We use the processes of active meditation throughout this book. You need to learn about Peaceful Place (PP), and then be introduced to meditation before you can actually do the first exercise. To this end, the next chapter is from my book ‘Switch on to Your Inner Strength’, followed by Mind Exercise No. 1.
Chapter 3
Building Your Peaceful Place
It’s best to explain “Why Relaxation” and “What is Meditation” with a bit of science about the mind. Many psychologists talk about the mind having a conscious and a subconscious part. That’s OK I choose to say subconscious mind and conscious mind. It makes no difference. The circles below represent the mind. The shaded area shows the 12% which is the conscious mind and the clear circle is the remaining 88% of the subconscious mind. The following are stored in the subconscious mind:
Habits and beliefs
Memory
Personality
Between the conscious and subconscious minds is a ‘filter’ (dotted line) which is part of the Reticular Activating System (RAS). This Reticular Activating Filter either lets through or blocks out information that the subconscious mind receives. Once information gets past the Filter it’s in your subconscious mind, which is your long term memory. Science has estimated that 70 to 80 percent of what the conscious mind deals with does NOT make it into long term memory.
When you are relaxed, this filter opens and allows information into your subconscious mind, and hence memory, more easily.
The relaxed state is called ALPHA. It is one of four brainwave states that scientists have identified. The others are:
BETA (the busy state), THETA (deep meditation and sleep dream state) and DELTA (deep dreamless sleep state).
In the diagram on the left you will see that in BETA the RAS filter is tightly closed and no information can get into your memory. In ALPHA and THETA it is partly open and in DELTA it is wide open.
Although the filter is wide open in DELTA, it is the deep sleep state, and science has proved that it is not a time for learning!
If you wish to go further using these techniques, then in my book ‘Piece of Mind’ I expound on how to use the Peaceful Place method to relax in 30 seconds.
Why You’ll Find it Useful
Using this 30 second relaxation technique, you’ll be able to:
Relax whenever and wherever you want
Accelerate your learning
Be relaxed for exams
Improve your exam results
Remain calm during disagreements
Increase your memory and recall
Improve your creativity
Achieve your goals faster
Substitute new habits for ones no longer serving you
Release physical hurt quickly
Increase your self confidence
Remain calm during embarrassing moments
Improve your reading speed and comprehension
When You’ll be Able to Use it
You can improve your performance by using the 30 second relaxation technique before:
Talking in a group
Talking in front of the class or an audience
Debating
Drama
Asking for something
Sporting events swimming, surfing, tennis, etc.
Painting, writing, sculpting.
We will be using the Peaceful Place method described in this book to facilitate relaxation. (I love that word facilitate. It comes from the French word ‘facile’ to make easy). You first build the Peaceful Place inside your mind and then get back to the same relaxed state, the Alpha brain wave state, in three minutes. Once you have done this there is an induction process using further guided imagery to take you into the deeper relaxed state of Theta, that is, to the meditation state. Once you’re in the state of theta, even more guided imagery helps you to direct your subconscious mind with your conscious mind. You can do this with any topic you choose. It’s a powerful way of achieving goals, changing habits, releasing pain, improving your immune system, using creativity and more (a list of the guided imagery tapes available in the Peaceful Place series is on page 289).
So firstly, let’s go to “Building Your Peaceful Place”. During this entire exercise you have total control whilst journeying to a place inside your mind – to a place where you know you have previously experienced relaxation. You reconstruct this place in your imagination, describing it to yourself in pictures, sounds and feelings.
From this place of relaxation a magic pathway opens up. You go along it to what is called your Peaceful Place. This can either be a place you know in reality or one of total imagination. Maybe even a combination of the two.
It is a setting where you have perfect peace. Every time you go to this place in your mind you will experience automatic relaxation and stress will vanish.
You are in fact going to be the architect, the designer and the builder of this setting inside your mind. You will build the walls, floor, ceiling, (even if they are made of air) inside, outside, every detail.
Your ultimate aim is to be able to get to your Peaceful Place in a couple of minutes. It just takes practice. Remember, every time you go to your Peaceful Place, relaxation is automatic.
First of all just read a summary about the steps to building your Peaceful Place:
Step 1 Building My Peaceful Place
This takes twenty minutes; you just follow the guided imagery on Sandy MacGregor’s Peaceful Place tape No. 2 Guided Imagery. If you do not have this tape, there are other methods you can use to complete this exercise with the help of a friend, or make your own tape, slowing recording your own voice reading out the guided imagery words.
Step 2 Getting there in 3 Minutes
This takes only 3 minutes. Play the second track of the same tape or repeat the method you used for Step 1.
Now, before you start, you need to be in what is called a Comfortable Position. Sitting down in a chair, with your feet flat on the floor is probably the best position. Put your hands on your knees. Maybe you could sit in a yoga position, absolutely comfortable, with loose clothing, and seated in a chair. You then commence to breathe deeply down to your abdomen. This helps you relax. And remember, 20% of the oxygen in each breath goes to feed your brain.
STEP 1 BUILDING MY PEACEFUL PLACE
You now use guided imagery to build your own Peaceful Place, a place where relaxation is automatic and stress goes.
1.Allow yourself 20 minutes of uninterrupted time