Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Power of Pause and Pausing for Power


Always first draw fresh breath after outbursts of vanity and complacency   Franz Kafka

When I began meditating consistently over 15 years ago, I began the conscious journey of discovering the immense power and potential of my mind. I also realized how poorly utilized and badly managed it had been!

I’d heard and read, as I’m sure you have, how little of our mind and its power we routinely use, leaving the bulk of it i.e. infinity – 10% untapped.  What a colossal waste!

I had to ask myself:  What would my life be like if I began using even 5% more of my mind's potential?

My answer:  Staggering!

I remember a sense of awe as I contemplated this possibility.  Over time, I began exploring ways by which I could start using my mind more creatively, more powerfully and more enjoyably.

One of the key things I discovered was the Power of Pause or the practice of Pausing for Power.  It’s an incredible power that you can tap into immediately and its benefits are gigantic.

What is the Power of Pause?

Quite simply, it’s the power that your mind defaults to when you make it pause.  

As you’re quite aware, your mind is forever engaged in thoughts.  Most of these thoughts are repetitive.  You think them several times a day, everyday to the point that you’re mostly not aware that you're thinking them.

Just think of all the attention and energy that you’re directing to these recurring thoughts, consciously or unconsciously, everyday and ask yourself if they are actually moving you ahead or keeping you circulating in the same field of experience.  

Are you saying anything particularly new or different?  Are you doing anything new or different?  In other words, are you moving outside your current field of possibilities?

Moving within the same field of possibilities is limiting and  it gets boring after a while.  In fact, it doesn’t take much for your mind to feel bored.  And these days, with the vast array of *entertainment* (or distractions) so readily available to us, it’s even easier to look *outside* our minds for some kind of relief.  

So, you go shopping or switch TV channels or eat when you don’t really need to or check your email for the tenth time in ten minutes or send a text message in the hope of receiving one back or post another comment on Twitter in the hope of getting some responses or… well, you and I know what our methods of escape are :)

And while these things may give us some measure of relief, it’s only temporary.  Before too long, we’re looking for relief again!

BUT…

What if you could start to move out of your field of repeating experiences?  What if you could do this without leaving your seat?  What if you could do this while having a conversation?  What if you could do this when you feel stuck or overwhelmed or powerless?  

This is where the Power of Pause comes in.  By simply pausing your mind, you can immediately stop that insane and uncreative circling within the field of familiar experiences and step into the Power and Potential of your crystal clear, illuminating and creative mind!

How do you Pause?

The easiest and quickest way to pause is to breathe consciously.  It’s really that simple and you can do this anywhere and anytime.  When you’re on the toilet, having a chat, watching TV, preparing dinner, washing your face, walking to your car…anywhere, anytime!  After all, you’re always breathing, so what could be easier than just paying attention to your breath for a little while?  

Start with one breath, then two, then three.  That’s all!  Just try to give it your full attention.  When you do that, all the other thoughts and mental preoccupations automatically filter out from your current point of focus which is your breath.

Effectively, you’ve taken your mind into a new field of experience which is free from repetitive thoughts.  This is how you tap into the Power of Pause.  

Focusing on your breath is like pushing a mental Pause button.  It’s simple but its effects are immediate and wide-ranging and, if you keep using that Pause button, you’ll discover potentials that you’ve never tapped into.  

The following are 7 Powerful Benefits that you will experience when you tap into the Power of Pause.

The Benefit of Remembering Essential Truths

When you’re running on the Power of Pause, you can use it to remind yourself of some truly remarkable and passion-boosting things such as the fact that

  • I’m infinitely more than my body and my personality
  • What I think and do now are the forerunners of what I experience in the future
  • I am the creator of my life experiences
  • I arise from the same Ground of Infinity as everyone and everything else (I usually think of the people that I most admire)
  • Without my conditioning, I am a free being able to enjoy every bit of life
  • Right at this moment, I am no longer experiencing the boredom or hurt or fear or restlessness that I was experiencing just a few seconds ago (this realization continues to fill me with awe and delight and confidence!)
The Benefit of Re-viewing Events

When you’re running on the Power of Pause, you can re-view any situation with clarity and without bias.  Anything that has been a cause of regret, hurt, guilt, anger or helplessness can be RE-VIEWED i.e. seen with fresh eyes and a fresh mind, without the *benefit* of your learned preconceptions and beliefs.

For instance, I have re-viewed many past events (whether distant or recent) with the realization that

  • I did the best I could at the time
  • I now can choose and mentally rehearse what I would prefer to do should this kind of event happen again
  • Hindsight is a rather unforgiving judge. Awareness is all I need to make choices that I actually want and enjoy
The Benefit of Relaxing Your Mind and Body

When you’re running on the Power of Pause you’re allowing your entire mind-body system to relax and expand into the Field of Infinite Possibilities.  You can literally feel your muscles relax and the aches and pains that had collected in them dissipate :).  This is, in fact, a time of healing, or restoration - restoring your mind and body to their natural, free, unconditioned and limitless state of perfect wellbeing.

