choose to pick up positive or negative signals. When we pick up negative signals or when we busy our minds with thoughts of the future or past, it's easy for our spiritual station to become full of static.
Many of us would like to communicate with God more clearly, to hear his voice and be guided by him. So how do we get this clear reception? I would say that the first step is being aware of your thoughts and the negativity that is taken in. This will help lead you to what will ultimately clear the static--learning to let go,block incoming negativity and fully live in the present moment (articles on this to come).
Today I perused a great web page on this topic: inner-peace.org.uk, where I borrowed the introduction quote. This page mentions focusing on your breathing as a way to step into the present moment. I can testify to the effectiveness of this--it really works! I actually first read about this in a book about piano performance. The book mentioned this technique as a way to calm one's nerves before a performance. I've found this to be the most helpful technique for calming my nerves before I play. And as an article in the aforementioned website states, it is hard at first for people with noisy minds, but it definitely gets easier the more you practice.
There is something oddly calming about stepping into the present moment. It's as if you become awake, invigorated by the beauty around you and at peace within. It is like a gathering of all the parts of you that were stuck in the future or past. I believe that this is a large part of what it means to be centered.
For those of you with very difficult present circumstances or relationships, part of your greatest temptation, besides running away, will be to live in the "what ifs"--to live in the future or even in past hurts. As friends once shared with me during a hard time in my marriage, you will need to practice centering yourself in order to make it through without losing yourself or falling to pieces.
So clear your reception by regularly letting go and by practicing techniques for living in the moment. You may not only find peace with your new-found center, but also find your God station becoming quite clear :)
2 comments:
Living in the moment is a great skill!! When it's especially difficult .. try grounding yourself by focusing on the smallest things using all of your senses. The Sounds around you, the feel of the floor you are sitting on .. etc. etc. Good words Jess!
Thanks Jenn, I should practice that more. One thing that I love to do is sit indian style on the floor, reach my hands as far in front of me as I can and then really focus on feeling the carpet as my arms slide over it. But that one makes me tired! I am usually ready for bed after that! Anyway, thanks for the tips!
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