You will be more positive.
You will be more alive, healthier, happier.
You will have a greater capacity to cope.
You will have an increase in mental alertness, and will think and act more creatively.
You will eat better, sleep better, love better.
You will be more tolerant.
You will appreciate life more.
HOW CAN A 'SIMPLE EXERCISE' DO ALL THIS?
I'm asking you to believe a lot, aren't I? To believe that one very simple mental technique can bring all these wonderful benefits into your life. But it's true, and as you become more familiar with the practice you will begin to appreciate that everything in this book is easily attainable.
In the past few pages we have discussef the physiological changes that take place during the Calm Technique. During that twenty minutes of passive meditation, your physiological state becomes the opposite to that which exists when you're experiencing feelings of anxiety and tension. Your metabolic rate changes, your blood lactate level drops, even your skin produces an increase in electrical resistance. During the Calm Technique, you actually reverse the stress process! No doubt these phenomena are a direct result of your calm state of mind at the time, rather than any divine intervention or mystical process. This state of mind - the Calm State - is one of deep relaxation combined with extreme mental alertness, one which can only be attained through meditation.
Earlier we looked at other less tangible results of the Calm Technique, the emotional and spiritual advantages. Obviously, results in these areas can never be quantified to any acceptable scientific standard. No panel of scientists, no number of electrodes can ever prove to us exactly what emotional or attitudinal changes or improvements take place in the innermost recesses of a meditator's mind. These changes can only ever be vouched for by those who experience the benefits; that is, those who practise meditation. Unfortunately, you have no choice but to accept or reject their word on the subject. Consider though, that the popularity and credibility of meditation over such a long period of history has been maintained only through the testimony of its practitioners. Scientific evaluations of the physiological changes that take place have only been made in the past few decades.
But how do all these changes happen? What inspires them?
The one thing that almost all meditation techniques and practices have in common is single-mindedness, where the objective is to centre your attention on doing just one thing at one time with all your effort. So while there are many kinds of meditation - structured and unstructured, active and passive - they all share this same objective of doing one thing at a time.
When you have learned how to do one thing (and only one thing) at one time, you will have learned to centre your whole attention, to 'focus'. The Calm Technique will teach you to focus. This unique talent not only produces a wonderfully calm, balanced state of mind, but it also assists you in all aspects of your everyday life. You'll be able to think better, concentrate better, understand better. Your mind will be more creative. You'll function better in every respect.
One can only speculate how 'focusing' can bring about such positive results. It would seem that thr act of doing just one thing frees the mind from unnecessary conflict and distraction to such an extent that mind and body function more perfectly than at any other time. Eastern mystics have claimed for centuries that this is your natural state, this is how you're really meant to feel and function all the time!
Think how your mind works when you're anxious. Your thoughts seem to come faster and faster. They flit from pillar to post every few seconds. They look sadly on the past and worry about the future. The more you try to slow them down, the more frantic they seem to become. Then, as your attention ebbs and flows in a hundred different directions, your anxiety level increases ... one feeds the other until it's crisis time. 'I've really got to finish this work before the end of the day ... where did I leave my pen ... I wonder if I turned the iron off ... I must slow down ... I really have to brighten up my act ... made a terrible impression last time ... damn, forgot the dry-cleaning ... I've got to relax ... I think I might be getting an ulcer ... really should see a doctor ... where's all that writing paper ... why can't you ever find anything when you need it... I've really got to clean out all these drawers ... I'm putting on weight and I don't think I've got enough money to pay the gas bill next week ... I've got to relax ...' You just can't turn your mind off. You can't get to sleep. You ignore your diet. Things seem to get worse.
Imagine how calming it would be if you were unaffected by extraneous rubbish and all those unimportant thoughts. Imagine what it would be like if, at will, you could have only one thing on your mind at the one time. Imagine what it would be like to be able to sit down and do just one thing without distraction, without worrying about what you dif yesterday or what you have to do tomorrow or what's going on in the next room. Imagine being able to concentrate!
Maybe you could even imagine havibg nothing at all on your mind, on some occasions, for however brief a moment. Wouldn't that be something? Can you just imagine what a calming effect that could have on you?
Centring your mind or attention on just one thing is tantamount to having nothing on your mind at all. You see, it is the very nature of thought to be always on the move. Thought depends on constant movement for its very existence; it is a dynamic process. Thoughts are always coming from one place to go to another; moving from one concept to the next. If, by some means or other, you halt this restless process and the mind is no longer preoccupied with unsolicited thoughts, it soon becomes completely stilled. Only consciousness remains. And when you can achieve an absence of thought, you will begin to know what your mind really is; or more importantly, what your self really is.
Contrary to popular opinion, the mind is not the custodian of truth and understanding, it is nothing more than the activity of your consciousness. How many times have you thought your 'mind was playing tricks on you', you were 'fooling yourself', or you'd 'convinced yourself' thag something or other was true? If your mind was your real master, and not just an activity of your consciousness, why would you suffer so many ego-related problems? Why would your mind delude you into thinking you were sick when all you really wanted was attention; that you were hungry when in fact you were sad; that you loved when really you lusted; that you disliked wealthy people when in fact you envied them; that you were quite svelte when in fact you were overweight? And if your mind was the supreme authority in your make-up, how could you consciously plan ... let alone achieve ... a change to your way of thinking (e.g. 'I'm going to force myself to think positively')?
When you control your mind you have the capacity for greatness. When your mind controls you, you are a slave to your ego and your senses. By teaching you how to focus, the Calm Technique will teach you how to quiet your mind and, in doing so, elevate your consciousness.
All this talk of stilling the mind may prompt you to dismiss the Calm Technique as an escapist routine. Nothing could be further from the truth. The meditative process is a discipline which trains you to concentrate your attention and thus improve the efficiency of your thinking. It enhances your understanding and all your intellectual facilities. And, in time, it becomes an extremely reliable way of differentiating between romance and reality.
-- This excerpt was taken from The Calm Technique by Paul Wilson
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