Self-care
Fight/Flight — Imagine
Focus, breathe, and let your brain do the rest
The Problem of Stress
Our brains evolved for survival, but for most of us, some of these systems have long overstayed their welcome. Especially in developed parts of the world, stress has become a major nuisance which threatens our health and vitality.
These are no longer the days of lonely tribes camping out in the savannah, exposed to the likes of predators, extreme weather, unknown dangerous plants, and who knows what else.
None of us were there.
But one thing’s for sure: our fight or flight signals are now going haywire for issues that bear little to no impact on whether we’ll live or die.
This isn’t okay.
The Validity of Affirmations
Affirmations for state control tend to have a rocky reputation. While many good sources swear by the technique, the average person seems to struggle with taking it seriously at all.
Not surprisingly, there aren’t any institutions teaching most of us how to do it when it counts most: in childhood. Unfortunately, it seems most unsuccessful practitioners blame the tool before ever considering to evaluate themselves along the way.
There’s a trick. Affirmations, to really work, require a light state of meditation.
This can be simplified to two things — oxygen, and focus.
Two Keys of Meditation
- Oxygen is important to every aspect of your being, from survival, to optimal relaxation and other forms of state control. The right breathing technique will improve every aspect of your body and mind.
- Focus is the art of valuing the state of your awareness. The more on which you willfully focus, the more cells of value are activated in your mind, the nearer you approach the state of meditation.
Art and physical activity also help, but you’ll read more about that later in the article.
The Most Interesting Route to Meditative States
Visualization and the Other Senses
You know how a picture is worth a thousand words? Of course you do, which is good.
Take this idea, and apply it to how you process all information.
But visualization isn’t just the key to exponentializing the degrees of information you can juggle at the forefront of your mind. It’s also the most enjoyable way to practice your focus, and eventually allows you to access meditative states at the drop of a hat!
The more brain cells activate at once, the more interconnected your mind, the higher your state of consciousness, the nearer you approach the meditative state.
The best part is, all senses can be used in this way. The more senses are involved, the more brain cells activate at once, the more interconnected your mind, the higher your state of consciousness, the nearer you approach the meditative state.
The repetition is good.
You can read about how you can incorporate all your senses into this technique here —
Creative Visualization
This is where you start having fun.
Truth is, modern day human minds aren’t used to long spans of quiet stillness.
If you’re going to consider meditating, then you probably want it more exciting and vibrant than the classic, more monotonous style you’ve always seen and heard about.
Enter the power of creativity!
Creativity can be defined as the manipulation and modification of pre-existing values within your mind. It’s what happens when you lower your hold on supposed standards of reality, and let your mind ‘play around’ with the possibilities of what could be.
It helps if you’re exploring concepts and imagery that grab your interest, as not to require external motivation to be generated.
Consider this poem on the infinite potential of your creative mind —
What Does it all Mean?
By practicing your creative mind, you can most easily induce states of meditation, which will lead to improved control over your stress.
It also leads to a much more colourful world surrounding you.
There’s nothing wrong with brightening the world for yourself on the inside, it doesn’t take away from anyone else. If anything, your higher stability may rain benefits on all those around you.
Trust me, it’s worth the being misunderstood.
There’s enough stress and chaos in the world, why not be one of the people who keeps cool and treks on no matter what? Such people can make things better not just for themselves, but for everyone.
Bonus — Art and Physical Activity for Meditation Practice
Disclaimer
You’re advised not to meditate while driving, or while operating dangerous tools/heavy machinery. Anything that requires your full concentration is already a meditation of its own, and deserves to be taken fully to heart just the same. Also, you could get hurt.
This style of meditation can be practiced in any safe situation, but many of the best ways to get your creative juices going pertain to art and physical activity. All around, your body and mind are one, and one helps boost the other. There’s also that physical activity can create sweat, which is another way of releasing negative toxins from your body.
Personally, I love musical improvisation and meditation walks.
Perhaps the most important part to keep in mind is that meditation becomes easier with practice.
Eventually, it almost becomes more difficult not to meditate.
Back to Affirmations
Affirmations work best when you are oxygenated, and can focus deeply to feel the meaning of your words. Feeling pertains to all senses, be creative with it! Practice imagining bright shields of colourful light, controlling the elements around you, or hearing emotive music.
Your mind is the limit, and the limit is ever expanding in your desired direction.
I hope you’ve learned something valuable today.
Take care. 🙏 🙏
Sources
http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/creativity/define.htm
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/how-to-control-your-mind
https://www.healthline.com/health/stress
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145855
Thank You
This story was inspired by this tweet on affirmations by Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) —
About the Author:
🔍 ㅤGustave Deresse Is a Truthful & Theatrical Métis-Canadian Writer, Editor, Wanderer, Cook, and Musical Artist Who Enjoys Exploring Themes as Spirituality, Logic, Life, Philosophy, Nature, Neurocognitive Psychology, Creativity, Writing, Humour, Inspiration, Music, Wellbeing — and the Weird.
P.S. Sooner or later, I tend to edit my pieces. Subscribe to my stories by email for the best chance to catch my original works!
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