May 2021: Anchor Points
How do you identify your 'anchor points'? Where do you 'anchor' when you want to rest and enjoy? When you need direction? When there are storms?
Where do I anchor,
on a sunny day, to rest?
Where do I anchor,
when direction is hazy?
Where do I anchor in storms
for confidence and safety?
I find my places to anchor
for pleasure, for calm, to see.
connecting
In the vast landscape of the body and mind there are places that bring us confidence, pleasure, safety, or a hill from which to see.
In meditation we focus attention on a single point, often called an ‘anchor point’. The focus might be wide, to the whole sense of the body or a vivid place of imagination. Or narrow, on the passage of air in the nose, or the connection of the toes to the floor. Different anchor points have different effects.
take 5
Play with finding a new anchor point. Bring a scene into the imagination - perhaps a lovely day when you want to relax. Come into meditation using a narrow focus on the breath, then try shifting your awareness, slowly explore, sensing, the chest, hands, shoulders, belly or a picture in the mind. Which anchor point helps you relax best?
…and an experiment!
Identify an anchor you would like in life - perhaps one that gives you a greater sense of security and strength. Use ‘take 5’ to identify this anchor point. Bring it into everyday life, going to the anchor point whenever appropriate. Does this change how you react and feel? What other anchor points would be helpful for you?
Idea: in aware movement (like yoga), have you identified an anchor point for your practice, to enrich your practice with meditation? Try, for instance, practicing with awareness of the chest.
quotes…
I have found that a solid anchor is indispensable to one who intends to live life fully. To have an anchor is to be centered and well grounded ~ Steve Goodier
Only in quietness do we possess our own minds and discover the resources of the inner life ~ Helen Keller
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
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Roddy Bray is an anthropologist, speaker & facilitator. His workshop series ‘Being for Beginners’ explores ideas for wellbeing, and is used widely at the University of Oxford. To learn more about the course contact Roddy: thrive@antidotecafe.com
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