You Have Got To Slow Down To Speed Up

You Have Got To Slow Down To Speed Up

Imagine you're at your front door. It is late, past midnight, and the street light in front of your house is flickering, Sometimes on, mostly off. As it flickers you can the silhouette of three men quickly moving toward you. In one scenario it is easy to imagine moving fast in the dim light, stressed and dropping the keys into the darkness. Or you can make use of the practice you are uncovering and slow down.

Slowing your breathing, keeping your awareness broad, not developing tunnel vision, part of your focus in the Hara, an inch below your navel and half an inch in. You are already calming now because although this is a potentially dangerous situation, you know that you are the master of your own life, not fear. Relaxing, you slowly and easily slide the key, do the little bump you know you need to do because you have entered the house a thousand times before., and smoothly walk safely into your home.

The key was not to panic, to pay attention to the moment in between The power Miles Davis said was key to music, the space in between the notes. It is the space that great athletes step into when things slow down and they know exactly what to do. It turns out this is the key to everything. Slowing down, breathing, saying the phrase “I AM.” In the back of your mind. Do it now, do not wait to be in the situation to master it. All you have to do is master the moment you are in to have the clarity and energy to succeed through the biggest challenges of your life.

Slowing down to speed up, focusing on small subtle details, slowing your breathing and practice with a mantra are just a few of the ways we can be introduced to ourselves. Crisis presents an opportunity for us to fully inhabit our lives. Learning to relax when things are scary and learning to enjoy life even where there is conflict . We prepare ourselves to rise from the ashes. Releasing the past, we find we never lost ourselves at all. Slowing down and relaxing we speed up the shift of ourselves becoming ourselves. Excelsior!