The Benefit of Interrupting Your Thoughts, words and Actions

When you’re running on the Power of Pause, you’re interrupting the interminable cycle of repetitive thoughts and giving your mind (and body) a fresh start with fresh possibilities.  This is how you can choose more calmly and carefully (lovingly), your thoughts, words and actions.  This is when you can actually hear the voice of your intuition and inner wisdom.

The Benefit of Empowering Yourself

When you’re running on the Power of Pause, you’re empowered by your awareness that you do not have to endure anything that you do not desire.  Why?  Because there are infinite other possibilities to replace the things that you do not want.

This is the time to ask yourself:  What do I really want right here and now?  

This is also the time when you have the most power to say to yourself:  What has been is history if I choose to make it history.  Right now is a fresh moment for fresh choice.  What shall I choose?

The Benefit of Renewing Yourself

When you’re running on the Power of Pause, you’re renewing your entire mind-body-spirit system.  You’re consciously on Ground Infinity.  You’re no longer spinning in the killing fields of recurring, disempowering thoughts, words and actions.  You can choose new thoughts, new words and new actions. 

I often find myself moving in new directions such as learning something new in song-writing or guitar riffs or photo-editing or audio-editing software, substituting common clichés with my own expressions in my speech and writing or even *channeling* people that I admire or am curious about, whether living or dead :)

These are just some of the benefits of the Power of Pause.  If you haven’t tried tapping into the Power, consciously and routinely, I suggest that you do, right away!

You know, you could keep switching channels, sending text messages, checking your emails, eating another Tim Tam, Twittering or any of those things you habitually do to escape boredom or dissatisfaction or fear or a lack of motivation.  Or you could….

Discover the Power of Pause by Pausing for Power!

14 comments:

  1. As I was reading this I was thinking that I know how to do this but I still don't do it as much as I should. How can I make sure I do pause? When I am doing something interesting I don't want to pause. That is the last thing I want to do. I get interrupted too much already etc etc
    Then the thought struck me that I might be able to welcome interruptions if I think of them as providing an opportunity to pause. Thanks TBT :)

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  2. That is a great insight and one that I've had also. In fact, it happened when I kept getting interrupted by certain, *predictable* things like my dog wanting me to take her out or the internet dropping out.

    My initial reaction was one of annoyance but I soon realized that life is always full of *interruptions*. In fact, it began to make less sense thinking of them as interruptions.

    Once I realized this, I began to seize the opportunity that those interruptions presented by really *letting go*. I actually began to look forward to my dog *interrupting* me because I knew I'd have a few minutes of clear, free-range thoughts.

    Since then, I have deliberately *interrupted* myself to experience the Power of Pause. I cannot tell you how many delightful ideas, new melodies and lyrics have streamed through my mind when I've done this :)

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  3. Great info here! I use many of these techniques myself.

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  4. Emerson said: "Life consists of what a man is thinking all day long." If that is truly the case then the best thing that can happen to anyone is to be constantly interrupted by the sound of a dog barking or a spoon falling.

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  5. the Power of Pause(meditation)if combined with yoga is the way to a healthy mind & body.The last part about how it is a cure for the restless mind is something I have experienced.

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  6. Pausing helps me to appreciate my surroundings, to view nature from various angles. Sometimes beauty is found on the side that I'm not looking at. Pausing to contemplate and then walking around to the other side can be a wonderful revelation.

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  7. I truly appreciated your post. There's no doubt about it the power of the pause is ours to employ and doing so has many benefits. Whenever I am greeted with a situation that is charged with urgency or other emotions like annoyance or irritation - I pause and just breathe. After I have restored my breath and balance I usually find that which seemed urgent isn't and that which seemed annoying or irritating does not have to be viewed in that way. I also pause when I go walking every day and seek my place within nature - not outside of it but within it. thanks so much for creating and publishing this empowering entry.

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  8. TBT, this is a very thoughtful piece. I should pause more but my mind is like my life, a constant whirlwind of action and reaction.

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  9. @ Meredith Thanks and it's great to know that you're enjoying the benefits of the POP.

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  10. @ np. I love the wisdom of Emerson and I do believe that we are what we think. I rejoice with you in the barking of our dogs, the falling of our spoons, the freezing of our computer screens, the child demanding our attention... :)

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  11. @ seahorsesejourns Yes, I believe that yoga and any kind of mindful and gentle exercise can give the body and mind a chance to pause and direct the power that's available through it to help restore both body and mind.

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  12. @ PhotoDiction I love the idea of *pausing to contemplate and walking round to the other side* both as something to do physically and mentally :)

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  13. @ timethief Through practicing the POP with matters that first strike me *urgent*, *annoying*, frightening or disempowering, I've been discovering how they all become less threatening and even enjoyable!

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  14. @ Anastasia Fitzgerald-Beaumont Hey Ana, are you happy with the way this aspect of your life is? Because if you are, then I guess there is no need to change. But if you aren't, then I hope you'll discover how do-able the POP is and how wonderfully beneficial it is :)

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