"The 10-Second Miracle"

Lately I have been doing the following practice from the e-book "The 10-Second Miracle" by Gay Hendricks:  Noticing what my body (from my head to my belly) is feeling and recognizing which emotion is present (Different areas of the body are associated with different feelings, namely anger, longing/sadness and fear/anxiety).  Then, if there is any tightness or discomfort in my body, I breath slowly and deeply for 10 seconds while focusing on this area.

Oftentimes the breathing causes the tightness to disappear and it is often replaced by a flow of positive energy.  Sometimes the emotion lessens, other times the emotion informs me of some action that I need to take to restore my self/body to a state of ease and openness. (The second part of the book discusses how to communicate these physical and emotional feelings in order to show up authentically and promote conscious loving relationships.  Please see "The 10 Second Miracle" for more information.)

Although these practices sound simple and perhaps it appears that they focus on the egoic self rather than the Higher Self I have found the opposite to be true.  Here is a list of the benefits that I have received from doing these simple exercises:

1. My awareness is brought into the present moment so that I can deal with what is right in front of me instead of being caught up in my head which is usually focused on the past or the future.  We will only find God in THIS moment.

2. I automatically drop my awareness out of my head and focus on what my body is telling me.  The body does not lie nor complicate things.  It simply provides information about how I am feeling about something in my life.  I then have an opportunity to accept my feelings.  Acceptance creates space. Space is where conscious awareness abides.  Out of this space everything arises.  As human beings we have become overly focused on the 'things of the world that arise' rather than on the 'spacious awareness itself' which is the truth of our Being.

3.  Letting the body inform me about what I am feeling makes things very clear.  I am not in my head trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong, or who is to blame, or what should be or what shouldn't be...  Instead I simply accept the feeling and relax the part of my body that is holding the feeling.  This process eliminates judgment and trying to control.  (As mentioned above, part 2 of the book talks about how to communicate these feelings in a way that breaks through barriers to communication.)

4.  Acknowledging my feelings has contributed to a sense of wholeness.  All parts of me are welcome and this feels very good.

5.  I feel an inner strength and contentment.  Years ago I read something that was written by a famous psychologist about self-esteem.  She stated that healthy self-esteem comes from the "authenticity of one's feelings."  This certainly seems true for me...accepting all of my feelings helps me to feel very good about myself.  Here is an example, when a child's goldfish dies the child naturally feels sad.  You wouldn't want to say to the child "Stop crying over that stupid fish.  Get over it right now!" A child who received that kind of message would begin to think, "What is wrong with me that I feel sad about my fish dying?"  Instead, validating the natural feeling of sadness allows the child to accept him/herself.  It also creates space within the child's experience for the sadness to be experienced and then to move through the child.  Similarly for us adults, accepting our feelings leads to self-acceptance and a movement of feelings through us.

6.  When the blocked energy in my body is released I feel a wave of positive energy...it feels like a divine flow of energy similar to what I experience during meditation or mindfulness practices.  This makes perfect sense to me.  As most of us have heard it said, we already are awake, whole, spiritual Beings.  It is our fears and our beliefs that we are limited, separate, less than etc which keeps us from experiencing our divinity. So, by recognizing and releasing these blockages (on both a physical and emotional level), we come into direct contact with our divine essence.

7.  By noticing what my body is feeling and giving it a chance to relax I am nurturing and caring for my body instead of ignoring it.

Ahhhh, so much to gain from simply focusing with-in and breathing for 10 seconds!