Exercises For the Mind, Soul, & Heart

Listening to the Silence

Clear the mind; focus the will...

For the last few years these words have been with me every time I close my eyes. They just simply struck me one day while meditating and has since resounded in me every time I needed them. It's funny how such simple things like a few words can have such an impact on us and yet they so easily do.
But I'm not witting to inform you of the power a few words can have(although I may have to consider that for another article!). I'm witting to share with you all something I've learned over the years. Now over the course of my existence; albeit as short as it may be, I've come to grasp a few simple truths. And one such truth is that life can be very stressfull.
Now I'm no expert nor do I claim to have a stress-free life or the most stressfull one for that matter. But I've experienced college, a year in a Retail clothing store, marriage, and parenthood. And I've seen how nervous, and negative energies can cause us to constrict ourselves with a snake of stress we create or allow it to exist.
One thing we can do is to simply take a moment to listen to the "silence of things" as I tend to call it. It's so easy that most of us forget about it and look for other options. All it takes is a moment or two of your time, a few deep breaths, and a touch of focus.

• Step One: Is as easy and simple as closing your eyes.
  
• Step Two: Next a few deep breaths are needed to help you "clear" yourself. Try taking in a long, slow inhale through your nose and the gently let the air back out just as slowly through your mouth. This can be done as little or as much as you desire.
  
• Step Three: Now, this is the part where focus comes in to play. What you want to do is to let go, to go blank. If it helps try picturing yourself surrounded by a black empty expanse. After you find your mind is blank try focusing on hearing nothing, start by blocking out each sound you can hear one by one. Try to block out all the annoying sounds of life. Sometimes, and especially for some people a singe sound or even a small group of sounds will be needed to focus on, to relax you. Try blocking out all the others by focusing your attention on that one sound. It can be the birds, the wind, or even your own breathing.
  
• Step Four: Now, simply set and listen to the sound your focusing on, or if your concentrating on nothing use that. If silence is the objective, try visualizing a empty expanse of darkness slowly growing inch by inch around you.
  
• Step Five: Finally, take in one more deep breath, then exhale slowly as you open your eyes. Now some may find it beneficial to take a few slow breaths and then slowly open their eyes. Find whatever method works best for you and use it.
  

Hope I've been of some assistance;
Well, time to return to work.
Until next time, Matthew C. Gill

An exercise in the Cleaning of the Heart and Soul
By: Daedaleus

I will make a warning here and now; This is an undertaking for an open mind and an open heart. It should not be undertaken by an individual as a joke or by someone afraid and closed. This is not a joke, nor is it meant to be humorous in any way.

I would also lake to make a few statements before I begin with the actual exercise itself. First of all, this exercise is something I developed myself at a time when I needed it and it's something that worked for me and due to the kind and wondrous advice of a great friend I have decided to share this with others. Secondly, this exercise should be undertaken while protected/guarded etc. Someone attempting this should call on their god/deity for protection, or ask for protection from a particular totem animal, or a totem in itself, or simply call on a loving figure or force to protect you. Even a deceased and caring loved one can be appropriate. With all that said, I shall begin. Please bear in mind I shall comment on my own experiences to help guide you, you don't have to follow them step by step verbatim. You can, by all means, follow something you believe to be better.

In starting I began with a quite simple act. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths for a few moments to calm and center myself. In short you should want to be alone and in a nice relaxing place. I happened to be sitting in the shower and used the water trickling down my back as a device to aid me. You may want to use a bedroom, or a specific chair or what have you.

After calming myself I began simply by calling on my protective force(s) to protect me. In my case I called on the powerful protection of a loving dragon spirit detailed to me years ago by a great friend. [Example- I asked the dragon spirit of pure and overwhelming love to wrap me in it's wings, allowing only love in and only love out and also beseached it to bath me in it's loving and tender fire, thusly attempting to cover myself in love and be protected from anything that may slip into my mind or attempt to twist my actions.] I also called on my own personal totem of wolf to walk with me through this as well as my grandmother. Also called on were the totems of very close individuals and other totem animals that have aided me in the past, in doing so I cited specific reasons to call on the totem animals in question. I then started in by going straight to my task. I brought about the memory of a specific individual, one who was a past lover and had hurt me in some way. I called them by name and said thanks to them for how they were there for me in the past and for what they helped to teach me and how they helped me grow. I then said thusly "I thank you, and bid you leave my heart, now and forever."

Following that I continued to name other ex-lovers and without malice or hate did the same. It's important that when you do this not to hate the individuals or to bid them ill. Then you’re not cleaning yourself or calming anything, you’re simply trying to hope for ill and erase them. This is not a method of erasing feelings or of erasing memories. This is a process to give you strength and to help you refocus and center your own self. It’s almost a spring cleaning of the heart and soul or a sort of self-reboot.

I then went on to close and personal friends. I thanked them as well for what they had taught me, as well as how they’d been there for me, and helped me grow as an individual. I then said "I thank you, and bid you to take your place within my heart, and be welcome." I continued this going through the rest of my close friends and those who mean a lot to me. And also bid these persons to walk with me down the dark roads ahead to give me strength, wisdom, and guidance. So that I might be better prepared for what is ahead in my life.

I then proceeded to something that was very important to me. I then added a special thank you and brief commentary to my son (well he’s my step son but I love him so, and in my mind he will always be my son, genetic aside) and my wife. I then bid my wife to take her place within my heart as the others had but also added that "you fill in my heart where once others dwelled." Thusly I granted her the portions of my heart where I used to hold fond memories and kind feelings for those who were lovers. Now this was something important to me, and granted I did have very personal comments to be made of those lovers and others that aren't pertinent here. That's something that each of you will know what to say and how to say it. I also called on my wife and son to walk with me down the dark roads ahead so that I might share in their guidance and wisdom, and to better strengthen my heart to the trials ahead.

In closing the exercise I thanked all and then quieted myself again. After several more deep breaths and moments of silence I opened my eyes and rose to exhale and let go of all worries. To me this exercise released me from a lot of past pains and memories that simply weren't necessary for me to hold on to.

I hope this exercise will help you clean your own soul and ease any pains that sit quietly gnawing at you. If you need to you may alter this to help ease other worries or dark periods from your life. I myself had several periods of darkness that I needed to clear away and this helped me wonderfully. If this helps you even in a small capacity or you have a question feel free to contact me or you may post your own personal experiences in my inner sanctum.

Hopefully I will be able to post more helpfull exercises soon.

© 2000 Matthew Gill