How Many? How Much? …. Everyday!
I attended the NICABM conference this year on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. I was in a session with Rick Hanson (his latest book: Buddha’s Brain: The practical neuroscience of happiness, love and wisdom) and he was sharing his ideas about pairing positive thoughts with negative ones in a very calm and mindful setting. We even did a group guided meditation to demonstrate how one might work through such a session with a client in psychotherapy. Now I don’t believe you need psychotherapy to practice this idea at all. In fact I think it’s a helpful practice for all of us and I am certain Rick Hanson would say the same.
What struck me is the question one woman asked when it was time for audience participation. She asked, “How many sessions/times would you have to do this with a client? I’m not even sure she asked about seeing results – she just seemed to want a number. And I smiled – thinking to myself how powerfully our culture has ingrained in us the notion of beginning and end, productivity and numbers; start a project and bring it to completion. In fact this paradigm pervades even our thoughts about our lives, not just our work. We want to know how long we’ll have to be on the diet and how many sessions until we feel better and how long do we have to save money for and when will it end? How many days a week and how many minutes must I exercise to see results; and on and on and on it goes.
And I have learned that for peace of mind and well being – the two most vital aspects of life for me – there are no number of days/minutes/month or years. A lifestyle is a practice. And we engage in it every day. We may borrow from theory to get information that is helpful to us or can be modified for our practice/circumstances/body weight/physical condition etc. But more important than any theory about how many, how much, when, with whom is that we practice regularly. And that we find a practice that is right for us, so that rather than asking: “How many?” or “How much?” We can feel and say: “I am so glad I can get up and practice my life every day. I love it and I’m good at it. My life brings me peace of mind and wellness, contentment, security, community, appreciation, confidence, kindness, love, health and enough of everything I need”; despite the ups and down of everyday life.
If your practice isn’t working for you. Please take the time to discover what would work for you. And day to day take some baby steps that will move you toward a greater sense of well being. How much? How long? As much as you need for the rest of your life! ;o) Enjoy!
Suzanne Ballantyne – zannie@nc.rr.com – wellness coach & yoga teacher
