In a world of noise,
confusion and conflict it is necessary that there
be a place of silence, inner discipline and peace.
--Thomas Merton
To become a Master Thinker, you must first recognize
the thoughts currently bumping around in your head.
This doesn’t mean you must change the thoughts;
just notice them. Be aware of them. These thoughts
are the foundation that support and create the beliefs,
behavior and experiences in your life. Becoming aware
of your thoughts causes you to step out of them briefly
to observe them, somewhat like a scientist, studying
a strange new life form. This stepping out of the
thought pattern disrupts your relationship with it
and begins to neutralize any emotional, mental or
physical charge that may be attached to the thought.
You quickly become a neutral and amused observer,
simply watching an interesting movie.
Once we begin to notice our thoughts, many of us
immediately get overwhelmed by the noise in our heads.
And the more we try to quiet the noise, the louder
it screams. The louder it screams, the more discouraged
we get with the entire process. Eventually we get
so distracted by the strongest, loudest concern,
we forget what we were doing. If you have ever tried
to meditate using any of the traditional or popular
mind-quieting methods, you’ve probably experienced
this phenomenon. The more you attempt to quiet that
monkey on the chain, the louder it screeches and
the more it runs around.
In order to successfully notice your thoughts,
it’s important to first move some of the noise
out. Do you have noise or chatter in your life? Or
a committee in your head? How about an entire orchestra?
Sometimes it’s as if you’re listening
to a complex piece of classical music that includes
many instruments playing simultaneously. You’d
like to isolate and enjoy just the flute, but the
violins, horns, and drums are the only instruments
you hear. How do you quiet what you don’t want
to pay attention to, in order to hear what you do
want? Have you ever returned home from a busy day
at work and found yourself playing with the kids,
but still thinking about work? Have you ever finally
made it to bed at the end of the day and still hear
a conversation with someone going on in your head?
Or perhaps you have night-dreams of working. If left
to its own devices, that noise can become loud
and annoying and interfere with your concentration,
performance and life. It can affect your entire system,
including your emotions (anxiety), mental clarity
(confusion) and physical balance (illness). Wouldn’t
it be great to quiet the noise so you could concentrate
and focus on what you do enjoy?
The first Energy Tool I’d like to introduce
is extremely simple and effective in quieting your
mind. It can eliminate stress and allow you to take
back your Certainty. This “Grounding Line” is
a device that brings your body and mind back into
ease. I’ve watched this tool align and re-balance
people of all persuasions: professionals, business
people, sports pros and young children alike. This
tool is not new. It has existed in various forms
and has been called many things throughout time.
It is an important aspect in many spiritual practices.
Your body comes with standard physical equipment
such as fingers and toes. It also comes with non-physical
or energy equipment. The Grounding Line is one of
these. All it requires is a little thought.
Energy Tool #1:
Grounding Line
1. Recognize when your mind is being bombarded with uncomfortable thoughts.
This may sound like an obvious first step, but most people do not pay attention
to what is going on in their heads and continue to be affected by the chatter.
There is a one-to-one relationship between mind and body, balance and imbalance.
When the mind is noisy or uncertain, the body is tight and anxious.
2. Find a quiet, undisturbed place to sit down for a few moments. The front
seat of your car or the bathroom stall at the office work great too.
3. Breathe. A simple, deep breath will begin to effortlessly change the direction
of your thoughts. Your body will begin to quiet down. One intentional breath
will assist you in returning to a state of neutrality so the intrusive thoughts
will begin to lose their grip on you.
4. Bring your attention to the lowest tip of your spine (your coccyx bone).
Now is the time to pretend, imagine or make-believe as you did when you were
a child. Imagine a line connecting the lower tip of your spine to the center
of the earth (it’s not that far away). This line could be a beam of light,
a tree trunk, a chain, a rope or any image that you find amusing.
5. Strongly secure the Grounding Line at both ends. You may visualize welding
it, stapling it, tying it or any other method of attaching.
