Calm Down
/There's a meme floating around that says how telling someone to calm down has never in the history of the planet actually helped anyone to calm down.
It's meant as a joke, but like most jokes, there's a kernel of truth to be found.
If you could just "be calm" – you'd probably already be calm, right?
Isn't that true for most situations when someone tells you to "be" something different?
Be This, Be That
Be mindful. Be aware. Be thankful. We are constantly admonished to be a multitude of things, but it's difficult, if not impossible, to become a state-of-being on command.
Furthermore, once someone starts barking at you to be one thing or another, it's not uncommon to have the reaction, "Don't tell me what to do!"
So, what to do?
Do we just will ourselves to be something? That doesn't seem terribly effective either.
Perhaps we can support ourselves on the path of becoming if we take an action that leads us in the direction of what we desire.
To Be, Take An Action
For example, instead of saying "Calm down" or telling ourselves "Don't be upset" – how about if we say, "Breathe."
Focus on the breath. Slow it down. Take a long breath in through the nose, hold for just a second and then, slowly release it out of the mouth.
Just breathe. It's an action.
We often advise our medical patients to focus on their breathing when they are undergoing a procedure. We find that saying to them, "Don't be nervous," when faced with a fearful or painful procedure is not helpful. Furthermore, it dismisses their feelings of being nervous. Instead, we focus on the breath, in and out, to help get them through the procedure.
The action of focusing on the breath helps to decrease the grip of fear or pain.
Take An Action With Transcendental Meditation
There are many dimensions inside of us. We have the inherent ability to move past one way of being into another state-of-being.
We don't have to let outer circumstances toss us about like choppy waves on the ocean, as if we were not in charge of ourselves.
Transcendental Meditation© as taught through the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi program opens a wonderful gateway for transcending into higher energy. Dipping into transcedental consciousness in the meditation, we come back into the outer world refreshed. Sometimes, even with a different perspective or a deeper awareness.
The next time someone tells you to "be something" – take a breath. Of even greater importance, when you say it to yourself ... do the same thing.
The wholeness that is already within you is ready to shine.
