Zen and Ben, they rhyme, that is about the only thing those two words have in common.
Not exactly true, but finding inner peace is not one of my strong suits.
I have moments, fleeting moments of insight. I cannot imagine what true enlightenment would look like, but I can achieve several minutes of peacefulness if I really work at it.
My meditations most recently have focused on visualizing myself above my body. My goal is to be the objective observer. When I am successful at focusing on this existential existence, I am able to release a lot of the anxiety that presses against me every day.
I imagine myself floating a few feet away and I try to observe what “Ben” is doing. I will say things to myself like, “Wow he seems really angry. That is not me. That is a body experiencing anxiety.”
It may sound simplistic, but the effect is pretty profound. When you partition off part of your brain to be a simple observer, that proxy is able to calm the “real” person down. As I distance myself from my body, I am able to shut off some of the physiological reactions I have. The adrenalin pumps shut off and eventually the hormones already in my system burn out. The real trick is knowing when to begin meditating. 9 times out of 10, I just experience the anxiety…OK rage. But it used to be 10 times out of 10. So 1 is something.
