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Spirit Matters
Down-to-Earth Tools for a Spirited Life
by Roxane Burnett

Sample Chapter
Chapter Two
"Hearing the Flute"

In a world of noise, confusion and conflict it is necessary that there be a place of silence, inner discipline and peace. --Thomas Merton

    To become a Master Thinker, you must first recognize the thoughts currently bumping around in your head. This doesn’t mean you must change the thoughts; just notice them. Be aware of them. These thoughts are the foundation that support and create the beliefs, behavior and experiences in your life. Becoming aware of your thoughts causes you to step out of them briefly to observe them, somewhat like a scientist, studying a strange new life form. This stepping out of the thought pattern disrupts your relationship with it and begins to neutralize any emotional, mental or physical charge that may be attached to the thought. You quickly become a neutral and amused observer, simply watching an interesting movie.

    Once we begin to notice our thoughts, many of us immediately get overwhelmed by the noise in our heads. And the more we try to quiet the noise, the louder it screams. The louder it screams, the more discouraged we get with the entire process. Eventually we get so distracted by the strongest, loudest concern, we forget what we were doing. If you have ever tried to meditate using any of the traditional or popular mind-quieting methods, you’ve probably experienced this phenomenon. The more you attempt to quiet that monkey on the chain, the louder it screeches and the more it runs around.

    In order to successfully notice your thoughts, it’s important to first move some of the noise out. Do you have noise or chatter in your life? Or a committee in your head? How about an entire orchestra? Sometimes it’s as if you’re listening to a complex piece of classical music that includes many instruments playing simultaneously. You’d like to isolate and enjoy just the flute, but the violins, horns, and drums are the only instruments you hear. How do you quiet what you don’t want to pay attention to, in order to hear what you do want? Have you ever returned home from a busy day at work and found yourself playing with the kids, but still thinking about work? Have you ever finally made it to bed at the end of the day and still hear a conversation with someone going on in your head? Or perhaps you have night-dreams of working. If left to their own devices, that noise can become loud and annoying and interfere with your concentration, performance and life. It can affect your entire system, including your emotions (anxiety), mental clarity (confusion) and physical balance (illness). Wouldn’t it be great to quiet the noise so you could concentrate and focus on what you do enjoy?

    The first Energy Tool I’d like to introduce is extremely simple and affective in quieting your mind. It can eliminate stress and allow you to take back your Certainty. This “Grounding Line” is a device that brings your body and mind back into ease. I’ve watched this tool align and re-balance people of all persuasions: professionals, business people, sports pros and young children alike. This tool is not new. It has existed in various forms and has been called many things throughout time. It is an important aspect in many spiritual practices. Your body comes with standard physical equipment such as fingers and toes. It also comes with non-physical or energy equipment. The Grounding Line is one of these. All it requires is a little thought.

Energy Tool #1:
Grounding Line
1. Recognize when your mind is being bombarded with uncomfortable thoughts. This may sound like an obvious first step, but most people do not pay attention to what is going on in their heads and continue to be affected by the chatter. There is a one-to-one relationship between mind and body, balance and imbalance. When the mind is noisy or uncertain, the body is tight and anxious.
2. Find a quiet, undisturbed place to sit down for a few moments. The front seat of your car or the bathroom stall at the office work great too.
3. Breathe. A simple, deep breath will begin to effortlessly change the direction of your thoughts. Your body will begin to quiet down. One intentional breath will assist you in returning to a state of neutrality so the intrusive thoughts will begin to lose their grip on you.
4. Bring your attention to the lowest tip of your spine (your coccyx bone). Now is the time to pretend, imagine or make-believe as you did when you were a child. Imagine a line connecting the lower tip of your spine to the center of the earth (it’s not that far away). This line could be a beam of light, a tree trunk, a chain, a rope or any image that you find amusing.
5. Strongly secure the Grounding Line at both ends. You may visualize welding it, stapling it, tying it or any other method of attaching.
6. Now be aware of your feet on the ground. Create a sensation that your feet are cemented to the earth. Feel connected to the earth through your feet and the Grounding Line. Take a couple of breaths. Notice if you have a sense of feeling solid, or taller, or more certain about yourself. Notice if your awareness has become more defined.
7. Pretend to widen your Grounding Line to a diameter of six to nine inches. You are creating a pathway through which the noise will soon be leaving.
8. Give the instruction to this Grounding Line to become magnetic. You also might pretend there is a switch or handle near the lower tip of your spine that when flipped, will activate the line. When activated, the Grounding Line will
automatically begin to magnetically attract the unpleasant thoughts, physical sensations and emotions and draw them down, out of your space, into the earth. This step works best when you don’t try to make it happen. Rather, just allow it to do its job.
9. As you notice specific people, thoughts and concerns passing through your mind, simply grab them with your imaginary hand and toss them down your Grounding Line. These don’t belong to you and they will be much happier in their
own heads. The Grounding Line will automatically do what it is programmed to do. You have to do nothing. In fact, the more you do, the less this will work. Just pretend, and allow your body to relax back into its natural state of ease.

