How to Feel Strangely Alive
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by James Rick
What if I told you you could experience something that would make you feel more alive, more invigorated and more at peace than anything you have ever done in your entire life and it cost nothing and you don’t have to go anywhere.. curious?
You won’t see this advertised on TV, radio, newspapers, magazines or on the internet because there is no financial incentive to get you to do it.
And you won’t see any religious guru or organization behind this because only you can initiate it yourself so there’s no ‘mind control’ or tithing potential here.
The only reason why everyone doesn’t do it is because it takes a strong commitment and lots of effort – and that’s not usually something you see on books, tapes or pills packaged to appeal to your lazier side in order to sell more.
So what is it and how does it work?
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If you can just sit and focus on your breath – you will notice lots of little daily thoughts pop up. Things you need to do etc. But then as you keep refocusing your attention on your breath your life begins to fall away. You have to let go of all these concepts. Concepts like who am I, what time period am I in.. what stuff do I have to do today. There’s just no room for it in the now. That’s what I think it really means to not be attached. You cannot truly just be aware if your brain is constantly reaching (attached) to stuff in this life.
To detach doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it, it just means that when you sit down and decide not to think about it – you do it. You can free your mind to simply be in the moment.
Now what’s the point of being in the moment? You don’t actually get anything done when you’re there. The moment is the point. Now some believe you should live there all the time – I personally find it difficult to live there ALL the time. In fact its more of a space for renewal. This view might change in time but for now it works to simply dip into the now.. okay dive, because you cannot be attached to shore (this life)!
I notice that simply existing in the now does something to the body’s energy. The intention becomes very important at this point. You cannot simply say you’re going to focus on the breath and be in the now. Breathing deep doesn’t count. Because if you are not noticing your intention in those seconds while you’re breathing you are only half doing it. And half focusing is not really focusing.
Now it might take some time to sit and really focus your attention on the breath. Approach the task as if you’re going to watch TV or play a game. Block off an hour or two so you don’t feel like you have to be anywhere -otherwise that thought will keep popping up while you’re trying to focus on truly being in the now. You have to detach from everything including agendas in order to fully immerse yourself in the moment.
Now I realize if you’ve never done this before it might sound a little strange. So I’m really going to try to explain the process and then have you do it. Because you really won’t know what flying is like until you fly.
Sit down on your bed or somewhere comfortably with the back straight. A straight back means you are lifting your back up as if your head is being pulled up to the ceiling. Now begin by simply breathing deep and notice what your brain does. All sorts of thoughts will now enter the space you have created. Remember, REMEMBER to keep creating the space. Remembering is the most important thing to re-assert your attention. That’s so hard to do when your mind keeps straying because you will actually become the new thoughts and memory is just another thought. So remembering your previous thought (to focus on your breath and be in the now) is important to getting the other thoughts out of your head to create the space again. Every time new thoughts enter – focus can only entertain one thought at a time. So the new thoughts will occupy your thought space and will play around until you REMEMBER that you had another intention IN mind. Keep reminding yourself, don’t get discouraged, just keep reminding yourself you intended to focus on the breath and be aware.
Now the more intent you are on really doing this exercise the better it works. It’s real easy to get lazy and decide that you’ve ’sat long enough’ and go do something else. Don’t let boredom set in. You almost have to bring a work-out like intensity to your meditation. Every time your mind strays turn that frustration into a mental intensity – really notice what it feels like to focus on the IN breath and then the OUT breath. Mental intensity is very different from simply saying you’re going to focus on your breath. Mental intensity FEELS very different. I have noticed real mental intensity makes my inner ear sound like wind blowing through it. Sometimes I can focus on this sensation alone and it grounds my awareness in the present.
But create a real mental intensity to get to 10 breaths without thinking of anything else. If you think of something else, start over to the count of one. Do this only in the beginning until you can get to 10 breaths without thinking of anything else. When you do you will have sufficiently slowed the brain down enough to now simply be aware. Be aware of your awareness – it’s kind of cool. Your mind will keep sneaking thoughts in – but then REMEMBER your intention to simply be aware .. be aware of awareness.
