THE ART OF EMPTY

Emptiness is life and death. Living with and striving for  more emptiness is scary, but also incredibly rewarding. The hard part is in doing it.  I believe that as we increase the emptiness in our lives, life actually gets better. Emptiness leads to increased awareness,  creativity, communication, health, and effectiveness. 10 Ways to Blissful Emptiness: 1. Wake up and admit it. Emptiness is scary and challenging. But also totally worth it. 2. Get rid of clutter, static, noise. Take everything off the desk. Stacks of mail, magazines, books and bills just all get dropped  in a box and dealt with later. (Sometimes procrastination is good.)  Turn off any music (and of course TV). Be alone and quiet for a bit. 3. Wake up early. The previous day’s worries aren’t so present after a long, good sleep. Emptiness is easier with a refreshed mind and an empty desk  and quite surroundings. Arising early, before the day’s  pandemonium begins,  cultivates emptiness. 4. Turn off distraction. Phone gets powered down. Email and web browsers closed. Social media and alerts shut down. Make it a ritual to shut these things down,  knowing that the coming empty, disconnected state is  going to be scary but awsome. 5. Get a sheet of blank paper and keep it next to you for  random ideas and inspirations. The head stays empty when you can jot down things that arise. 6. Use the breath as the base. Good breathing =  good thinking. Follow a few deep breaths to start things off, and as you get off on  tangents or distractions,  just come back to paying attention to the exhalation. 7. Notice time. With every breath, and every meandering thought, realize just how much time there is. There is plenty of it. Expand into it. 8. Take breaks and reward yourself. Allow the flow to occur, but also recognize that it’s good to stand up and stretch,  get some tea, go for a quick walk, eat something. This isn’t a marathon or boot camp,  so use balance. 9. Use gratitude. When you feel stuck, focus on one great thing in life. You’ll find that more good things come to  fill your reality. 10. Remind yourself again, emptiness is scary,  but it’s also really good. reposting courtesy~ samovar~ san francisco/antebellum correspondent