Unlocking Lockdown
Lockdown number six and still counting here in Melbourne.
I'm sure many of us have asked ourselves, "when will it ever end?" Or, "is this the new normal?" As we become more and more familiar with lockdowns, are we better able to handle all the restrictions lockdowns impose on us? Maybe, maybe not. But for some of us, it appears that each lockdown has a cumulative effect. That feeling that there is no light at the end of the tunnel can build and build.
Nevertheless, whenever we are faced by circumstances that we perceive to be out of our control, we still have the capacity to look at what elements we can control, and when we do this, it can have a dramatic effect on changing how we experience the situation.
For example, if our experience of lockdown is getting to the point where it's just so oppressive, that we begin sliding into a state of overwhelm, we can take what in some sports do, a timeout. Out of interest, I googled, "when should you call a timeout?" and got what I felt was a pretty interesting answer. "In basketball, calling a timeout gives you the opportunity to diagram a new play, to give you an open look." The "open look," is when a player has an uncontested shot, and it can often come from a new play (that's created during the timeout) that the opposing team doesn't know about.
A term that we could interchange for timeout that's used in the areas of psychology and yoga, is the sacred pause. When we take a sacred pause from an overwhelm situation, we give ourselves the opportunity to reevaluate, recompose and refresh our perspective—or, using the basketball term, we give ourselves an open look.
When taking a sacred pause find a quiet place, sit comfortably and focus on your breath. Breathe in for the count of five, and breathe out for the count of five, and repeat ten rounds, then allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm. Now take a moment and simply observe what is going on. Watch your thoughts and become aware of any emotions you may be experiencing, as well as energy in the body that may be related to your thoughts and emotions—such as anxiety, fear, anger or frustration, etc.
Just allow whatever you are observing to be—you don't have to change them or try and stop them. See them as simply expressions of what is going on in your life right now. They arise and subside, arise and subside. As you sit and practice observing, see if you can let go of judging whatever is happening as good or bad or positive or negative—accept them as they are, without any qualification.
As you continue to practice this sacred pause, shift your attention from the mind, body, emotions and life's circumstances, to the silent awareness that is always present, always observing and never changing.
You may like to reflect on these questions. Why do I identify myself with the things in life that are impermanent—my body, my thoughts, my feelings, my emotions, my circumstances in life, etc?
And, why do I not identify myself with the one thing in my life that never changes—my awareness?
That same awareness that was conscious of what was going on in my life when I was five years old, and is conscious of what is going on right now, this very moment.
Take some time now and rest in your own awareness—simply observing your thoughts, feelings, emotions and sense perceptions that arise and subside, arise and subside: Gently shift your identification with these manifestations to your ever present, beautiful, changeless awareness.
As you rest in awareness, you may find that the turbulence of your thoughts and emotions begin to settle: Your perspective is refreshed and you get an "open look," at your life.
From time to time I have visited and lived in Hong Kong, and while living in the city, I felt like I was living in a very dense concrete and glass forest, where I could only see the thing that was directly in front of me. After a few weeks I would feel a sense of claustrophobia, and so I would go up to The Peak, the mountain that overlooks Hong Kong city. Up there I would have a vastly different outlook, I could see the whole city, the sky, other mountains and the boundless ocean. That concrete and glass forest was still there, but my perspective of it, and my relationship with it was transformed. In the same way, as you connect with your ever present awareness, any anxieties and fears and frustrations may still be present, but your relationship with them changes. They no longer dominate your consciousness. They are relatively inconsequential parts of yourself when experienced in the greater whole of your awareness.
This practice of taking a sacred pause is always under your control even when things in your life appear to be out of control. You only need a few minutes to engage with it, and you can do it several times a day or when you think you need to. The more you practice it, the more you will identify with your awareness and experience the innate love and peace of your authentic self; and the more this experience will become a constant in your life.
Robert Langworthy