Body,
Mind,
Soul,
Meditation.
A three-step mantra with ten loops that uses a simple walk to slow the mind and give some room to the soul.
Without fail,
Every time I go for a walk or run,
It begins the same way.
No sooner do my feet hit the trail than my mind quickly takes over and starts to rehash all of life's rough spots,
As if it's done the job in trying to solve every problem and injustice that's ever come my way.
This mental merry-go-round is often more exhausting than the actual physical effort of running.
So I came up with a simple three-step mantra to calmly,
But firmly,
Call out my overactive mind by naming what my body,
Mind and soul are doing.
This introspection helps you step behind the waterfall of all the thoughts and actually observe what's going on.
It seems to me that just by simple narration of what you're doing,
You can start to disengage the mind and make some space for the soul.
To follow this exercise,
Simply lace up your shoes and head out the door with this meditation.
As you begin walking,
Simply repeat the three-step mantra with me.
As you get used to the comfortable repeating pattern,
You can start to insert your own observations for what your body,
Mind and soul are telling you.
But to get started,
It's helpful to follow these instructions as a way to just break up your mind's powerful grip.
Let's begin.
The body walks.
The mind ruminates.
The soul waits.
The body walks.
The mind churns.
The soul is patient.
The body walks.
The mind resists letting go.
The soul is graceful.
The body walks.
The mind finally shifts into neutral.
The soul stirs.
The body walks.
The mind begins to coast.
The soul anticipates an opening.
The body walks.
The mind gently rolls to a stop.
The soul smiles.
The body walks.
The mind is calm.
The soul is ready.
The body walks.
The mind gracefully steps into the background.
The soul listens to what the universe is sending me.
The body walks.
The mind puts up its feet.
The soul hears what was always there.
The body walks.
The mind is resting.
The soul radiates its wisdom.
The body,
Mind,
And soul are doing.
Each pass through this repetitive cycle starts to chip away a little bit each time at the mind.
Sometimes it takes a while though.
And I'll go through and I'll feel like I'm shifting into neutral and beginning to coast and then something will pop back in on the next cycle through and I just name it.
And I call it back out and say the mind is ruminating again.
And taking that observer's role instead of being under the rush of water and actually seeing it is kind of like a nice firm but loving tug to get my brain to slow down a little bit.
And then there's a nice comfort in coming back to the body walks because I never get that wrong.
If I'm on a walk or I'm on a run and I'm in the middle of doing this,
That's usually not going to stop.
And every time the body is just this example of consistency and the soul was sitting there waiting and then the mind is kind of in the middle like a sandwich,
Slowly but surely loosening up.
And when it gets toward the end,
If it works well for me that day,
Sometimes it does,
Sometimes it doesn't.
But if it is working well,
I'll find that I say to myself,
Wow,
The body is walking,
The mind is idle and then I can really start to dig in on the soul side and start to listen and hear some subtle things that the universe might be sending me.
So hopefully this is helpful for you and as you practice this a few times,
You'll come up with your own descriptors of what's happening in your mind.
But hopefully this is a way to get you started and get some nice harmony between the body and the mind and the soul.
Thank you.
