Depending on your schedule you will want to explore ways to meditate and times to conduct your sessions. This will enable you to train yourself to be able to go into “relaxation” mode on command, when you so decide. Here are the main elements:
A Quiet Place
This element makes all the difference in the world. A quiet, comfortable place is good to remove you from stressors and distractions and enable you to succeed. The requirement is it needs to be a place where you are comfortable and not disturbed. A park, a favorite room, or a place in the woods are a few suggestions.
Time
This is going to vary, and it will change. The variance will depend on the upcoming event, and how soon it is going to occur. You may have three hours before a grueling marathon, and yet you may only need 15 minutes to relax and clear your mind. With time, the change may be that you only need 5 minutes.
Now you have your quiet place and the time you need. Here is what you can do, keeping in mind these things have helped me greatly on deployments:
- Sit in your chosen quiet place in the most comfortable position possible (laying down, sitting back, or sitting cross-legged, for example.
- Consciously allow your muscles to loosen up and physically relax them
- Breathe in deeply and exhale slowly: nothing forced, just try to introduce some regularity in it.
- Focus your eyes upon a stationary object that is “tranquil” and non-moving
- Clear your mind, yet think briefly about what it is that you face. What you are doing is imprinting the event and making it more harmless in your mind.
- Allow your eyes to close, focusing upon your breathing, and regulating it
- Think positive thoughts: that you will overcome the upcoming challenge
- Minimize the challenge: tell yourself that (even if it is not good) it is not so great that you cannot overcome it.
- When you feel ready, end the session and stand up slowly
Taking these steps before you face something will help you prepare to clear your mind. Your stress will diminish, and your performance will increase. You’ll handle things better. With time and practice, this simple meditation process can be trimmed to be done in about 5 minutes, and in this manner you can face challenges in a few hours in the same manner that you can face them with several days or weeks to prepare.
After an event, do the same thing, focusing not on what happened but on what is in front of you. Sometimes a soothing beverage or water can help you before or after, however, do not partake of it until after you have meditated without it. The reason for this is you will divert your focus to the beverage instead of preparing for what is going to occur/what occurred. Focus on the task at hand.
It takes practice, and I have found that doing this twice a day – once when you awaken, and once just before you go to sleep – helps immensely with developing your techniques and making them more effective. It is a developed skill and requires practice, but it can take a big “bite” out of what happens both before and after the event. These things can make it easier on you in the long-term. Any comments or suggestions you wish to add from your own experiences will be appreciated and valued, and I look forward to them. Rest up, and have a good day!
JJ
This article was originally published at Ready Nutrition™ on February 18th, 2016
I do pretty much the same thing while praying. It is very relaxing.
Yes, and what is being described is also a form of meditation. Both are excellent things to become familiar with and use in every aspect of your life. This article just touches the tip of the iceberg , but all valid points. Another major issue most prepper types don’t consider properly or enough, is their overall health and fitness. This should be added to this list because it instills confidence and a calm state of mind. When you are fit , healthy and strong you are much more self confident in every aspect of your life and you think much more clearly ! These are the things I teach people and anybody can accomplish them all rather easily ! All at my site to get started for FREE ! my name +.com
There are 2 different types of battles. Physical and spiritual. The physical one is easy. The spiritual one takes faith. LOTS of faith. If you do not have the whole armor of God, you are in deep trouble. The target, is you’re mind, in my experience, thought’s of suicide, bombarded, into the mind, thought process. You need to stand firm. Ignore, the bombardment, of the words, “kill yourself”. ignore it. and laugh. simple plan. simple thought. easy to remember. that is my advice, from experience…
We absolutely have no idea what our reaction to a near death threatening experience will be until it happens. We think we are strong, we think we would never commit suicide and don’t understand those who do.
When life events or death threatening illness occurs, suddenly the desire to end it just may be something that crosses your mind. You must make up your mind now to live!
Prepare as the article says, be strong in your faith. If you have no faith, find God, and it will be life changing. Repair broken relationships. Get as healthy as you can be. Do good in the world, even if it’s a bad world. Garden, grow things. Love your family.
Be strong, be healthy, be ready.