Meditation Devices? photo by D.Hennessey

In stress destroying breath and cookie consciousness I wrote about how we all can nourish more peace and happiness in our lives by using certain techniques to help relax our body and mind. These ideas are rooted in what I have read in Peace Is Every Step.

Yesterday, I received a message from Chris “David, I don’t have a copy of Peace is Every Step so I am wondering if the author writes about how to find more peace in our daily lives since so many ideas from Zen etc seem so out of date to modern living?”

The good news is ‘Yes’ Thich Nhat Hanh offers a lot of useful ideas in Peace is Every Step to help us relax our minds in the middle of modern day events that can bring us tension. In one case, he shares how we can use traffic lights to help us find peace and in another case he uses the telephone to help us get back our peaceful state of mind. When you read below what I share you will see how these same ideas can be expanded to help reduce the tension we experience sometimes from other modern forms of social media like Twitter, Facebook and more.

What to do when the Telephone rings or a Text message Arrives?

When the telephone rings or a message arrives we can become a victim of its control as it can sometimes be irresistible to avoid responding to the ring or the beep just to find out who is contacting us. The control can reach the point where the ring or beep will pull us away from another important activity we are already engaged in whether it is a conversation with a friend or a work related project.

My take on what Thich Nhah Hahn says is that when we hear the ring or the beep we can use the ring or beep to remind us to take a deep breath and focus on what is important at that moment and then decide whether we need to repond or delay our response to the request for attention. This ‘pause’ before action gives us back the control in our lives we need to remain peaceful and less stressed.

What to do when the traffic light turns red?

When we are moving along swiftly in the car and the light in front of us goes red our reaction can be one of anger, frustration or joy. Thich Nhat Hanh points out how we can make it a moment of joy. He suggests in one passage called ‘Driving Meditation’ we can use this ‘pause’ in the movement of our lives to practice our breathing to relax ourselves just like I wrote about in the article stress destroying breath. When we take the time to focus on our breathing for just these few red light minutes we can help reduce the tension in our minds and bodies and not only become better drivers but more peaceful and centered in all areas of our modern lives.

There you go Chris I hope sharing with you these additional ideas will help you in your personal and professional life and of course, I cannot resist to suggest to you to follow this link to learn about and perhaps get your own copy of Peace Is Every Step a wonderful gift to yourself or a friend.

Enjoy a wonderful day,

David

Using the chopsticks definitely made it take me take longer to complete my meal (especially picking up the peas) but it also took my children longer as they watched me eat. Plus they made their own brave attempt to eat with chopsticks too. Fun for the family but there is more.

After the meal I had a thought that this ‘Chopstick Challenge’ could indeed be a very good action for nourishing success and wellness for three reasons:

One

In previous research I posted on this site here I shared scientific information from the Franklin Institute that indicates when you perform a novel activity (like using chopsticks) your brain is tested and often grows new brain cells to help you memorize and install the new ability being learned (and I could always do with some more active brain cells!).

Two

I learned from some of the best people I know on the topics of healthy eating that eating in small bites (the only thing possible with chop sticks!) helps me digest my food better which in turn giving me more potential energy. Note: I wrote lots about simple ways to create healthy eating habits in this e-book.

Three

Of course, the activity of using the chopsticks also helps me nourish more my eye hand co-ordination which can only help me write clearer notes to my clients and friends (and everyone is happier when they can read my writing!)

Well, there you go, are you willing to consider the ‘Chopstick Challenge’? You will definitely win because of the benefits, if not just for the simply fun of the activity.

By the way, if you prefer to get yourself a set of stainless steel chopsticks instead of using wood chopsticks and then throwing them out because they absorb the food you can follow this link to find out your options on stainless steel chopsticks

Please share this idea and let me know your experience.

Best Wishes, David

For example, did you ever have a moment of physical pain and the pain disappeared when you saw someone more physically worse off than you? I have. I recall the time when I pulled muscles in my back. I was unable to walk without pain for almost a week but I still went for short walks to keep the muscles from tightening up. One day during my healing period I was out for a walk and I saw a man in a wheel chair with only one leg waiting to cross the street. Through my minds use of the law of comparison I realized how in fact minor my pain was and how manageable my situation was. Indeed, a week later my back was fine and I was off hiking again. To me, seeing this man was a blessing as it made me aware of how, in fact, how fortunate I am.

You can use this same technique to help reduce stress in your work place or in your personal life.

Perhaps, you have a difficult work assignment. It is stressful to complete but if you think of the people who need work and who would be grateful for your job and the fact that the assignment will eventually be completed the stress you are experiencing hopefully will go down.

Perhaps, you are experiencing communication challenges with your children. When you think about all the blessings they bring to your life then managing this communication stress can be reduced substantially.

Perhaps, you agree or disagree with what I am sharing suggesting here. It is simply another possible tool for you to use in your life to generate more health, happiness and prosperity. As always I welcome your feedback via the link at the end of this posting.

Best Wishes, David

P.S. If you are looking for some extra tools to nourish your mind to see things in a more positive light I recommend you check out two books I have read and value: As a Man Thinketh and The Art of Happiness.