HERE’S A TRICK YOU CAN USE TODAY
STOP.
Just STOP. You don’t have to sit in a special position to start putting your mind into a state of clarity. You don’t need to wear a special outfit. You don’t need to prepare at all. You can simply STOP, at this moment, or any other moment.
Did you do it? Why not? Do it. STOP. Look away from the screen and STOP, for maybe 15 seconds—but no need to count them. A little while.
It does help to take a breath first, and then expel it—but the breath is not some special breath you have to learn. You know where your lungs are, and you know where the air is. The important thing is to STOP. In fact, whether you breathe first or STOP first is not important.
You don’t need to have a special chair or cushion for this. You don’t need to light a candle or ring a bell. You don’t need to make sure of being undisturbed for X number of minutes or hours. Simply STOP.
If you are about to make a mistake, STOP. If you are about to speak mischief, STOP. If you are about to light a cigarette, STOP. You may still decide to go ahead with the thing you were about to do, but if you STOP first, you will be more likely to be able to stand by your decision.
STOP: Is this what I really want? STOP: Is this what I really mean? STOP: Is this what I really need?
The very act of stopping sends a message to your own mind that you are in no mood to be dragged around by habit, or bullshit. Saying STOP is a way of saying to yourself, Now, wait just a minute!
But why should I STOP? Why not simply listen to myself?
Because we don’t listen to ourselves. We babble to ourselves, endlessly, all kinds of stuff, hardly noticing what’s useful and what’s deadwood--unless we do something to get our own attention. And one good way to do that is to STOP.
STOP and do nothing at all. STOP and listen. STOP and reset. STOP and breathe. STOP and let the mind blank out for a minute. STOP and get your bearings. STOP and smile. STOP and eat an apple. STOP and look in the mirror. STOP and change direction.
Make it your business to STOP, often, today and then the next day. And the next.
STOP.