My heart beats alongside the
unanswerable and surmountable questions

what I need most is to
keep quiet inside, silence my mind.

The easiest way for me to calm down and relax before anything is I bought an ocean sounds CD and it has 4 hours of ocean sounds on it. 

I usually just listen for thirty minutes to an hour, but it always makes me feel better; my heart calms. You can just as easily go to youtube and play whatever sound you like too.

Then, I have this wonderful Tao book as well as this other wonderful mindfulness book. They have many meditations in them.

I am probably a woeful failing meditation student, but there are two meditations that somehow have found their way inside my brain. Mediation and the practice of it were learned from a friend, encouraged by a friend.

To find pockets of peace –

Sit or stand (or my preference, lying down), with your spine straight, inhaling slowly and deeply through your nose, taking the air deep into your abdomen. Loosen your belt if you have one and put your hand on your stomach to feel the air move down.

Visualize a brilliant light surrounding you and flowing in with each breath.

Feel the warm energy flow into your abdomen and through your body.

Hold your breath and count slowly to three all the way up to ten if you can.

Slowly exhale through your mouth, feeling the tension melt away in the warm flow of energy.  Good-bye. 

Repeat three times and you will feel deeply relaxed.

Breathe.

I am a mess. I am fine, but a mess, just like many of my friends.

Much love to everyone. The ocean sounds really do help. Oofta.