Well, yes … I too get attached to ideas, people and things sometimes … And coming back from living in Amma’s ashram, while teaching at Amrita University, many of the ‘shadowy’ corners of my unconscious mind have been uncovered. So, these past few days, I have found it gets hard for me to focus. Whenever obsessive thoughts start overflowing my mind, these are the seven little tricks I do to free myself and re-connect to my Center:
1. I keep repeating a mantra … a 4-6 word phrase … something positive and optimistic like: “Things change all the time” , “I feel fresh like a flower”, “I am free as a bird” … even if I do not quite believe them at the time, I keep repeating them mechanically. I have reached as far as 870 repetitions in one go!
2. I keep my body in motion. So, for example I do some simple stretches or I go for a vigorous walk, a jog or best of all, I put some dancing, zumba, samba music … ‘Girls just wanna have fun’ or ‘Someone in the crowd’ : – )
3. I get myself out in nature. Nothing better than a gust of sea breeze and getting my hair all salty! Or a breath of fresh pine tree oxygen. It gets rid of the ‘cobwebs’!
4. I glue my sitting bones on my meditation pillow and do ten minutes mindfulness meditation.
5. I burn incense or my favorite, ‘happy’ essential oil, which is bergamot. Aromatherapy does wonders for emotions!
6. I visit a friend and engage in active listening. There is always someone who needs my attention, more than I need theirs!
7. I watch my most favorite comedy.
“The child that falls asleep and lets go of its grip of its most favorite doll. This is the feeling of ‘letting go’ of attachments” – Amma, Spiritual Leader, www.embracingtheworld.org, based in Kerala, India.
#freedom #attachements #outofjail #free #spirit #joy
Alexia Mary Tzortzaki, Ph.D., is an NLP Master Practitioner and a professor who teaches Management and Leadership at the Hellenic Mediterranean University, based in Crete. She is an international expert on Women’s Empowerment. Details on her most recent book “Speak your Truth and Lead” can be found here: www.be-heart-led.com
Email: amtzortzaki [at] yahoo [dot] gr
Photo: Taken by Alexia, just after the rain in the gardens of Amrita University, in Ettimadai, Kerala, India, August 2019.