encinitasgi@sbcglobal.net
MEDITATION
The act of sitting down and taking a deep breath. The act of “stupidly wasting time”; which, paradoxically, will give us the strength we need to live for today.
Holistic medicine is not about “natural” pills. It is more about empowering patients to do three things they can do for themselves: Meditation, Nutrition and Exercise. Meditation is not an elusive science or practice left to gurus and high rank religious people. Meditation is a part of every one of us. To cite words of some, in the orient the sages say “sit down and take a deep breath” In the Bible says “be still and believe that I am your God”. I’m sure we will find similar words in any other spiritual books of the religion of our choice.
When we take a deep breath, we are NATURALLY changing our own chemistry by eliciting the Relaxation Response, our adrenaline goes down and our serotonin goes up. This does not mean that when we practice this we should be free of feeling or thinking; this would only happen if we were dead!
Every human being has the need of peace of mind. For some, it is difficult to feel it, especially when we are going through trying times. We do not have to worry about not getting the peace that we want at the very second we ask for it. We can just stay still and believe that the good news are that we have only lost our perspective temporarily, but that it can be regained. No matter how negative our attitude is, what kind of tragedy we (or our loved ones) are going through; we are capable of finding serenity and peace of mind.
SERENITY is a 15th century word which comes from the Latin word serenus which means clear, referring to a sky free of clouds; it also means calm, peaceful, cheerful, tranquil. To many of us, serenity implies a state of wellbeing where things are “OK”, where there are no worries, where nobody is “screwing with us”.
Some people define serenity as a “state of no anxiety”, which I believe only happens when we are dead! The human being is an anxious being. If we deny ourselves the right to be anxious, we are cheating ourselves from living life “on life’s terms”. As a result, we will become even more anxious!
Even when there is calm in Nature, there is “movement”, there is “noise”. When the environment appears quiet, we, as well as many animals are in some type of motion. We cannot ask our hearts to stop for the sake of our “calmness”. The lake of the calmest waters has a lot of activity; if we look in the water we will see fish moving from one place to another, plants waving at the rhythm of the waters. Even the stillest air has motion; the air circulates when there is no wind. When the sky is clear, it is actually not completely clear because there is a multitude of particles (water, dust, flying organisms, etc) floating in the air that cannot be easily perceived by our eyes or senses.
Demanding to ourselves that there be “no movement”, “no restlessness”, or “no anxiety of any kind” when we sit down to relax or meditate is an unrealistic and unkind act against ourselves. This defeats the purpose of meditation and the search for peace of mind. The reality is that
SERENITY IS A STATE OF “REASONABLE TURBULENCE”
Well, so then, how can we deal with “turbulence”? May I invite you to sit down and welcome your nervousness, your anxiety, your limitations, your ineptitudes, your failures, and everything else that originates your worries? It is silly to worry about not resting or meditating the “right way”, isn’t it? If you disagree, let me know. Send me a letter or an e-mail; I would like to learn how you handle this. After all, I am just another fearful and anxious human being.
“Serenity is mine anytime I wish to receive it. I just need to sit down and take a deep breath; it will be there at that very second”
Copyright ©Rafael E. Cuellar, MD. 2012