6. Now be aware of your feet on the ground. Create a sensation that your feet
are cemented to the earth. Feel connected to the earth through your feet and
the Grounding Line. Take a couple of breaths. Notice if you have a sense of
feeling solid, or taller, or more certain about yourself. Notice if your awareness
has become more defined.
7. Pretend to widen your Grounding Line to a diameter of six to nine inches.
You are creating a pathway through which the noise will soon be leaving.
8. Give the instruction to this Grounding Line to become magnetic. You also
might pretend there is a switch or handle near the lower tip of your spine
that, when flipped, will activate the line. When activated, the Grounding Line
will automatically begin to magnetically attract the unpleasant thoughts, physical
sensations and emotions and draw them down, out of your space, into the earth.
This step works best when you don’t try to make it happen. Rather, just allow
it to do its job.
9. As you notice specific people, thoughts and concerns passing through your
mind, simply grab them with your imaginary hand and toss them down your Grounding
Line. These don’t belong to you and they will be much happier in their own heads.
The Grounding Line will automatically do what it is programmed to
do. You have to do nothing. In fact, the more you do, the less this will work.
Just pretend, and allow your body to relax back into its natural state of ease.
Added benefits of the Grounding Line: In addition
to removing uncomfortable thoughts and feelings from
your system and energy field, the Grounding Line
brings your thoughts and attention back to the present
moment so you may appreciate your environment. The
ability to keep your attention and thoughts in the
present moment instead of in the future or past (or
even in the next room) is extremely beneficial in managing your life experience. How can you deal with
what’s on your plate now, if your attention is on tomorrow’s meeting?
How can you enjoy the moment if your thoughts are on yesterday’s conversation?
Grounding out that noise helps you enjoy the feast and fun that is spread before
you now.
The Grounding Line also lowers your center of gravity.
You may want to experiment with this. Attach your
Line and begin to slowly walk around. You may notice
a more solid feeling in your body. Sometimes people
say their legs feel more steady. Many golfers claim
the Grounding Line is the Energy Tool they value
most, especially in their pre-shot routine. Averages
of two strokes have been taken off their scores by
using this tool (along with a few others explained
later).
The Grounding Line prevents you from physically
losing balance. In other words, if you have your
line well attached and someone physically bumps into
you, it will be less likely that you lose your balance
and topple over.
When to use the Grounding Line:
** First thing in the morning, as you prepare for your day, take a few moments
and connect this line. You may attach and use your Grounding Line 24 hours
a day. In fact, that is what I recommend. It’s a great way to begin
your day and set the tone for your daily goals and schedule. It only takes a few moments. You
can even do it in the car, as you’re driving, however, it’s best
if you spend a few moments focused just on this work.
** Freshen up your Grounding Line prior to stepping into a charged situation.
Don’t wait until the chaos is happening around you to use this tool.
Check in with it prior to a conversation, meeting, phone call or entering a
store. Malls are excellent places to use your Grounding Line.
** Clear your office, car, home, or any room by Grounding it. Visualize a Grounding
Line attached to the upper four and lower four corners of the room and give
them the direction to drain any energy from the room that isn’t in sync with you.
Several years ago I arrived at the Sacramento Airport
for a noon flight to Atlanta, Georgia. I was scheduled
to present a two-day seminar beginning the next morning.
When I stepped up to the check-in counter and presented
my ticket, the agent began to robotically tell me,
as she typed, “Your flight has been canceled
due to mechanical problems. The next flight to Atlanta
is scheduled for 10pm and will be arriving at 4am.” I
was to begin teaching at 8am and couldn’t quite
believe what I was hearing so I asked her to repeat
what she’d just said. Without looking up from
her keyboard, the agent began repeating the identical
information she just delivered. This time however,
I pretended I was attaching a Grounding Line to her
computer. No longer than three seconds into attaching
the Grounding Line, the agent interrupted herself
and added, “Oh wait, there appears to be one
seat now open on the one o’clock flight. Would
you like that seat?”
“Oh yes, thank you,” I quickly replied,
thinking, “This stuff really works.” The
other impatient passengers were not too happy about
my getting the last seat, but hey, they didn’t
have a Grounding Line. They couldn’t hear the
flute either!
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