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As something different, I was sent this article which might well give us some things to think upon and maybe incorporate into our daily living patterns. It isn't a religious article but contains in it some spiritual truths and it can help us all.
"Walking With Intention Those who know me will attest that I am a “fast walker.” It started when I was in high school; I liked to get to class on time. Now that I live in Los Angeles, my walking has only quickened; as anyone who lives in a city knows, the sidewalk edict is to keep the same pace as your fellow walkers. I find that there’s also a yearning to look hurried, like your final destination is very important. And though in high school I enjoyed looking like I had somewhere important to be, now, more times than not, I'm not actually going anywhere noteworthy. “Why for so many years have I chosen to hurry through life when on my feet?”
This year has forced many of us to slow down and reflect on what we value and how we can be more intentional with our everyday life. During this time of social distancing, it’s been interesting to observe how I've cultivated a different relationship with walking. This is especially clear now that I’m not rushing from place to place. Why, for so many years, have I chosen to hurry through life when on my feet?
This is why I’ve started exploring how I can make walking a more meditative experience, one that matches the yoga and meditation rituals I use to calm my mind and body. For anyone else ready to dissolve the need to hurry, here are some of my favorite tips for turning walking into a more mindful experience.
LOOK UP “When moving slow enough, your eyes will carry you where you need to go.” When walking at your natural pace, notice where you direct your eyesight. If you find that you’re looking down at your feet, try turning your gaze upward. (Of course, make sure you’re not going to trip on the path in front of you.) When moving slow enough, your eyes will carry you where you need to go.
I love to look to the sky when walking. We often think that looking at the sky is only for those rare occasions when we lie on a blanket in a park. But I love looking at the shapes of the clouds, the birds flying, and silhouettes that tree branches make. The reality is: looking up and around is always available to us. LISTEN TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS It can be easy to tune out the world around us as we move through it. Our minds want us to feel distracted as a way to protect us. But when we allow ourselves to be present to sounds, it expands our perception of the world. “Consider where [the noises you hear] are coming from and observe how different sounds make you feel.” Focus on the noises you hear, both the pleasant and unpleasant ones. Consider where they are coming from and observe how different sounds make you feel. Practice gratitude for the music that the world makes as all beings move through their existence. OBSERVE YOUR PACE Slowing your walking pace brings attention to the world around you so that you can see the tiny details, the imperfections, and the beauty in our environments. You don't have to have a destination in mind but consider having a route in advance so that your body knows where you're headed and you don't feel the urge to rush.
It may take time to find the meditative walking pace that works for you. First, challenge yourself to move less hurried. Then, adjust your speed with what feels natural with your breath. Notice if you start walking fast as your thoughts speed up. When this happens, bring the breath back and return to your mantra—we’ll dive into that more below—to help slow your pace. FIND YOUR BREATH Breathing happens on its own; we couldn’t survive without it. But how often are we unaware of our breath? Especially when walking, we tend to hold our breath. “Slow your pace as a way to slow your breath.”
Practice taking a deep inhale with every step, and then an exhale in the next step. Connect your breath to the rhythm of your feet as they move. Notice how your breathing speeds up or slows down depending on your pace. Slow your pace as a way to slow your walking and in deed slow your self down.
WALK TALL We have a tendency to slouch. This happens because of we are often to be found sitting over our computer, tablets or ipads and is even a subconscious act to protect our hearts. But walking tall invites us to open ourselves and lead with love. When we practice standing up straight, it also elongates our muscles, opens our chest, and cultivates confidence.
“Standing up straight...elongates our muscles, opens our chest, and cultivates confidence.” Start by rolling the shoulders back down the spine and allow the chin to move away from the chest. This expanded stance also helps bring the eyes forward or up with more ease. When we stand up straight, we’re also able to breathe easier by opening the chest and lungs.
USE A Mantra
A mantra is most often used in Hinduism and Buddhism, but also Christianity. It is a word or sound that helps focus the mind. There are thousands of mantras found in Eastern studies and rooted in anchoring thoughts. You can also create your own by repeating a word or phrase that feels comforting to you.
“Repeating a mantra while walking mindfully helps keep the mind from wandering.” Repeating a mantra while walking mindfully helps keep the mind from wandering. It also brings the consciousness back to the present moment. I find mantras to be extremely helpful in bringing me into a meditative state of awareness. This is much like teh Jesus Prayer that we have thought about before.
LEAVE YOUR PHONE AT HOME Doing a walking meditation is the perfect time to be without technology, to be present in the world around you. Unless you’re using your phone to listen to meditative music or a guided meditation, consider leaving your phone at home to eliminate distractions.
If a walking meditation ritual sounds like a great fit for you, find time to walk with intention each day. Remember that meditation, like all things, takes practice, so I recommend exploring a style that works for you and the modalities that help in being present. Consider incorporating walking meditation into your day where you feel like you can relax the most. After some time, you may start to notice a more elevated, blissful version of yourself that you can carry with you wherever you go.
Now, this article can help us all whether young or older, in good physical shape or not, active in exercising or struggling just to get about at home. You can follow all this helpful advice whether walking to the bathroom, the front door, into the kitchen or even the garden.
These days so many of us slouch and I can hear my parents words to me stand straight! We are so busy that we need to be made to slow right down in everything we do at times. This lockdown has made many people stop and slow right down, to slow almost to a stop sometimes. Yet some of us too have just kept going at the same old pace! We have failed to take this advice seriously at all.
Walking is something we can be deliberate about, concentrating on this step in the moment and not rushing off to the next or round the corner or wherever we are off too. It is an exercise in meditation whether we are popping to Londis, or to see a friend or even to go to church. However, we still must keep our wits about us!
A PRAYER TO SLOW DOWN
Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tension of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations.. of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that life is not always to the swift. That there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering Oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow towards the stars of my greater destiny. AMEN
— Author Unknown
From: Linda Katherine Baker, M.A. Standing Stone Ministry
For some reason this morning my computer put the blog into the junk file! I was so glad to recover it and read some really inspiring thoughts and prayers. Thank you Rhian X