Being constantly on the move, hurrying and rushing towards goals, does not allow you time for thinking and just being, which are the states that give your brain the best chance of working out rational and sensible responses to stressful situations or people. The Dalai Lama describes this behaviour as ‘being very busy practising superficialities’.
Many of the repetitive activities that take up your day, such as constantly checking email, are not essential. They can, paradoxically, be just as stressful as doing too little. Being constantly busy is a type of addiction, leaving you dissatisfied, restless and numb. It also increases your heart rate and your body’s production of cortisol (the stress hormone), and interferes with your ability to concentrate. Even if you’re not rushing around, extraneous noise can overstimulate your nerves, slowing the amount of information coming into your brain.
According to the proverb, ‘Silence is golden’. So every day, pencil in at least one ten-minute break for complete silence. Seek out a corner away from others where you can be perfectly still and quiet. Switch off the fax and your mobile phone. If you’re at home, turn off the washing machine and dryer.
Shut down your computer, walk away and sit down in a quiet room. Close your eyes and listen for everyday ‘real’ noises instead – the birds outside, the chatter of children walking home from school, even an ice-cream van. Then, when you feel more at peace, turn everything back on and get back to work. Silence is the ultimate time-out, and even a few minutes’ worth can be astonishingly restorative, helping you to calm down and think clearly. As you sit quietly, check into the stillness at your centre. See what happens in the silence.
What do loud rock ’n’ roll music and Native American tribal rituals, gospel services and full-moon raves in Bali all have in common? Lots of noise and lots of movement, usually to the powerful rhythm of drums.
In the West, we have traditionally viewed depressed mood states such as anger, rage and frustration, as things that have to be subdued or controlled. Consider the usual prescription of painkillers or sedatives, and the advice to ‘calm down’ or even to lie still and rest in bed. This dulling of the senses can actually worsen some people’s feelings of isolation and disconnection.
Eastern and native cultures, on the other hand, especially the African, Hawaiian and Caribbean traditions, prescribe vigorous movement to a pounding rhythm. Native shamen pound drums and lead tribe members in wild, stomping, free-form dances to celebrate the seasons, drive away evil spirits and pacify the gods.
Drumming has a transcendent power. Possibly the most ancient of all musical sounds, it is a link to our primal selves, our fundamental nature. The physical act of thumping a drum with your hands or a pair of sticks improves your mood by releasing tension. And, if you can drum to the point that you are totally absorbed by the noise and the rhythm and oblivious to everything else that’s happening around you, then you’re in the same still and clear state of mind that you can achieve with meditation.
Many health clubs offer tribal dance classes, accompanied by traditional drummers. Or, buy your own drum from a music or New Age store.
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