The word ‘bliss’ just sounds dreamy. It sends visions of floating in a pool shaded by elephant ear Persian palms with sunbeams dancing in and out of the field of utopia. Or evening light pouring in from a cracked door on a rosy cheeked, sleeping baby taking in the rush of the miracle of life. It’s that place of ‘perfect happiness, pure joy’ where life, in that moment of time, is greeted with pure appreciation.
So how can we experience this state of being now through the disjointed reality and surreal experience of living in these modern times? Neutrality. It’s one path we can all take to practice ease in the body and mind.
In this 5th blog in the series of ideas of How to Live in Alignment : Physically and Soulfully we will look at the ‘N’ in the acronym ALIGN for NEUTRAL. We will examine the physical and mental state of being ‘neutral’ and ways to create efficiency, balance, and stillness for expanded opportunities to experience kisses of bliss throughout our day.
So let’s look at what it feels like to think and act from a neutral mind. According to Trevor Moawad, an expert mental conditioning coach to elite performers, ‘Neutral thinking acknowledges that the past happened. However, the past isn’t predictive. If you can absorb and embrace that belief, everything can change. The approach essentially helps you move on rather than become debilitated by negative experiences.’
When we make decisions from a neutral mind we focus on coming from a place of choice. We simply choose to act and not react. There is always going to be the duality of negative and positive, but if we can stay neutral and not have overriding expectations one way or the other, we can cultivate a new perspective to appreciate whatever does surface.
We know the importance of the connection of the mind to the body. To house a calm, neutral mind it helps to be supported by a strong, aligned body. The best place to initiate this stability is from the important central support pillar in our body, our spine.
When we are in neutral spinal alignment the pelvis, rib cage, and skull are proportionately stacked. From this balanced arrangement, we place our body in the optimal position to deal with the heaviest force on our structure, gravity. When the natural curves of our spine are supported by balanced musculature, the squishy discs that buffer our vertebrates are able to protect and support the magnificent superhighway of nerve impulses that allow our body to move and process information.
When our spine is aligned in neutral we facilitate enhanced breathing capacity, efficient circulation, and optimal core muscle firing. All of these benefits place the body in the most advantageous position to transfer energy to the mind to deal with decisions that require us to stay alert in the moment and access awareness of thought.
Here are 3 simple steps you can take to cultivate a neutral mind and body :
- AWARENESS - Become the observer of what you are thinking about so you can choose to act and not react. Take this time to shift your focus to your posture. Take a deep breath, grow your spine tall, roll shoulders back, hold your head held high.
- APPRECIATION - The simple act of asking yourself ‘what am I grateful for?’ changes the chemistry of your brain. This creates space to shift gears, become more present and act from a place of pure consciousness.
- COMMITMENT - To operate from a calm, neutral mind takes practice. We have to commit to staying alert to our thoughts and awareness of good posture. A daily practice of seated or moving meditation will help train the brain to be more present.
Whether your idea of bliss is peaking over a hard earned climb to find a bowl of fresh, untracked powder or sitting on the beach with a cocktail in hand watching your kiddos play in the sand, we can experience short waves of this bliss every day. The simple steps of being aware of our thoughts and alignment, appreciating our life in the moment and committing to coming back to this neutral space as much as possible can take us there. Bliss away…...