162. CENTERING

Hope Perlman, in Psychology Today, reports on Bill Moyers’ interview with Joseph Campbell.

BILL MOYERS: “In all of these journeys of mythology, there’s a place everyone wishes to find. What is it? The Buddhists talk of nirvana; Jesus talks of peace. There’s a place of rest and repose. Is that typical of the hero’s journey, that there’s a place to find?”

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: “The athlete who is in championship form has a quiet place in himself. And it’s out of that that his action comes. If he’s all in the action field, he’s not performing properly. There’s a center out of which you act. And Jean, my wife, a dancer, tells me that in dance this is true, too, there’s the center that has to be known and held.”

HOPE PERLMAN: “See, the thing about The Hero’s Journey, is that it’s an analogy for the human journey, affectionately known as LIFE. So, how to do it? For me, it’s meditation. For you it could be something else. Deep breathing. Prayer. Running. Taking a walk.”

With this introduction, let us explore centering. Scott Jeffrey publishes self-development guides on his website. They are read by over two million visitors each year. One of his guides is on centering, and we draw from that in this post.

“Learning how to center yourself is perhaps the most important skill most people never learn.” He quotes Joseph Campbell: “The Center doesn’t have a location, yet, there are physical regions associated [with] it. It’s more of a dynamic point of psychic equilibrium or inner balance. When you’re in the Center, there’s no resistance. Everything is. You are alive, alert, and active. An inner calm prevails.”

Jeffrey offers these indicators of being out of center. You take on too many tasks, are reactive, check your phone compulsively, fail to differentiate what is urgent from what’s important, feel fatigued early in the day, are consumed by negative self-talk, are easily distracted, unable to focus, ruminate about the past or hold anxiety about the future, get stuck, high-strung, and overwhelmed, end your work day depleted, struggle with impulse control with sugar, social media, alcohol, snacks, TV, marijuana, drugs, porn, shopping, etc., can’t remember what you did yesterday or even today, go to sleep too late or crash too early. We are overwhelmed with laziness, procrastination, a fixed mindset and self-criticism, and we don’t trust ourselves. Ouch!

Jeffrey describes our several centers: the physical center, the emotional center, the mental center, and the spiritual center. Transformative practices include locating these centers, noticing when we are out of Center and doing practices that center us.

In his guide, Jeffrey offers detailed practices. For this post, I will cull from his list those practices that speak to me.

· Breathe like it matters.

· Pay attention to your feet, your belly, and your heart.

· Walk very slowly and mindfully.

· Journal what troubles you.

· Notice changes that take place after these practices.

· Anchor in the positive results.

· Adopt a beginner’s mind — stay curious and open.

· Experiment with your practices.

· Be playful — don’t take yourself too seriously.

Jeffrey: “The Center is a dynamic point of equilibrium within us.”

As I listened to Campbell and Jeffrey, I felt an alignment with the concept of centering. Now, I must learn to practice it.

Q: Does centering make sense to you?