From Chaos to Calm: The Power of Presence

Earlier this week I took the train to London to be with my twin daughters, one of them graduating. A very proud mother here. On the way, I got distracted, phone calls, people asking me things, and I did not get into the car on time. As I locked the front door I saw a beautiful feather, striped grey and white and black, and I picked it up. It reminded me to take a moment, to take my time. When you move that fast, you are often not in the moment, and you miss things.

The Day That Went Against Me

I rushed to the station, up the stairs, across, and just as I reached the platform the train pulled out. How many of you know that feeling? One of those days. I turned around thinking I would drive up to the petrol station where there is phone signal, finish my emails, come back for the next train. As my hand reached the car door, I remembered the feather. I had been asking for a sign. So I took a breath, locked the car again, and walked slowly back, taking my little suitcase up the stairs and across, being with the day. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, and for the next half hour I would have no signal, no social media, no easy way to distract myself.

Gratitude Changes Your State

We always have other ways to leave the moment, of course. The mind can go to the past, to a fear, to something that might happen again. That is often how our beliefs get wired into who we are. So for that half hour I walked the little yellow line and let myself feel the wind in my hair, patches of sun warming my skin. I felt grateful. Grateful for clean air, for living somewhere without war, for the abundance to buy the ticket, to see my daughters, to work in a way that lets me take the day off and be present with my family.

That state of gratitude completely changed everything. Instead of, this is one of those days, it will never stop, the day turned beautiful. A kind gentleman helped me up with my suitcase into the carriage. Then I was with myself, my thoughts, and the awareness that this moment, this breath, is perfect.

A Practice, Under Seven Minutes

Whenever a day seems to go against everything you are trying to achieve, do not push through it. Slow down. Take a breath in through your nose, all the way, and notice where it lands in your body and where it exhales from. For me there is a little contraction between the shoulder blades and the bottom of the ribcage. I simply place my attention there, then exhale through the mouth.

Let the breath flow naturally. Thoughts come in, thoughts go out, a little like a leaf in the wind you cannot quite catch. Let them pass. With each breath, go a bit deeper. Feel the safety of this moment, being in your body, right here, right now. This is presencing, noticing what is happening without needing to fix it or move it. It creates capacity, a way to be with yourself as you are. In moments you can move from frantic and anxious back to feeling fully in your body.

Another way I love just as much: put on music and let your body shake, move, dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is hearing. Even if people are watching, you be you. The more you can be your authentic self, in front of yourself and then in front of others, the more that state, that joy, that abundance is drawn toward you.

"You can always change your energetic state. Notice where you are contracted, and then, after the practice, notice how much more expanded you become."