Secret 42: Sit Still and Do Nothing

What wonderful advice! How often do you take a few minutes during the course of a day to simply sit still and do and think nothing? 

Doing nothing does not require great outlays of money, investing in complicated equipment, cooking up a fancy meal – since all you do is….nothing. A quick pause. A little time-out. A quiet reset. A few moments of just being and existing. The benefits are tremendous. You are giving your body and your mind a well-deserved break. Every night when you go to bed and sleep your body is being allowed to rest. How about, during the course of a busy 16 hours on the go, giving your mind and body a special present by allowing yourself to do nothing, think nothing? My favorite ‘tool’ to achieving this sensation of absolute bliss is my hammock. It is the most comfortable place I have found anywhere in the world to relax, and it is hidden in a quiet corner of the garden that I consider my oasis. If you want to give yourself a well-deserved treat, relax into a comfortable hammock and ‘switch off’. Just a few minutes suffice to give your body a powerful reboot.

Care about your health?  Do nothing!

In her ‘do nothing’ secret, Beare recommends meditation as a form of ‘doing nothing’. I recommend breathing meditation. It sounds easy, but is extremely challenging. Just a few minutes of breathing meditation will help you calm down and increase your sense of peace. Breathing meditation takes practice, and if you are new to this practice, patience is a virtue. The instructions are simple:

Find a comfortable, quiet place to rest

Stand, sit or lie down (I prefer not to lie down because invariably, I fall asleep)

If you have never meditated before, you may wish to start by sitting comfortably – either cross-legged or on a chair

Keep your back straight

Close your eyes

Draw your attention to your breath

Breath naturally, through your nostrils

Observe as your breath enters your body, leaves your body, enters your body, leaves your body

Concentrate on the sensation of the breath entering and leaving

If you catch your thoughts starting to wander, observe your thoughts and gently bring your attention back to your breath

You may notice how busy your mind is, and how much it wants to chase the different thoughts that keep popping up

Acknowledge the thoughts in a non-judgmental manner, let go of them, and gently bring your attention back to your breath

As your mind starts to quiet down, you may notice a feeling of peace and contentment

This feeling of stillness helps us cope with the relentless demands on our time and the unremitting pounding of daily stress.
Over time you will notice that it is easier to stay with your breath for longer periods of time (minutes rather than seconds)

Try to set aside a few minutes a day for breathing meditation. Whenever you feel tension building in your body, take a time-out and allow emptiness to fill your mind.

In fact, the meditation that Beare recommends is TM, or transcendental meditation. The TM movement was started by a wily Indian businessman by the name of Mahesh Prasap Varma (1918 – 2008). TM is practiced twice a day for 15 to 20 minutes each in a sitting position using a sound or ‘mantra’. It gained worldwide popularity in the late fifties and claims several million followers around the world. In the U.S. you can learn TM from a certified teacher over the course of four days for US$1,500. Some of its better-known erstwhile fans included the Beatles and Deepak Chopra. TM has grown into a multi-million dollar business....

But back to ‘doing nothing’. I do not advocate TM. If you want to relax and do something good for your health, a hammock and/or a few minutes of breathing meditation are a great start.  Enjoy.