Falling into The Place of Silent Music

        Taking yet a different tack, this week, my friends.

        I've been learning some interesting facts about mindfulness and meditation, lately.  I was skeptical, I admit - but I've tried to be open-minded, because centuries of practice by billions of people couldn't really be totally without merit, right?  So, after a class which I'd not expected to teach some mindfulness meditations, I began to test it out and see which kinds worked and how to make them work for me.

When I am silent, I fall into the place where everything is music.

~ Rumi

        As many of you know, I have a number of health issues, leading to symptoms like high blood pressure and anxiety.  I need to regularly visit a lot of medical specialists, have a lot of diagnostic tests, and have plenty of treatments and odd protocols to follow in order to keep my equilibrium as steady as possible. Unfortunately, complications continue to lead to inability to treat some of the problems, and so I've had to just deal with some of it, including chronic pain and nutritional imbalances. Naturally, all of these things could lead to huge exacerbation of things like those high blood pressure and anxiety issues!

         But I've actually found that the days I practice (I've explained before, probably on the PB Facebook Page, I only do it for a few minutes at a time and it's usually very simple), I tend to be more calm, more at-ease, and more able to handle the crazy things that pop up in daily living.  I've had a number of medical appointments at which my blood pressure was taken, and it appears to have gone down to the point I may need to adjust my medications so it doesn't go too low!  My general symptoms are still there, but they are not nearly what they were before... and yet on the days I don't practice, I can definitely tell the difference!  This, from a skeptic!

So why did I choose this quote?  Just between you and me, and anyone else who reads this, I actually chose it because I was looking for a quote about "mindfulness and simplicity", and saw this... and fell in love with it!  What better reason, right? 

        Actually, when I read this, it really resonated with me, for a number of reasons.  For one, I have always been very deeply passionate about music.  I've done a lot of performing in my lifetime, and I have always been deeply moved by music of many types, genres, artists, instruments and so on, listening to some kind of recordings or radio almost daily.  To me, music is more than just something to fill time or space, for us; it is something woven into time and space, within us.  Even as infants, our brains respond to sounds and rhythms, such as lullabies, and develop neurons as we respond to the sounds and experiences of it.  It becomes an integral part of the physical matter that makes us who and what we are in this life!

        When we hear music, it's like there's this little switch that flips, and our brains start to align with it, even if they haven't done it before.  It might seem uncomfortable, especially if it is a foreign kind of music - and we might not even like it - but that doesn't really matter, because the mere listening to it has prompted that response, and the brain creates connections that almost instantly make it a part of us.  Our beings try to adapt to the form, flow and feeling that is contained and expressed within the construct of the sounds, and when included, lyrics - hence our emotional responses and the surfacing of memories or thoughts unrelated to the present moment of listening.  We are being opened to things we consciously could not have connected, before.

And this applies... how?

Patience, my friends.  I'm getting there.

Just know that whatever falls out of my brain, here, 

is only my own experience and musing,

and not taken directly from official sources,
except various things I've read, somewhere.

This is all just me, and I'm not specially/professionally trained,

so take it or leave it; just know I mean it.

        It took me a while to get to the point where I could just close my eyes; mindfully relax, paying attention to where I hold tension and consciously relaxing those areas; and start breathing.  Just breathing, counting the seconds of in-breath, and the seconds of out-breath, often in patterns, to help me focus.  Sometimes, to retain my focus, I will imagine the numbers in my head, visually, which helps keep my attention from wandering.  If my mind wanders, I go back to visualizing the numbers again.  I'm not sure how many minutes that would make the meditation, and I don't do the same length every day, but those days I do practice, I am my most relaxed, usually least in pain, and most likely to be more effective at thinking and handling my emotional responses in healthy ways.

        In this rhythm I create in my thoughts, and this silent, motionless state, my mind is released from the constant, conscious whirring of thoughts and emotions, and it seems like it begins to sort itself out, without my needing to figure out how.  Whatever I have simmering behind the scenes I cannot see, seems to mellow and become less insistent to sabotage me.  It's almost like the song of silence flips a little switch which allows my brain to align with it.  And with it, I connect peace and gentleness, so I feel more of it, the more of it I create.

Skeptics, I don't think I've gone off the deep end, here.

Honestly, this is actually what has happened.

It's really, rather surprising, and kinda cool!

When I am silent, I fall into the place where everything is music.

        I'm not going to tell you that everything in your life will be realigned and all will be right with the world, if you practice meditation.

• You don't have to leave your current choice of faith/belief system, nor otherwise change anything about your life.  
• You don't suddenly need to become a yogi nor are required to adopt Buddhism.  
• You needn't spend hours in lotus position, either.  
• And you certainly don't have to follow the description I gave as an example of how I do it! 

        There are countless ways, forms and styles of mindfulness and meditation, even all over the internet!  There are audio/video presentations, including guided visualization meditations, on popular sites such as YouTube, and doing an internet search will provide you a wealth of reading and quite possibly groups or classes in your area, so you can learn in person and ask questions.  Also, I've been collecting some ideas on the PB Pinterest Boards, if you are interested in finding some suggestions, there. You may need to try a few, different types, as I did, to find what works best for you, and you may find that over time, new ideas are welcome and your preferred methods will change.  It is not about how to do it "the right way", but simply trying it and actually "practicing" it.

        Whatever you choose to think about this topic, or even this post in general, I would love your feedback!  Questions, respectful comments, suggestions and insights are always welcome, either here, below, or on the PB Facebook Page.  Either way, if you give it the benefit of the doubt, and see what comes of it, you might be pleasantly surprised, as I was.

        Better days ahead, my friends!