Spiffing Time
Breathing is the most important thing in life. Everything else can wait. We all know that. What’s slightly less know is that controlling the tempo, duration and quality of breath directly determines the way your mind operates and feels, hence the quality of moment-to-moment experience of being alive – rough breath makes for a rough mind – silken breath makes for a peaceful mind.
What is often even less known, even though it’s as obvious as the noses on our faces, is that without realising, you tense the muscles and connective tissue of your body in a bogus bid to defend yourself from the strain, stress and pain of everyday life, which tendency gradually causes your entire structure to contract and distort, in turn causing your thoughts to contract (into a small-minded loop) and distort (defaulting to grimness and negativity), yet by actively relaxing, methodically your muscles by concentrating on each body sector in turn, you reverse the tendency and soon find yourself welcoming in a far more expanded, cheerful experience of reality, hence one with far more potential benefits and rewards.
Furthermore, simply by focusing on just one key location in the body, concentrating on relaxing it more and more, then allowing the sensation of release to spread throughout your body, you are able to effect total body relaxation without moving your mind more than a centimetre or two to either side.
Try this one, for instance. Focus on the very centre of your forehead and apply all your awareness to making it let go and relax until you feel a physical sensation of deep peace radiating from there to the rest of your head and face, spreading down through your neck, throat, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, belly, back, hips, legs and feet and as you do so, remember to keep breathing freely. Remain in this relaxed state for the rest of the day and night, dear reader and, along with the free-breathing, you’ll afford yourself a most spiffing time of it at the deepest level.
May you have a most spiffing time of it today and tonight on the deepest level.
Love, Barefoot