At the point where you can say to yourself I am right here right now and truly FEEL yourself in that moment – you will find yourself at a loss for who you are. When you are simply being you will not be able to carry the concept around of ‘I am’ .. it’s just you aware of yourself and nothing else.
Now this might sound like a cool mind trick – except there are some benefits that come into play. First – you are taking control of your brain and what it creates and it’s not taking years to do it. This step is huge. If this is your first time focusing on the 10 breaths it may either take more time to train your brain to relax OR more intensity. I prefer intensity. Imagine a wheel has been spinning for so long and now you’re going to hit the brakes.. you can either hit the brakes slowly over a long time or really hit the brakes hard and sparks go flying out the side of your head (okay not really, but a useful metaphor!).
Once you’ve hit the breaks hard and the wheel has come to a stop you can observe your awareness. You can be in the moment and remind yourself more easily to simply be and observe breath. And although it sounds boring or abstract – there’s something energetically stimulating about being. There is like a portal there to the spiritual realm and you are standing inside it when you’re in that state of being.
The moment your intention strays from it you move away from it. It doesn’t matter if your body is sitting in the same place and you are still breathing the same.. if your intention strays you move away from it. Everything about this creative energy has to do with your INTENTION.
Buddha once said that you must seek enlightenment as a drowning man seeks air. Now I understand. It’s the intensity behind the intention that really matters.
It will take great effort in the beginning to slow your mind down. That usually becomes the stumbling block for most people because they FORGET their intention to focus on breath, relax and be when their mind barrages them with idle thoughts, worries and concerns. I’ve been meditating for years and it never fails my mind keeps doing what it must have been programmed to do for millions of years. It serves me in this realm, on this shore – but I have to disconnect from it when I dive in. And I can do that with my intention. When I commit to dive away from shore and REMEMBER that intention. When I commit to breath, focus on my breath and TRULY exist in the moment, truly, truly in this moment, in this moment, in this moment, in this moment… breathe … in this moment, in this moment, in this moment.
After an intense mental work out where you have slowed the mind down – it sort of sticks with you through the day. It’s almost like the wheel is now slowing down on its own. Even if it speeds up a little it’s easier to re-enter that state of being and slow it down. That’s why the wheel metaphor is so useful – it’s mental inertia: an object at rest tends to stay at rest – it requires an outside force to get it going again.
If you do this exercise at the start of your day (if you don’t have time wake up earlier) you will notice you feel more alive.
As I write this I notice my head feels very clear. I notice my feet, my groin, heart and head are tingling a bit. I feel happy but in a mellow sort of way.
I decided to write this in a very intimate sort of way, just as I experience it. Because the experience is very subjective. I suggest you attempt to do this exercise in the following manner and experience it for yourself:
1) DECIDE to slow the mind down, focus on the breath and be more aware. This is your first intention.
2) Sit down somewhere comfortable and decide to focus on 10 breaths without thinking of anything else, if you think of something else you will start back at 1.
3) Keep REMEMBERING your intention. Even ask yourself “why if I decided to get to 10 breaths am I thinking of anything else? What is more important?” Your brain will fight for the thought-time. You need to commit even more effort to the exercise. Ask yourself, “Am I being lazy with my effort right now, could I focus even more, even more in this moment.” You will find that you can always commit more effort in that moment.
4) After you’ve successfully reached 10 breaths let go of that exercise and make the decision to simply observe yourself. This does not mean you are allowing the brain to think. You are disconnected from the shore remember? Now you are observing the one who is observing, second by second, moment by moment. Exist in this space for a while.
These four steps are a good start:
1) Commit your intention to the exercise
2) Do the 10 breath exercise
3) REMEMBER your intention while doing the exercise above else
4) Disconnect from everything and make a connection with the highest spiritual energy possible your intention. Then notice how you feel.
All in all if you’ve never done any of this before you better be ready to block off a good hour or two. If that sounds like a lot of time sitting with your eyes closed – just think of all the movies you’ve committed the same amount of time to, the only difference is your eyes are open. If you’re in a hurry remember and you need to get this done in less time, you’ll need to come to the table with an even stronger intention and maintain that intention throughout the exercise.
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