6 Simple Stoic Lessons To Feel More Peace
Mornings are often full of the activities of getting ready for the day. Since you just woke up it might not occur to you to take twelve minutes to relax your mind before you start your day.
- Science proves that it takes approximately twelve minutes of calm to lower your cortisol, “the stress hormone” in the morning when it is at a high level. Cortisol impacts the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis.
- Instead of turning on the computer or phone to check mail or messages, take a cup of tea outside and clear your mind as the sun comes up.Find a quiet, distraction-free place to work (turn off the television, etc.) and simply allow yourself to focus on your senses as you work.For instance, if you’re washing the dishes, notice how the water feels on your skin and the sponge feels in your hand. Listen to the splash of the water and smell the scent of the soap. Don’t judge, label, or think too hard about what you’re doing. Just allow yourself to fully experience the moment.
- If you find you are distracted by a nagging thought, try writing it down and going back to your activity.
- Try checking in with yourself to see how meditation has helped you progress. For instance, if at the start of the month you rate your peacefulness level as a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, you might use that as a benchmark to see how you feel at the start of the following month.
- Take a walk in nature. The quietness of nature is a simple way to find immediately silence. The background noise of the wind blowing, animals bustling about, and your phone turned off, helps the mind to relax on nothingness.If you decide to take a walk in the woods, leave the cell phone, iPod, or tablet at home. These noisy devices can become active at any moment disrupting the peace and quiet.
- Or, if you live in the city, hiking in open spaces, strolling through the park, or even watching nature scenes on television has proven to bring about a peaceful environment.