Have you had times when your mind moves into a negative pattern and feels like it is stuck there??
I call these mind storms or sh*t storms. When all I see is the negative, comparative, competitive ego driven self. It can feel quite crazy! Like the mind is really stuck in a old rut. With meditation, I’ve been able to see that this IS a rut, and not my essential nature. And still…… the rut is there…..and I’m in it!
What to do??
Try this 5 step practice!
1) Acknowledge it. Name it. Recognize it. Announce it to yourself.
The first step is to witness that this is occurring. “I’m allowing anger to move through me.” “I’m feeling jealous.” See that the feeling, emotion, thought are not YOU. It is not your essential nature. it is occurring in you but is not essentially YOU. Announce this to yourself. This shift has a physiologic component of moving us from our mid-brain to our forebrain- where clearer seeing can occur.
2) Allow yourself to experience this state: emotion, feeling, thought
Feel it fully. Experience anger, jealousy, frustration, sadness, grief….whatever is arising. Be still. Don’t spread it and talk with everyone or reach for anything. Allow it to flow through.
This can be the most challenging step! Usually we want to tell everyone about it! Bring in others that will commiserate with us….. to validate what we’re feeling.
You don’t actually need anyone to validate it. It is valid because it is occurring within you. Enlisting their energy will actually drive you deeper into the state, into the rut.
3) Apply a technique or practice.
Shift your state of being by using a yoga breath practice or mantra. The most effective is to use a breath practice. The simplest practice is to breath slowly and intentionally. Allow your mind to rest on the movement of the breath. Stay with the practice for 1-3 minutes past the time that you notice the shift in your energy or emotional state. This will help you to anchor more fully in the shift.
You can also use a mantra. If you have a personal mantra, this can be helpful. Chanting: Om Namah Shivaya 108 times can be very effective!
4) Do something opposite of what was in your negative state
Thank someone. Hug a tree. Appreciate a flower. Step into nature and connect. Drop into gratitude.
5) Congratulate yourself! THEN reflect.
You’ve successfully moved through a sh*t storm in a more evolved way than maybe ever before! That is something to celebrate!! YOU are really the only one who knows when you’ve had an evolved movement. We can try to describe these moments to others, and really, only we know how significant they are within us. Take time to acknowledge your growth! This gives the evolved place a root in your being….. a new path is emerging for how you’ll face this emotion/feeling/thought next time it arises.
From this state of being, you can reflect on it. Look at how it arose. What are it’s triggers? Can you see a pattern that started in years past that is here? This is part of the last step, because, when we’re IN the negative mind state—-EVERYTHING has that same color or flavor. Nothing looks beautiful when looking from the viewpoint of the negative mind. It is best to look and evaluate our lives AFTER we’ve had an energetic shift in our state. We will see life more clearly.
Eventually, these negative mind storms get shorter and further apart.
If you’re wanting support for breath practices, mantra, yoga that helps with the shift—- schedule a session and we’ll explore together.
Deep gratitude to Anandji, my teacher, for sharing this teaching with me….that I now share with you!
Hari Om