THIS IS, PERHAPS, THE FIRST EDITORIAL THAT'S meant to be read to
you, not byyou. So find a partner--preferably one with a soothing
voice--get into a comfortable position, and have your partner read the
following aloud:
Close your eyes, take a deep breath and exhale very slowly. As the
air exits your body, blow away all of your tension, all of your cares,
all of the trials of the day .... When the air is gone, breath normally
and easily, and let yourself relax ....
Gradually, very gradually, imagine that the world around you is
receding, collapsing, drawing itself into a small bundle of images,
constantly shrinking until it's a small spot of light against a vast
black field. As the image continues to shrink, imagine it carrying with
it all of the wrongs and ills and evils of the world--murder, rape,
hunger, greed --every wrong you can imagine. Focus on the tiny spot as it
lingers, briefly, before it finally disappears, leaving a soothing
emptiness, a calming, featureless void....
Gradually a sense of hope, of joy begins to fill your being .... a
sense that something wonderful is coming. A new spot appears in the
void--a beautiful, shimmering spot that gradually expands in size,
increasing your sense of well-being with every shift in its diameter. The
new spot swells around you, creating a world of kindness and grace and
calm. Wondrous images of fields and hills and happy people fall into
place around you, as this new, gentle world takes shape.
On a desk in front of you, you see the shining face of a holy man
on the cover of a magazine. A gentle breeze blows the pages open, and you
glimpse articles about meditation, about a great hero who walked on the
moon, about healers and researchers who have made the world a better
place .... Gradually, very gradually, and retaining the sense of wonder
and delight that this new world has created in you, open ... your ...
eyes ....
Robert Epstein, Ph.D., is editor-in-chief of Psychology Today and
host of the magazine's daily radio program, accessible at
www.psychtoday.com. He's also University Research Professor at United
States International University and Director Emeritus of the Cambridge
Center for Behavioral Studies.
Tags:
body blow,
cover of a magazine,
deep breath,
emptiness,
evils,
featureless void,
gentle breeze,
gentle world,
glimpse,
healers,
holy man,
ills,
kindness,
murder rape,
sense of wonder,
swells,
tiny spot,
wondrous images
