Welcome to the Calmer Center

At Zenlp.org we understand that many people come to meditation for some calm. Relaxing might simply involve just a little down time for you. But if you need to find a deeper calmer center, then these powerful techniques may help.

For some of us peace is quiet, it is harmony. For others calm is serene and smooth. And for some people tranquility is restful stillness. It can be useful to know if you sense peace through hearing quiet, or seeing serenity, or feeling serenity.

Consider how you know you're feeling calm, and then create that in your environment. Best of all, create a quiet, visually pleasant and physically relaxing situation before you try these techniques.

Here's some immediate techniques to help you relax, and some others that might help with more lasting change.



Need to feel better fast?

The simplest, fastest way to improve how you feel is through your breath.

This exercise was first introduced to us by Anthony Robbins, but is originally based on the ancient tradition of prana.

Breathe in as you count to 5, hold your breath for the count of 20, and breathe out as you count to 10.

Do it ten times, at least. The count doesn't have to be slow, do it comfortably, you may even count quite quickly.

It is the proportions of 1 to 4 to 2 that are important. If you do push this too hard, you may get a little light headed, but you're aiming to feel 'bubbly' with plenty of oxygen in your blood.

You should try to keep your back straight as you do this, preferably sitting or standing up straight. Loosen any tight clothing.

And try to breathe by expanding your belly and using your diaphragm to pull air into your lungs rather than lifting your shoulders.



Need to sleep? This could work.

Here's what you should do:
Think, "I'd like to go to sleep".

Look around and note three things that you can see.

Note three things that your body can feel (the feeling of the bed clothes, for example).

Listen out for three things that you can hear.

Then note two different things that you can see, two different feelings in your body and two more things that you can hear.

Finally find one other new thing that you can see, a new feeling and a new sound to hear.

Take a moment or two to enjoy the change in your state.



What's really the matter? Deep down you do know, and you can do something about it.

Like an iceberg much of our brain is below the surface.

No matter how smart you think you are you probably can't turn this morning's breakfast into human skin and hair consciously. Yet the powerhouse of your brain is doing just that, and far more all the time.

And your unconscious is registering what's going on all the time, and learning simple lessons about what's good for us, and what's not.

Sometimes we outgrow those lessons, but often we ignore our inner wisdom when we shouldn't.

Your unconscious is your inner self, or perhaps inner selves, as there can be many parts that make up who we are deep down.

You might like to ask your unconscious if it would like to communicate what the real problem you are facing is.

Don't ask yet what the problem actually is. Be aware that often our unconscious tries to communicate with our conscious mind, but doesn't get much of a hearing.

The unconscious will pop up ideas, but because they're too familiar, or distasteful we quickly swat them down.

After a while the subconscious expects that, so you've got to promise that you will give it attention.

As your unconscious for a signal, (a feeling that you can't consciously evoke), that it is willing to communicate.

Don't be surprised at the strength of the signal. Understand that the stronger the feeling the more important the message is. Don't be alarmed at tears, for example. You can regard any strong signal as indicating that you're on the right path.

Keeping your mind very open, and keeping it as quiet as you can, ask your unconscious what the problem is.

Regard what comes into your mind as a precious gift from yourself to yourself. Consider it for a moment, and then thank your unconscious for communicating it.

Now ask your unconscious, and all the parts of your inner self, if they can make arrangements among themselves to find some satisfactory solutions to the problem you face over the next few days. Ask them to bring the solutions to you as dreams, or ideas, so that you can think about them.

Expect to get plenty of ideas over the next few days, some startling, some genuinely resonant with who you are. Ask yourself what the costs and consequences are of any action that you may consider.

When you do have a solid idea of what is right for you to do, ask your unconscious about it just before you go to sleep, and dream on it. Allow yourself some time on this decision, but don't postpone it forever.



Checking in with your intuition.

Using the same technique, ask your unconscious if it will give you signals for yes and no.

If you get a positive response, then ask for a clear signal for 'yes'.

When you've got that feeling, take a break, and do something different for a few moments. Then ask if your unconscious for a signal for 'no'.

You now have a clear channel of communication between your unconscious and your conscious. You may decide that you want to only use that for specific questions that you consciously put to your inner self.

But you may also decide to open the door wide and ask your unconscious to clearly communicate the subtlety of its reactions to situations you find yourself in.

Cultivated carefully, and especially with the use of a calm anchor, this makes for a powerful intuition.



Breaking the cycle: the calming breaths.

There's another description of this technique in the processes section. You might like to read that as an overview of how it can be used for confidence. But here's how you can calm yourself in the time it takes to take just three breaths.

Recall at least three situations in which you've felt really calm.

Think of a time when you were 'in flow' with what was going on; a time when you felt very relaxed, perhaps on holiday; and a time when you were very much at peace.

One at a time go back to each of those times. To start vividly imagine being in the first situation; see what you saw then, hear what was around you then, and remember any other physical sensations - the feeling of your clothes, or any special aromas.

As you do that you'll notice the feeling of calm or peace coming back - concentrate on that feeling as much as you can. As you begin to feel the feeling peak, take three deep breaths.

Now think of something else. Anything will do, as long as you change from the state you elicited. Then repeat the process for the other two memories, breaking between them.

The calming breaths are working when you feel a genuine flood of the calm and peace as you take three deep breaths.

At another time, you might like to think about situations where you need to be calm. Go back to them, again imagining the situation that you don't feel great in, and as soon as the feeling you don't like starts to come back, take the three breaths, filling yourself with calm.

You should find that the calm arises when you find yourself in the unhappy situation again, or at least you'll be reminded to breathe deeply three times, bringing back the good feeling.