Take a pause 01-07-2016 J uly begins with its never ending days, heat and also with the sacred siesta hour. My daughter is spending the day at a friend's house and when I was talking with her mom over the phone I found it funny that she told me, almost with the tint of an apology, that between three and five in the afternoon they were not going to be able to go to the pool because in their neighborhood silence must be respected at those times of the day throughout the common areas of the community. Which makes me ask Do you know what is most valuable in modern developed societies? Before reading further, ask yourself the same question and write down the answer, we might agree. In this post I tell you what it is and I also give you 5 ways to become an Indiana Jones in search of the lost time.¬† Free time to do nothing is the most valuable nowadays. I don't know about you, but I have the feeling that everything goes mega-fast and that days slip away without us even realize it. In the blink of an eye it is Summer again and more and more often I hear comments like "I don't have the time" or "where did the month go?"  

Learning to take pause in your day will make you get  your time back:

  ¬†1. If your life is full to the brim with activities of all sorts, the pauses will be smaller in the beginning. I recommend that you take 2 or 3 breaks of 5 to 10 minutes at different times of the day. Lets say, one in the morning and one in the afternoon when you come back home from work. During those times you can't do anything. Sit or lie down over a blanket on the floor, close your eyes and breathe gently.   2. Reserve one day or afternoon each week to be at home with your family doing nothing. I call them "pajama days" and it is when we enjoy being lazy. Life happens in cycles of rest and activity that alternate eternally. If we don't respect the resting times, we can not act masterfully, with the skill and joy that the world deserves (plus we would get sick, literally).   3.¬†Look for the path of least effort in which yo can flow like water, always finding the way to keep flowing. Start to dedicate more time to what you love to do and reduce what you don't click with. When you do what you love, you are in harmony with the cosmos.   4.¬†Time management is on the rise. make a list of the superficial things that you do during the day or week and right next to them write the minutes you invest in each one of them. Afterwards, add all the minutes and use that time to not do.   5. Practice sensitivity and peace. When you do yoga or any other thing, keep a sensitive, receptive and peaceful attitude. Allow it to happen without forcing. Because we have grown up in a culture that emphasizes that "more is better", most of us don't know that the nervous system can't work well when you force it (that has been a manipulative trick to make us more productive).  

Breathe, relax and let go...