Author Archives: kgoodman

Mantra Mindfulness – Guide Part 4

Posted on by kgoodman

mantra   [mahn-truh]

noun

1. Hinduism . a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.
2. An often repeated word, formula, or phrase.

Shift your mind back for a moment now, to when you were first learning how to drive. I personally remember happily driving down the road, and then something off to the side would catch my eye. I’d look over for just a moment and then look back at the road. Often, to my horror, I would find that my eyes had lead my hands and the car was now off angle headed towards the side of the road instead of straight down the road as I’d intended. I’d make a course correction back to the road and continue on my way.

Often in our lives we are heading down the road towards our goal and we get distracted by something off to the side. Sometimes we are not even aware we have changed direction, or thinking, but we are headed towards the side of the road and unaware that we’ve changed course. In this way a mantra is a tool used as we’re navigating our path down the road. The mantra can act as a reminder for where we are going and help correct our coarse.

The mantras we surround ourselves with are powerful. In many ways they are both a guide and indicator, sending our thoughts in a specific direction and indicating where we are likely to go. Pause for a moment and think about a typical day for yourself. Over the course of the day are there any phrases that seem to repeat themselves? Coming from computer software I was surrounded by mantras and catch phrases that guided our thinking. “Work smarter not harder”, “Look for our synergies”, “It is, what it is”. Sometimes these were useful, and sometimes they were a form of release, but they connected with a larger thought or idea and when used in the appropriate context would connect with a state of mind and help shift us back to our goal. This is the power of the mantra. And this is why we should choose our mantras carefully.

As you can see, thinking about your own mantras and phrases that float in your head, they are both indicative of your thought processes as well as directional guides for your thinking. This gives them a great deal of power. And yet, many mantras that we use have come across our path unintentionally and stuck to us. With the power of these mantras it is a very good idea to apply discernment and awareness. So now that we understand the tone they are applying to our day we can in turn shift our focus to the mantras that empower and have a positive impact.

Choosing a mantra

Choosing a mantra is important. There is no set length content or format. I personally have an “I am …” phrase that I repeat the reminds me of my core essence and purpose here on this planet. But I also have many other mantra’s. When I’m paying my bills I find it helpful to remind myself that “I am abundant”. When I am trying to meditate and move into a more spiritual plane, my mantra is simply “Ohm”. Find something that reflects who you are and the kind of thinking you want to foster in yourself. You can start simple “I am positive”, “My world is at peace” or even “I Rock!”. Have fun with it and find something that resonates with you as both a message you need to hear and one you can believe in.

Using your mantra

Now that you have mantra, put it into practice. A simple way to start with your mantra is incorporating it into a quick 5 minute meditation. You can begin with chanting your mantra 5 times to shift your thinking. Then connect into your breath with 5 deep inhales and exhales (done slowly with pauses between). Then end the meditation with 5 more repeats of your mantra. I would suggest you say your mantra aloud in your most powerful voice. Give the mantra power. But it can be okay to think loudly too, especially if you’re doing this at work. Sit up straight, breath deeply, and own it.

Another tip is to find a tool that will remind you of your mantra throughout the day. Write it on your hand (nontoxic writing tools please). Or tie a string around your finger. Or find a tool that will work with your mobile device.

You have the power to guide your path. Use your mantra to make a positive impact on yourself and the results will ripple out to the world around you. Be the change that you want to see in the world.

Namaste,

Kevin

A Day Without Technology

Posted on by kgoodman

a-day-without-technology-bw-trim

On Friday night I decided to make good on an idea that had been circling around in my mind for a few months. Turn off everything and leave it off till sunset the next day.

I grew up with the practice of Sabbath, so this wasn’t completely foreign to me. But I hadn’t practiced in quite a while.

The evolution of my tech addiction started simply enough. First there were desktop computers of course, I loved them and wanted to take them everywhere with me. But they were stuck to my desk and plugged into the wall.

Then came the laptop. An improvement to be sure, but still quite limited. Short battery life. Limited power. And heavy, oh so very heavy. My first laptop was for work and they called it a broad-axe. It was about the size of a giant axe blade of war, and about twice as heavy. At least it didn’t have a giant handle sticking out of the side.

Next came the cell phone. They’d been around for years by the time I got my first. My first cell phone was practical. It made phone calls. It had a rudimentary web browser that was capable of displaying text and was a complete waste of time to use. It was a phone and mobile message taker.

Phones began to evolved.

Laptops got faster and lighter.

Soon phones were full scale web browsers and you could get all your email on them. You never had to be out of touch… From anyone. Always on.

Now our phones are full blown portable person computers, game systems, social communication platforms and … oh yeah, I guess they still make phone calls.

And we have come to feel they are an extension of us. They are part of our lives and we are accessible through every moment of our lives.

I’m still curious what the impact will be on the current generation. They won’t know a time when they aren’t always available, always connected, always on.

I know the impact on me has been powerful and subtle. I don’t even know the full impact. Technology is a fundamental part of my world.

So how would I react to turning everything off?

What would happen if I just went dark for a day?

As challenging as the idea of turning them all off for a day was, I thought it would be good for me.

So Friday night I turned off my iphone, I turned off my ipad, I powered down my laptop, I hid my TV remotes. I took a deep breath, and I went to bed.

The next morning, I told my wife about my plan. She was very hesitant at first, she liked the idea, but the repercussions of being out of contact with her online mother’s community was daunting. I highlighted that this was something I was doing and that she didn’t need to do it. She had a few concerns about her own participation in the experience. After mentally coming to grips with the idea, she decided to join me in my experiment.

