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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