Zen Steps For Calming Down Easily
brought to you by:
Bobby Beaulieu
It’s easy to calm down quickly. No matter what is happening around us, we never have to become trapped in
stress or anxiety. It’s important to learn how to calm down quickly this as negative emotions can
easily become addictive. The longer we hold onto them, the harder it can be to let go.
Zen offers many pathways to becoming free of negativity. This article is based upon
Zen principles and value-centered counseling. It offers enjoyable and effective steps to calming down,
feeling good about yourself and finding that peaceful place in the storm.
Open The Treasure House Within
In
Zen students are told: “Open the treasure house within.” This is a reminder that we are all are endowed
with many resources hidden within. In order to access our innate abilities, we must stop looking everywhere else
and forget about depending upon others. Instead, we are told to spend time each day taking responsibility for
what’s going on inside. We turn our attention within, discover who we truly are and stop rejecting ourselves and
others. As we do this, we are beginning to open the treasure house within.
Pay Attention
We are what we think about. When we stay fixated on one person, thought or situation, it is easy to become caught
in the grip of self centered, obsessive thoughts. The more we pay attention to that which is negative or upsetting, the more strength it
has to rule our lives. This can be counteracted easily.
Take control of your attention and what you’re
focusing upon. Spend time each day developing concentration. This is also called meditation (or zazen). Sit with a straight back, do not move, follow
your natural breath. Let random thoughts come and go. Do not suppress them, but do not let them grab your
attention away. (At first you may be besieged by many surprising thoughts and feelings, but if you simply notice
them and then return your attention to your breathing, these will soon die down). Count your breath from one to
ten, then all over again. Do this for at least ten to fifteen minutes without moving. By not moving we are
stopping what is called the
monkey mind.
Stop The Monkey
Mind
The
monkey mind is the mind that jumps from one thing to the next, fears, demands, criticizes and
sabotages our lives. It is the part of ourselves, which causes sorrow and fear. By taking charge of our
focus, by not paying attention to or responding to the many negativities the
monkey mind throws our way, we become balanced and calm. As we do this regularly, we are no longer
carried away by passing feelings and thoughts. Instead, we discover a peaceful place in the storm to which we can
always return for comfort and strength.
Focus on Strengths not Weaknesses
As we
focus upon our strengths, not our weaknesses, little by little, fear, anger and depression fade. Rather
than struggle with problems, we learn to become available to solutions. This is accomplished by working with
focus. The question we always keep before us is: What am I
focusing on this moment? Am I dwelling on problems or open to solutions and new ideas? Am I aware of
where I am right at this moment, or lost somewhere in a dream? Am I grateful for what I have, or dwelling upon the
wrongs I think others have done me?
Life continually renews and confronts us with new tasks, challenges, opportunities and solutions, day after day.
Are we in touch with this ever-flowing reality? Are we
focusing on the gifts we are always receiving, and ways we can give back to others as well? By
choosing to take charge of our
focus we dissolve the primary cause of our suffering – a
monkey mind that has run wild.
Take Constructive Action
Once we take charge of our
focus, we place it upon what we are receiving, what we have to be grateful for. Then it is easy to
take the next step and naturally become aware of what others need from us, what we have to offer, how we can give
back. Then we do it. We take action. We do not hesitate. We focus upon simple, daily actions, which are constructive for ourselves and others.
We spend some time each day doing "deeds of service", finding ways we can give to others, make their days easier
and happier. As we
focus upon giving and encouraging others, a strange thing happens - our personal anxiety vanishes, and
we, ourselves, become filled with joy. Before long, we become filled with something even more important than joy -
self respect.
A primary source of
stress and anxiety is low self esteem; feeling badly about ourselves. The most powerful way to get rid
of this is to have a healthy dose of self respect. When we fill our lives with constructive actions, self worth develops naturally. It does not come about
through artificially boosting self esteem, but as a result of living a life worthy of respect. In this manner we
grow able to handle any situation life presents us with.
When we are able to do that, not only do we calm down easily, but enjoy all aspects of our days. We feel like life
is a gift we are receiving; and we become a gift to life as well.
Recommended
Reading
Your Monkey Mind Connection
Amazingly Simple Questions & Answers to a very common and seemingly complex problem. How do we manage our
overactive minds? This brilliantly simple revelation leads you to effortlessly connect with the very source of your
inner wisdom. Who ever dreamed anything so simple could be so effective? It\'s simply amazing!
Finding Your
Focus
Written by two expert ADD coaches with more than 30 years experience, this
practical handbook offers adults with ADD practical techniques for coping with common everyday challenges. These
simple proven strategies can help you focus attention, organize your thoughts, and manage time—so you can avoid
missing appointments and deadlines, handle social situations, and improve memory skills. A safe alternative to
prescription medications, it’s a complete home program that anyone can d
Zen Living
Presenting innovative ideas on incorporating Zen thinking and action into even the most Western lifestyle, this
book focuses on living Zen in a post-9/11 world. It also offers updated information on meditation and its many
benefits and new exercises for families to promote Zen living at home, as well as new exercises to help readers
combat their dissatisfaction with life and unfulfilled desires.
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