As I showered that morning my brain kept popping up things I needed to check on the internet. Things that immediately needed my attention. Then I remembered I wasn’t doing that today.

At one point I realized that in that last 5 minutes there were no less than 4 times I could easily looking back and see I’d been thinking about “checking on” something. So the idea occurred to me that I should keep a tally of how many times I actually thought about my phone. I realized that I could download an app to help me keep track… Then I laughed quietly at my brain and tried to move on.

I was amazed at how challenging this was. I wasn’t used to observing how many impulses I have to check my phone over the course of just a few minutes. All of this turmoil from a simple act made me feel that I should write notes about my experience while it was occurring.

I then lamented that I couldn’t write notes because I didn’t have my computer turned on and I couldn’t use my phone. I thought about turning on the computer, “just for a minute” to write notes, but knew that would break the spirit of my experiment.

During this inner dialog I remembered something, something ancient from my childhood, it was also called “writing” and it involved a pencil and paper. Hooray, problem solved!

As the afternoon wore on, I found the need to check my phone lessen. I did have an undertone of unease to my mental state. I realized that this was coming from a feeling that “Someone, somewhere, must need me.” If only I turned on my phone I would find out.

I kept looking forward to sundown like a man holding his breath under water waiting to surface.

Early afternoon involved a nice nap sitting in my reading chair. Also I pulled out a physical book and did some reading into it’s pages. Two activities that would probably have been interrupted or not have occurred at all had I been “plugged in”.

When sundown did finally come, I enjoyed checking my email and seeing if I’d missed anything that I needed to know. But I was able to approach the experience in a calm fashion as opposed to feeling like a man gasping for air.

Interesting, the internet did not miss me. It didn’t even care that I was gone for 24 hours. In fact all those people that I thought were trying to contact me didn’t even notice I was gone. The only lingering side effects left over from the experience is this story and the calm that it created within me.

No damage done by my day without tech.

Overall I would highly recommend this experiment to everyone.

I was very disturbed by how many tell tale signs of addiction showed up over the course of the day. A computer seems like such simple tool, but it is tapped into more neural pathways than we care to admit.

Namaste,

Kevin

 

The Power Of Breath – Guide Part 3

Posted on by kgoodman

The power of breath

Breathing is often taken for granted in our culture. The breath is a gift that is so often forgotten, because it is so fundamental to our being. The bodies use of the breath to revitalize itself and then expel toxins is critical to life as we know it.

In this day of smog filled air and high pollen counts it’s even more amazing that we simply keep breathing. Our bodies operate automatically on a subconscious level and it will not allow us to forget to breath.

This autopilot mode is an important piece to understanding the breath. When we become stressed and overwhelmed our breathing becomes rapid and shallow, our pulse rate increases, and our whole physiology changes to accommodate the signals coming from the brain. The mind is telling the body that we are in crisis and we must be vigilant and ready to respond to the attack that may come at any moment. But the attack never comes… Instead we sit in that state of high alertness and our body suffers from the minimized breathing activities as we continue to be ‘ready’.

The good news is that our nervous system is a two way street. Just as the mind can tell the body how to respond, the body can inform the mind. So shifting into a state of mindfulness and adjusting your rate of breathing and the fullness of your breath can in fact shift your mental state. Slowing your breath and deepening your inhale and exhale will cause your heart rate to stabilize and slow down and can reduce feelings of anxiety and agitation. As with all states of mind, the first and most crucial step is becoming aware.

So this leads to the first meditation process, simple breath awareness. This can be a very short process with the goal of observation or it can be part of a longer meditation. Find a comfortable position in which you can meditate for a short period, as stated you can do this for a minute or, as you become more advanced, much longer:

  • Shift your awareness to your breathing.
  • It can help to focus on a single point in your inhale and exhale.
    • Either visualize the air as it passes in and out through your nostrils.
    • Or monitor the expansion and contraction of the lungs.
  • And simply observe
    • Notice the air as it passes through your nostrils, into your body
    • Notice the air as it leaves through your nostrils, out of your body

That’s the whole technique. Simple Breath awareness. You are performing two activities here:

  1. You are increasing awareness of your breath and thus awareness of your mental state
  2. You are giving your mind something to focus on other that it’s endless chatter Chitta Vritti (Sanskrit for fluctuations of the mind, or mind chatter)

This simple process of becoming the observer and shifting the focal point of your mind can create a change in your breath and mental state that is beneficial to you.

This technique can then be augmented with breath control. In breath control exercises you are actually informing your physiology and your mind that we are no longer in crisis. By controlling the breath and gently bringing yourself into a calm state through breathing the body is informing the mind that everything is okay.

This can be accomplished through alternate nostril breathing, as highlighted in part 1 of the meditation guide.

Another technique is simple deep breathing.

  • Shift your awareness to your breathing.
  • It can help to focus on a single point in your inhale and exhale.
  • Begin by fully exhaling and pressing the air out of your lungs.
  • Now begin slowly breathing in through your nostrils to the count of 5
  • Fully inhale and then pause for a count of 2
  • Next begin to slowly exhale through your nostrils to the count of 5
  • Now pause at the bottom of the exhale for a count of 2
  • Repeat for 3 or 4 full rounds
  • Then release and allow your body to resume breathing normally
  • Become the observer and watch your breath as it passed in and out of your nostrils

As you can imagine this technique can be easily customized to suit your personal meditation needs.

I look forward to receiving feedback on your personal experience with these techniques.

Namaste,

Kevin