    Added benefits of the Grounding Line In addition to removing uncomfortable thoughts and feelings from your system and energy field, the Grounding Line brings your thoughts and attention back to the present moment so you may appreciate your environment. The ability to keep your attention and thoughts in the present moment instead of in the future or past (or even in the next room) is
extremely beneficial in managing your life experience. How can you deal with what’s on your plate now, if your attention is on tomorrow’s meeting? How can you enjoy the moment if your thoughts are on yesterday’s conversation? Grounding out that noise helps you enjoy the feast and fun that is spread before you now.

    The Grounding Line also lowers your center of gravity. You may want to experiment with this. Attach your Line and begin to slowly walk around. You may notice a more solid feeling in your body. Sometimes people say their legs feel more steady. Many golfers claim the Grounding Line is the Energy Tool they value most, especially in their pre-shot routine. Averages of two strokes have been taken off their scores by using this tool (along with a few others explained later).

    The Grounding Line prevents you from physically losing balance. In other words, if you have your line well attached and someone physically bumps into you, it will be less likely that you lose your balance and topple over.

When to use the Grounding Line:
** First thing in the morning, as you prepare for your day, take a few moments and connect this line. You may attach and use your Grounding Line 24 hours a day. In fact, that is what I recommend. It’s a great way to begin your day and set
the tone for your daily goals and schedule. It only takes a few moments. You can even do it in the car, as you’re driving, however, it’s best if you spend a few moments focused just on this work.
** Freshen up your Grounding Line prior to stepping into a charged situation. Don’t wait until the chaos is happening around you to use this tool. Check in with it prior to a conversation, meeting, phone call or entering a store. Malls are excellent places to use your Grounding Line.
** Clear your office, car, home, or any room by Grounding it. Visualize a Grounding Line attached to the upper four and lower four corners of the room and give them the direction to drain any energy from the room that isn’t in
sync with you.

    Several years ago I arrived at the Sacramento Airport for a noon flight to Atlanta, Georgia. I was scheduled to present a two-day seminar beginning the next morning. When I stepped up to the check-in counter and presented my ticket, the agent began to robotically tell me, as she typed, “Your flight has been canceled due to mechanical problems. The next flight to Atlanta is scheduled for 10pm and will be arriving at 4am.” I was to begin teaching at 8am and couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing so I asked her to repeat what she’d just said. Without looking up from her keyboard, the agent began repeating the identical information she just delivered. This time however, I pretended I was attaching a Grounding Line to her computer. No longer than three seconds into attaching the Grounding Line, the agent interrupted herself and added, “Oh wait, there appears to be one seat now open on the one o’clock flight. Would you like that seat?”

    “Oh yes, thank you,” I quickly replied, thinking, “This stuff really works.” The other impatient passengers were not too happy about my getting the last seat, but hey, they didn’t have a Grounding Line. They couldn’t hear the flute either!
 

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