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The Blues: A Wellspring of Peace
By Dr. Marie DiCowden
How many times have you had "the
blues?" Feeling blue or down is often the result of a
combination of things: physical and emotional fatigue, a
sense of loss or hopelessness that things will never
change. Being a caregiver often requires days and nights
of intense giving that leave a person feeling depleted
and having a case of the "the blues".
If, however, you tried the meditation exercises that I
talked about in the last issue (Tapping the Wellspring
of Time and Energy, May/June '97), you can build on that
to turn the meaning of the "the blues" around. If you
have not stated meditating, now is the perfect time to
start.
Take 10 minutes a day, with the phone off the hook and
sitting in a quiet space, allow yourself to breathe. Be
conscious of your breath. Let thoughts pass without
dwelling on them. Then-to turn "the blues" around-try
this:
1. Settle yourself in a comfortable sitting position.
Sitting up is better than lying down
2. Find a beautiful shade of blue. It can be a favorite
painting with varying shades of blue, a view of the blue
sky or blue ocean, or just a beautiful blue object.
3. Just sit silently and look into the blue. Let
yourself become in tune with the blue. Experience the deep
silence of the blue. Continue to meditate on the blue.
4. Let the blue fill you from head to toe. Let all
thoughts come and go, passing through you as white
clouds pass through the blue of the sky.
5. Become the
blue.
Blue is a very spiritual color. It connotes tranquility
and relaxation. If you continue with the meditation ten
minutes a day for three weeks, you will begin to find
that whenever you have a glimpse of something blue, the
blue will immediately tune you into the feeling of
relaxation. When you are feeling really relaxed, you
will also experience the color blue in a very different
way.
Being relaxed and changing your perception of the blues,
will not only help you but it will help the care
recipients. That person will begin to sense the
increased peace in your presence.
Dr. Marie DiCowden, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of
The Biscayne Rehabilitation Institute in Aventura, FL.,
which offers classes in meditation.
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