From Fret to Flow

       After last week's posting, I've started paying attention, once again, to what brain researchers are calling "the default mode" – the place mind automatically goes during down time, when we're not busy doing something.  For me, that place usually involves fret and fantasy – including regrets and recriminations, review and rehearsal, preparation and planning, and imaginary interactions.  Standard monkey mind.

       I'm playing with ways to shift this default mode to something much more peaceful, so that idle moments are actually restful and restorative.   My favorite approach is to breathe light (love energy) into my lower belly, hold it there for a moment, then exhale through the heart – clearing and opening the heart, sharing the light. 

       There are lots of possibilities here.  The trick, I think, is to find something we like, keep it simple, and stubbornly stick to it – gently and firmly returning to the flow each time we stray.

       If it's true that we need 10,000 repetitions to create a new default, I only have about 9,947 to go.