Pinballs and Starfish - On Being Centered
I have a very good friend that is, as I write, taking a very hard, very important, career-determining test on the other side of the world. I have no doubt that he'll do well but just as I went through the same ordeal a few years ago, I offered him some advice to "get centered" before he walked into the day-long test. Getting centered is something I've always done before an important test, interview, or other choke-inducing event.
When I was in college I would always walk over to the Student Union basement and play a game of pinball just before I took a test. Just a few minutes alone with the kinetic metal ball calmed my thoughts and relaxed me enough to, as Powdermilk Biscuits allow, get up and do what needs to be done.
When a pinball machine was not handy, and this is increasingly the case in a digital age, I resorted to music. Certain songs do it and others don't - and I'm not sure why. Todd Rundgren's "Just One Victory", Moby's "Dream About Me", and Richard Bone's "In Japa" are my favorite centering tunes.
How do you know when you are centered? Different people have different ideas of what it is but one thing is true, you won't understand it if you haven't been there. One characteristic of centeredness is peacefulness. When you are centered you feel peaceful. You have no conflicts causing stress, your mind is clear, and your body is relaxed in a way that really feels good. Everyone arrives at this point in different ways - it's important to experiment until you find your way.
Places can play an important part in centering. For me, each city or region has a special spot that helps me achieve the peacefulness I seek. In my hometown it's a spot on the pedestrian bridge over the river. In Shanghai it's a little-known nook overlooking the Huangpu. In Washington DC - it's a corner of the Pavilion Cafe in the Sculpture Garden on the Mall. Just being in certain locations can create that centeredness.
Thinking certain thoughts can also put you "in the spot". If I can sit quietly and visualize the vastness of the universe and my own occupation of a tiny speck in that vastness - I can get there. Rereading Loren Eisley's "Unexpected Universe" and his story of the starfish caster will do it.
Another characteristic of centeredness is confidence. You feel able to handle any circumstances. The last characteristic of centeredness is harmony. You feel like a part of everything that was, is and will be.
I have a very good friend that is, as I write, taking a very hard, very important, career-determining test on the other side of the world. I have no doubt that he'll do well but just as I went through the same ordeal a few years ago, I offered him some advice to "get centered" before he walked into the day-long test. Getting centered is something I've always done before an important test, interview, or other choke-inducing event.
When I was in college I would always walk over to the Student Union basement and play a game of pinball just before I took a test. Just a few minutes alone with the kinetic metal ball calmed my thoughts and relaxed me enough to, as Powdermilk Biscuits allow, get up and do what needs to be done.
When a pinball machine was not handy, and this is increasingly the case in a digital age, I resorted to music. Certain songs do it and others don't - and I'm not sure why. Todd Rundgren's "Just One Victory", Moby's "Dream About Me", and Richard Bone's "In Japa" are my favorite centering tunes.
How do you know when you are centered? Different people have different ideas of what it is but one thing is true, you won't understand it if you haven't been there. One characteristic of centeredness is peacefulness. When you are centered you feel peaceful. You have no conflicts causing stress, your mind is clear, and your body is relaxed in a way that really feels good. Everyone arrives at this point in different ways - it's important to experiment until you find your way.
Places can play an important part in centering. For me, each city or region has a special spot that helps me achieve the peacefulness I seek. In my hometown it's a spot on the pedestrian bridge over the river. In Shanghai it's a little-known nook overlooking the Huangpu. In Washington DC - it's a corner of the Pavilion Cafe in the Sculpture Garden on the Mall. Just being in certain locations can create that centeredness.
Thinking certain thoughts can also put you "in the spot". If I can sit quietly and visualize the vastness of the universe and my own occupation of a tiny speck in that vastness - I can get there. Rereading Loren Eisley's "Unexpected Universe" and his story of the starfish caster will do it.
Another characteristic of centeredness is confidence. You feel able to handle any circumstances. The last characteristic of centeredness is harmony. You feel like a part of everything that was, is and will be.
posted by Kevcham at 6:50 AM
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