Turmoil, Turbulence and Trouble – Finding calm and peace in the midst of emotional tornadoes.
You ever have a period of time when all hell seems to break loose? I’ve had that kind of week. Don’t get me wrong, some of the things that happened were great, like my sister coming and staying for a few days and having my daughter stay at the same time. That’s a wonderful thing. At the same time, I’m not accustomed to all the visitors and constant activities, including eating out often. Then, we added in a young, un-neutered dog in need of a home, several doctor visits, work, late nights and the energy in the house was topsy-turvy, to say the least!
There were times, especially when we were trying to get our older, recently adopted male dog to befriend the younger dog, when I was frazzled and stressed to the max. Barking does that to me. I’m sure everyone gets there at one point or another. I’m also pretty sure everyone has their favorite way to unwind and de-stress after that kind of day.
What are some of those ways? How do you maintain, or re-gain, a calm and peaceful inner state in the midst of such turmoil and turbulence and trouble, in the midst of all that stress? It’s not a given that because you meditate or usually have a calm demeanor that you’ll naturally and easily find your level, calm, peaceful place. Sometimes it takes a focused, concerted effort and some space to breathe.
For me, there are times when I can shake things off with a few deep breaths and a few minutes of meditation and others where I need some concentrated “me” time. This is time I take for myself to center and re-align my energy and emotions with God, Source or Higher Self. There are many ways to do this, including: prayer, meditation, chanting, visualization, bathing/sauna/jacuzzi time, sauna, exercise and more. All of these methods will help you get your head clear and get back to alignment with the source of your internal energy. When you’re aligned internally, your body works better, your mind works better and your emotions are easier to deal with.
What is it about these particular activities that helps? Most of them, including meditation, get us to an alpha state. The alpha state refers to the neural oscillations in the 8 – 12 Hz range and are associated with a relaxed state of being similar to the state between wake and sleep. “Zen-trained meditation masters produce noticeably more alpha waves during meditation. This fact has led to a popular trend of biofeedback training programs for everyday stress relief.” – Wikipedia.
I meditate almost every day, sometimes several times a day in short bursts. When my brain waves are slower, I’m able to let go of those matters that are vexing me. Even so, it’s not always the only method I use to get clear, calm and aligned. There are times that I actually need to shake off some energy so I’ll do something physical. I’ll take a walk or a drive, do some exercise or, sometimes, I might even clean. Either way, I’m getting the same results.
Getting clear, calm and aligned is one of the best ways to do this. All those emotional tornadoes then become manageable and everyday turmoil and turbulence become bumps in the road.
What’s your favorite way to unwind? Share with everyone in the comments below. I’m always interested in trying something new and different, or retrying an old favorite.
