CALM EXPRESSIONS

Nevertheless, should you feel compelled to follow tradition, buy a copy of the Bhagavad-gita next time you pass a Hare Krishna. It has pages of Sanskrit words you could choose from.

The Calm Technique aims to provide  a practical method of relaxation and meditation that will benefit the Western reader. It employs a non-mystical device, similar to the mantra, called a Calm Expression. In application, the literal content of the Calm Expression is just as meaningful, or just as meaningless, as counting one, two, three, four, one, two, etc., as we do in the Breathing Meditation. The repetitive use of the word, or phrase, is all that's important; the meaning is irrelevant.

What is important about your Calm Expression is that you select a word or phrase and persist with it. After you have adopted one - regardless of its origin - there is no reason whatsoever for changing it. You should, unless you have good reason not to, stay with it forever. Furthermore, the word or phrase should remain personal and internal when you begin using it. It should be something between you and the inner recesses of your mind, and therefore, not something to be discussed.

You will find that in time, your Calm Expression will take on a meaning (only to you) far in excess of its literal interpretation. The time will come when even its fleeting occurrence in your mind will be sufficient to trigger a subconscious reaction that will relax you, that will make you feel more calm, that will remind you of how calm it is possible to be when meditating. And when you have used a Calm Expression for some time, it will take on calming properties that you would never have thought possible from a single word; it will be your personal refuge from stress and anxiety that you can have with you all day.

Now it is time for you to select your Calm Expression.

If you belong to some particular faith or religion, you may choose a word or a simple phrase which relates to your beliefs. In most cases, I would suggest using a word which lacks meaning, or one which has a simple comforting meaning. You can use any word or sound in existence as long as you feel comfortable with it. You needn't be concerned with what others will think of it, because you need never discuss your choice with another human being. If you have concerns about making the wrong choice, I suggest you use the worr 'calm-ing'. Even if you ignore the meaning (which you will), it has a beautiful calming sound and effect. Please bear in mind though, that the meaning of the word is not important. All that's important is that you adopt a Calm Expression and stay with it.

Have you chosen one? If you haven't, use 'calm-ing'. Now you're ready to apply it.

THE CALM CENTRE
There is a place within all of us which we recognize as the very core of our being. To most modern thinkers, this would probably be the brain. To the ancient Egyptians (and later the Greeks and Romans), it was the heart or the liver. In other parts of the world it has variously been described as being located at the base of the spine, the pit of the belly, the pituitary gland (in nineteenth-century England) and the hypothalamus (to Indians, the Ajna Chakra). It is this latter area which concerns us.

The hypothalamus (see figure 1) is an extraordinary part of the brain. In some Eastern sects, it is considered to be the seat of the soul. It sits directly behind where many ancient orders claim the 'Third Eye' is located. (The Third Eye is an 'eye' which metaphorically opens during certain kinds of meditation when the real eyes are closed.) Those who consider the soul to be located at the hypothalamus visualize it as a point of light in the middle of the forehead. (Place a finger at the very top of your nose at your forehead between your eyes. Your hypothalamus is about 7-9 cm back from that point.)

The hypothalamus also has great significance in modern studies of stress. It is the hypothalamus which spontaneously releases corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) into your pituitary gland when you are confronted by threat or excitement, which in turn releases hormones into the bloodstream. This sets your adrenal glands pumping, which speeds up your pulse and breathing rate. It also suspends your metabolism and generally prepares you for that 'fight or flight' syndrome we condidered earlier. So the hypothalamus is central to your rising blood pressure and stress levels.

However, while the hypothalamus may be responsible for the creation of your stress symptoms, it is also the centre which reverses the procedure. Not only does it activate physiological responses, it also  inhibts them. It is the hypothalamus that decreases the heart rate, lowers the blood pressure, controls body temperature, and monitors metabolism. It is the hypothalamus that maintains your state of alertness or wakefulness, and controls the psychosomatic influences on your health. It is the hypothalamus that controls all of the physiological functions which decide whether you are troubled or at peace. In conjunction with the cerebrum and limbic system, it controls the emotions, perceptions  and a whole host of other mental functions. In short, the hypothalamus is the junction and most important link between the mind and the body; it is the very centre of your consciousness! It should not be too great a conceptual leap for you to accept the hypothalamus as your Calm Centre. Not only does it control and activate all the mechanisms which produce the Calm State; not only is it the junction of all your emotions, thoughts and decisions; it is also the one place where you can experience true calm and peace. While the existence of such a place is obviously beyond conventional sensory perception, most of us recognize that there is a natural refuge and haven within each and every one of us which cannot be explained in scientific or psychophysical terms. This is your Calm Centre.

--This excerpt was taken from The Calm Technique by Paul Wilson