On the Verge. Cara Bradley

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ they made you feel alive; just list them. You’ll soon learn to recognize moments of aliveness all the time.

      Remember that feeling fully alive doesn’t always mean feeling good or blissed-out. High-definition, high-voltage living is not always peaceful. Glimpses are snapshots of reality, your life exactly as it is in the moment — unfiltered. The more you get to know what makes you feel fully alive, the more often you’ll experience high-definition, high-voltage living. This is precisely when you glimpse the space beyond your busy mind. This is where you meet your natural state.

      Your Natural State

      Your natural state is ordinary and always available to you. It’s a state in which you’re present, simply living in the moment. You experience this very normal and natural way of being when you show up in this moment, aware of your senses and surroundings. You don’t need to improve anything to meet this state. You access it when you shift your attention from busy mind to the space that lies just beyond thinking. In a matter of a few breaths, you have the capacity to shift from distracted to present, from frazzled to focused, and from confused to crystal clear. When you show up in this moment, you meet your most authentic way of being you. This is your natural state.

      When you show up in this moment, you meet your most authentic way of being you. This is your natural state.

PRIMER PRACTICE: SKY GAZING

      Sky gazing is a way to shift beyond your busy mind and settle into a space where you can glimpse your natural state. This relaxing practice allows you to feel what it’s like to experience high-definition, high-voltage living. Do this practice when you can look out a window or, better yet, sit outside. It can be done day or night. Join me for a guided Sky Gazing practice on the Verge Mobile App.

      1. Settle into your seat or lie down. Set your timer for at least five minutes.

      2. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths.

      3. Now, bring your attention to your exhalation. Don’t strain to focus; just rest your attention on your exhalations.

      4. Open your eyes and look at the sky. Rest your gaze softly on the wide open sky, not focused on any particular object.

      5. With each exhalation, allow thoughts, distractions, and emotional tensions to gently release out of you into the vast sky. If a thought comes up, simply focus your attention on your next exhalation and allow the thought to pass. Repeat as often as necessary.

      6. Allow yourself to be absorbed in looking at the sky, resting in the space inside of you, around you, and above you.

      7. Notice your experience.

      8. Continue until your timer goes off or, better yet, stay for as long as you like.

      Glimpsing Your Natural State Is Being Fully Alive

      Being fully alive is who you are beyond your stories, roles, and beliefs. Call it energy or awareness. In the context of this book, the words you adopt aren’t important, as being alive is ultimately indefinable and ever changing.

      Don’t let the terminology confuse you. Ultimately, being fully alive goes beyond definitions — it must be directly experienced. What I’m here to point out to you is how your busy mind operates, so that you can recognize moments when you’re not living from your busy mind, moments when you’re living from your natural state. And it’s there, in the space beyond thoughts, doubt, and fear, where you feel fully alive.

      I’ve had thousands of my own such glimpses of being fully alive not only standing on my yoga mat or on a mountaintop, but also with my family, in my car, and even while writing this book. You’ve had them too; you simply haven’t been paying attention to them — yet.

      Being fully alive goes beyond definitions — it must be directly experienced.

      Being fully alive isn’t a feeling that just happens when you’re at the beach or even in the middle of a crisis. It’s a direct experience of high-definition, high-voltage living. It recharges you in ways that you can now only imagine. Some days you may feel it faintly, and other days it will light you up. Don’t try to do anything special. You are already fully alive. You are already on the verge. Just take a breath, keep reading, relax, and enjoy.

PART II

       YOUR NATURAL STATE

CHAPTER FOUR

       Clear Mind

      Every Sunday in the fall, for the past twelve years, I’ve been training the Villanova University football team. As a mental strength coach, I move ninety young men through a yoga and meditation session. The purpose is to strengthen their capacity to stay composed under the fire of competition — to be mentally stronger when physically challenged. I train them to be mentally steady and emotionally stable. Thankfully, they listen to me. The Villanova Wildcats know what a team that’s strong, stable, and clear can achieve — out of the past twelve seasons the Wildcats have been in the playoffs ten times, and in 2009 they won the FCS National Championship.

      Mental strength is your capacity to show up in this moment and pay attention to what’s happening. It’s your ability to live on the verge.

      Mental strength is your capacity to show up in this moment and pay attention to what’s happening. It’s your ability to live on the verge. Are you actively engaged in reading these words or passively paying attention? Can you bring your attention back to this word? This is showing up, and when you do so, you’re operating at full strength. You’re clearer, wiser, more aware, and more compassionate. Everything you do you do better when you show up in this moment. You have more energy. You have more confidence. You are on the verge.

      If you’re passive or distracted, you’re in a weakened mental state. It’s that simple. If you’re foggy or dulled, sort of right here and out there at the same time, you’re less sharp and not at full strength or full capacity. You cannot be both on the verge and distracted in the same moment. You cannot be in your busy mind and show up and shine.

      Welcome to Your Busy Mind

      When you’re distracted, your mind is busy hanging out in the past, in the future, in your stories. It’s somewhere else — and in a weakened state. When you’re distracted, your mind and body aren’t working together. They’re not communicating. They’re not synchronized. You’re not even experiencing what’s happening in your body — you are somewhere else. You feel disconnected, off balance, or out of sorts. When you are distracted, mistakes happen.

      Shift beyond your busy mind, however, and you arrive in this moment fully. When you show up in the now, your senses light up and your instincts are razor sharp. You experience the world in high definition. You feel crystal clear and fiercely focused. Your mind and body connect. They work together. They synchronize. You connect to your senses and glimpse your natural state. Step beyond your busy mind, and you’re clear and confident — you are on the verge.

      When СКАЧАТЬ