Comments to: crs@uvm.eduReviewed as of 4/20/98
THIS DOCUMENT WAS PRODUCED BY THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM. IT IS POSTED BY THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES FOR PUBLIC
USE. THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE CONTENTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO THE USERS GUIDE.
METHODS OF CENTERING
Individuals use many and varied methods to achieve a sense of
being centered. Some methods you may want to explore individually
and together are:
l. Self-Observation and Journal Writing
These techniques help us focus on our thoughts and feelings
and are often described as ways to communicate inward. They help
us step outside of ourselves and, as a "compassionate witness,"
observe what is happening to us: What we're doing; how we're
thinking, feeling, breathing; and what we want to change. This
technique, when mastered, can be done quickly and used many times
a day. It is helpful for checking back inside when we find
ourselves getting lost in outer activities or feeling some
non-specific anxiety, tension, etc.
Journal writing in particular, is a technique used to work on
an awareness about a particular topic, wrestle into words a current
feeling or mood, record the meaning of something, process an event,
etc. This technique can be used regularly or as needed for reflec-
tion, focus, and clarity.
2. Breathing Exercises
Breathing is essential to life. Conscious, proper breathing
is an antidote to stress, anxiety, and feeling confused, scattered,
and uncentered. When we are tense, anxious, or off-balance we are
usually not breathing fully, cutting off oxygen--energy flow in the
body--which only perpetuates further tension and anxiety.
Breathing is a wonderfully simple and effective centering
technique. Just before a particularly stressful moment, simply
stopping and breathing will do wonders for alleviating stress and
creating a clear mental and emotional atmosphere from which to
proceed. A deep breath is important and often necessary before
embarking on difficult tasks.
Breathing exercises, when combined with music and creative
visualization, have increased effectiveness.
3. Meditation
This term is used to describe a variety of practices that
involve focused attention and enriched awareness. Meditation can be
directive, where an individual focuses on an external symbol or
object of attention. It can also be non-directive, where a person
focuses on unknown parts of him/herself and is guided by internal
fantasy to get in touch with patterns of thought and feeling.
Meditation has generally been associated with religious
doctrines, as a means of becoming one with a higher power, finding
enlightenment, and achieving selflessness. However, it is well
documented that meditation can be practiced independent of any
religious or philosophical orientation, purely as a means of
reducing inner conflicts and increasing feelings of peace and
self-knowledge.
Meditation is a valuable way to learn how to focus
uncritically on one thing at a time. This kind of self-discipline
increases effectiveness in setting and achieving goals, an
invaluable skill for leaders. When this process of uncritically
focusing on one thing at a time is generalized to other areas of
your life, you can find you are able to work whole-heartedly at
whatever you are involved in. Meditation can also be used for
spontaneous problem solving.
Meditation has proved helpful in curtailing obsessive
thinking, anxiety, depression, and hostility. It improves
concentration and attention.
4. Energy Work
This is a field of therapy that works with people's physical
energy to increase feelings of comfort, relaxation, and alertness.
People commonly refer to themselves as "energetic" when they
feel a lot of energy, and they also describe themselves as "low
energy" when they are tired. Just as you feel your own energy in
these ways, you can also feel that of other people. You can sense
when another person is either "energetic" or "low energy." As you
are sensing the energy of another person, there is a possible
effect that their energy can have on you. People exchange energy,
and thus have effects on each other, all the time.
Understanding personal energy is important to leaders because
they are constantly meeting and influencing people. Leaders should
be aware, and in control of, the effects that energy has on people.
Much of personal communication happens on this non-verbal, energy
level; psychologists in the personnel field say that people make
decisions and assumptions within the first 30 seconds to 120
minutes of meeting someone. These initial impressions die hard.
Leaders are constantly making new contacts as well as forming
enduring relationships. Being in control of one's energy is the
most effective communication a leader can use.
You can think of examples of how one person's energy has an
effect on other people. An energetic person leading a meeting can
rouse the group to discussion and actions. A depressed person at
a meal can have a dampening or even irritating effect on another
person. A person who starts yelling hysterically in a crowd almost
immediately causes a stir in the crowd; we are always being
affected by others. The more open and willing people are, the more
likely they are to be affected by another person's energy.
5. Intuition
"Intuition is known to everyone by experience, yet frequently
remains repressed or undeveloped. As a psychological function,
like sensation, feeling, and thinking, intuition is a way of
knowing. When we know something intuitively, it invariably has a
ring of truth; yet often we don't know how we know what we know."
(Frances Vaughan, Awakening Intuition, 1979.)
The role of intuition in creativity and problem solving is
vital, yet it is often discounted or mistrusted. One of the ways
we give up our personal power is to consistently suppress and
distrust our intuition, looking instead for authority--"facts,"
validation, and approval from others.
In Western civilization, we have learned to respect the
rational, logical aspect of ourselves and at the same time to
dismiss, and deny, our intuition. Our culture's value system is
firmly based on this belief that the rational principle is
superior--it is reasonable, logical, and consistent. We have also
been taught from a young age to avoid emotional, irrational
behavior and to suppress our feelings. As a result we have fully
developed our skills in rational thinking and problem solving but
have not developed our intuition as an important resource in
problem solving situations.
Furthermore, we rarely receive support for trusting ourselves,
our "hunches," or "gut feelings," or for listening to our own
"sense" of what's right or the best approach to take.
6. Affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements that we can use to
re-program ourselves to create the changes we want in our lives.
We program ourselves by what we tell ourselves consciously and
unconsciously and then we act accordingly. It is impossible to act
differently than we think. So a key way to change our behavior is
to re-program ourselves with positive statements or affirmations.
Writing and using affirmations are discussed fully in another
section. Affirmations that can be used for centering purposes
include:
I am calm, relaxed, and thinking clearly
My fears are challenges that guide me to new dimensions of
learning
I am a strong and capable leader.
I use my power compassionately.
I maintain balance amidst change.
I express my opinions and ideas easily and clearly.
I make clear choices and communicate them to others.
I assert myself in a cooperative caring way.
I believe in myself.
I ask for help when I need it.
I respect myself and receive the respect of others.
I flow easily with change.
Affirmations can be used with music, breathing exercises, and
creative visualization to increase their effectiveness and power
for you.
7. Creative Visualization
Creative visualization is the technique of using your
imagination to create what you want in your life.
"Imagination is the ability to create an idea or mental
picture in your mind. In creative visualization you use your
imagination to create a clear image of something you wish to
manifest. Then you continue to focus on the idea or picture
regularly, giving it positive energy until it becomes objective
reality...in other words, until you actually achieve what you have
been visualizing." (Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization, p. 14.)
Affirmations are an important element of creative
visualization because they are strong positive statements that
something is already so. Creative visualization isa way of
thinking about that which you are imagining. Using affirmations
and visualization together is very effective because it calls on
both sides of the brain--the left, thinking, rational aspect, and
the right, imaginative, intuitive side--to work together in
reprogramming yourself.
NOTES on using these materials and the following exercises:
Because centering is an internal process, these materials and
exercises lend themselves most easily to individual work. However,
they can be incorporated into a group experience in the following
ways:
þ Use relaxation, guided meditations (such as
exercise 6) to begin workshops on portions of
workshops. They are especially useful to open
morning programs when followed by a check-in.
þ Use self-observation (exercise 1) combined with
journal writing (exercise 2) whenever a portion of
a workshop on group experience would benefit from
individual processing and/or reflection. Specific
journal writing questions can be given to
participants and sharing in pairs or small groups
can follow.
þ Incorporate breathing or stretching exercises into
breaks to make the transition from one program
session to another.
Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98