So, we have established that in the world we live in today, it is difficult to possess a calm, peaceful state of mind at all times.

And this may be a goal just a bit lofty for most of us without a plan.

And that as a result of some of the drama filled world we live in and the way most of us receive information (news) through anxiety laden repeated (and more repeated) messages both consciously and unconsciously take in through all forms of media and conversation, it may be a good idea to create a Self-Balance Toolkit for ourselves to keep ourselves at least somewhat present and centered.

So, Part 2 of our Self-Balance Toolkit focuses on learning to track both When and Where our minds go when we are not present.  Author Richard Moss, MD refers to a roadmap for tracking  where are mind goes when we are not present in the now.

We realize almost all of our stress and feelings of discomfort are rooted in the fact that our minds leave the present and run “stories” surrounding an event, opinion, imaginary scenario etc… that is usually negatively emotionally charged.  Understanding that the ECE (emotionally charged event) is not happening now, we can dismantle much of its potency.

Here’s how.  Moss identified 4 places our mind goes when it leaves the present conscious state.  While many are negative states we get caught inside, one of the joys of being human beings is that we can also go into positive aspects of these 4 dimensions.  For the sake of this article focus on the Self-Balance Toolkit, we will focus here on the negative sides.  Especially since, as previously noted in Part 1, probably 80 % of our thoughts are negative.

-1 – The PAST – Here our stories often take a tone of regret, guilt, resentment, longing, remorse etc… You get the idea.  We often shape our past as a bit of a bummer – whether it be 5 minutes ago or decades ago.  So we can often pick up on the fact on our mind has left by a feeling related to some sense of downtrodden vibe.

-2- The FUTURE – The future can be in the form of time or something we are worried, anxious, or fearful about that has not happened.

-3- The OTHERS – The others represent any other than Me that my mind over focuses on excessively that takes me into negative emotional states.  This could virtually be any one person, group, family, entity etc…  friend, family member, driver in front of you, politician, grocery store clerk, group of people, etc.. You can see there is no limit here.

-4- ME – Here we are talking about the our sense of Me.  Often the negative accompanying emotions are in the family of shame, loathing, disappointment of self, etc.. We may say to ourselves something like, “Why is that happening to ME?”  “Why don’t people care about ME?”   You get the idea.  When we are lost in a negative state worrying about the “idea of me”, I am in this quadrant.

So, here’s the steps for us to take.

1-Identify negative emotional state we are currently in (where we feel out of balance from the inside out)

2-Follow our mind to determine what is  running up there to cause this inner disturbance.

3-Identify which state we are in (Past, Future, Others, Me).  Call it out to ourselves.

4-Repeat conscious breathing exercise we discussed in Part 1.

In the meantime, if you are looking for a life changing plan to keep yourself in Balance, contact me for options for consultations.  joe@centerforselfbalance.com