Tranquil Mind
I was only in eighth grade when I felt my mind was crammed with information that I could not process anymore. I would spend hours at night, forcing myself to memorize stuff that didn’t really stick. Or, I was wrapped solving endless algebra equations that I wasn’t quite sure where I would apply later in life. And when I went to bed, my mind was racing so fiercely that I couldn’t wink an eye. I was so jammed that one day I just refused to go to school. So I faked high fever and called in sick. I snuggled in bed and reached over to the shelf to pick a book at random. I thought I would just distract myself with some fiction. So I pulled the first book. I flipped it open, and to my disappointment I had just picked my brother’s old physics book. I was about to toss it away, when I came across some interesting observation.
“Reducing the resistance in an electrical wire allowed more electricity to flow through it.” It was Ohm’s law of electricity. I read it, and re-read it and it totally resonated with me. What would happen if you were to reduce the resistance in the human brain? Would doing this cause it to be more efficient at absorbing information, and perhaps event grant it access of previously hidden creativity and intuition? This was mind-boggling to me, and the answer to these questions fueled my quest for optimizing brain fitness until this very day.
So I tried to apply what I had just read before going to bed, phrasing it in a positive affirmation that allowed me to reduce the brain activity. I simply made myself re-live the whole day from the time I went to bed to the time I rose in the morning. As I re-winded the film of the day in my head, I suddenly noticed that things at school weren’t that awful after all, and that I had the power to delete the unnecessary information and to replace it with relevant stuff. I had not encountered yoga or Eastern Philosophies yet, so that serendipitous Physics text book was my first initiation into harnessing the power of the mind for creative purposes. In the weeks that followed, I came up with my own evening ritual that would “zen” me out not only for the night, but also throughout the day. I started to apply this new trick at school, trying to function at levels of deep relaxation, without really flexing the brain too much.
My grades suddenly rocketed. I started solving the algebra problems at first glance, and surprisingly to my teachers, I began to link the dots between all the subjects that we amassed. I had just realized that the biggest secret behind awakening the human’s mind hidden potential was this 15 minute recap of the day. And now almost 28 years after I try not to miss this special visualization, which I have augmented with some tapping, breathing and shielding techniques.
Every day is a life span that poses different challenges. After a taxing day at work we sometimes feel drained, upset – still hungry for food and distractions. If we succumb to this pattern, we end up wasting the night watching the news, which we already know, or stuffing ourselves with more food than we actually need. But we can choose to accept the day as a chance to learn, and be inspired to grow. Then we feel led to recap the significant moments of the day and find it quite easy to detach from our frustration of not being able to fit our agenda into the 24/7 limit. We have suddenly let ourselves release the potential accumulations of stress, regret, or anger, and opened space for being grateful. We can rejoice some moments of the day and try to amend others as best as we can. We can try to be more flexible in checking every box on the list and allow some time for reflection or creativity. We can give ourselves credit for the good things that we did, and acknowledge the things we still have to work on. We can recognize what we learned, and notice what habits we need to unlearn. And instead of blaming ourselves for not being able to fulfill, and brooding on what went wrong, we can focus on why this situation was presented to us in such a challenging way, and what can we learn about ourselves, others and the world from it.
At night we often tend to ruminate about what we said and did, worrying about what has already occurred or what tomorrow would bring. We are swinging from past to future, ignorantly skipping the best opportunity to sit with the present. Instead of accepting all decisions, pains or lessons in peace, and still feeling worthy, we often batter our poor brain accelerating its activity at a time when it needs to actually wind down. We deprive ourselves from the chance to replenish the cells, reboot the nervous system, and rest the body, so in the morning we can function at optimal capacity. Or even worse, we resort to taking tranquillizers to numb our wavering brain. The secret is not to shut it down, but to actually observe the fluctuations and increase the gaps between the thoughts until they slowly cease. Then we can access the alpha and theta brain wave frequencies of abundance that can help us rest even in a state of wakefulness.
My favorite way to fall into sweet slumber after positively re-affirming the day is to envision my heart as the setting sun, which now begins to throb at a more relaxed pace. I honor the day as it was, and recognize that I have played my individual part for the whole most satisfactorily, and very much like the sun I deserve to retire. Then I map the next day in my mind, leaving room for improvisation and chance play. And then I cherish the night as I give gratitude for the day.
It is so fascinating when we think that sleep accounts for almost one third of our lives. Using this time wisely and thankfully will not only help us perform better the next day, but will guide us to peak beyond the tangible surface of matter into the ineffable presence of spirit.
Yogea Evening Meditation: Tranquil Mind
This Yogea evening meditation will help you dust off any imprints from the day, and calm the mind for a wholesome and replenishing sleep. Tapping techniques combine with deep diaphragmatic breathing, to help your release emotional build-up. A brief rewind of the day allows for a clear scan of the challenges and opportunities that you experienced and gives insight into how to anticipate your next moves. A special chakra flush is introduced to encourage each energy center and organ to rinse out toxic residue. The energetic shower culminates with a stilling of the mind and a shielding of the body that slips you gently into sweet and nourishing dreams.
Hi Antonia,
I discovered your blog by chance and I love it. Thank you for sharing your videos and articles.
Love from Spain.
Ana