KEN'S KORNER - APRIL 2004
RELAX YOUR BRAIN
By Author, Educator and Big City Driver Ken Skaggs

One thing I know for sure is that many drivers think too much. Yes, there is such a thing, in my professional opinion. It’s easy to do when you’re driving. What else is there to do while driving? You can listen to the radio, or you can talk to someone (on the phone or with you), or you can just sit and think.

What better time is there to think about your bills, your family, your future plans, that stupid dispatcher, the car in front of you, that girl you saw this morning, baseball, whatever, than while you are driving? I would even go so far as to say that I am certain there are some great thinkers out there, driving trucks right now. These people are practiced, professional thinkers from way back who easily juggle thoughts and ideas while driving. They toss up worry, anger, plans, solutions, fears, appreciation and love, and the wheels are constantly turning, mixing in all of life’s problems and emotions - sometimes pondering several thoughts per second.

When your brain gets really cooking like that, for long periods of time, you need to take a time-out. If you dwell on things too much you’re really just worrying (and probably exaggerating). Have a plan and then dismiss the idea. Take comfort in the fact that you have a plan and move on to the next problem. If there is no plan, you still have to dismiss the idea, because worrying won’t change a thing.

Your brain is like a computer. Sometimes you have to do a little maintenance, like run a scan-disc or delete some files which are no longer needed because they are taking up valuable storage space. That’s the way I look at meditating. It’s like getting a clean slate, or a fresh new hard-drive with no old or unnecessary files resurfacing, only new ideas, fresh and exciting. You can do it yourself too (meditate). You don’t need to take any classes or anything. All you need is ten to twenty minutes. The best times are in the morning when you wake up, before you get out of bed, and at night, when you lay down, before you fall asleep. It will even help you get to sleep.

All you have to do is relax and concentrate on the present moment and nothing else. Think about your hand as it lies on the bed. Feel how the weight of that hand presses down because of gravity. Don’t allow any thoughts to come in. Close your eyes and relax. When you feel a thought creeping in, dismiss it, and concentrate on your hand, only your hand. You don’t have to look at it, just be aware of it, that same hand. It’s a hand. It’s your hand, touching the bed. Without moving, feel the bed touching your hand, and simply be aware of it. Stay focused on the hand and everything about it, for several minutes, while fighting off all other thoughts, and soon you will feel your brain and body relax. In the beginning, you will notice that thoughts come repeatedly and it is pretty difficult to concentrate on just your hand, but with each passing minute, you will find fewer thoughts coming in and concentration on the hand will get easier. Just stay focused on the hand.

Then, when you begin to feel the tension draining out of your body and head, since that is the present, focus on that. Concentrate on your brain, in the present. Know that it’s there - feel it tingle as you become aware of it. Even though your brain is made for thinking, try to concentrate on only the present situation. Feel it begin to relax. Tell it to relax (post hypnotic suggestion). Don’t allow other thoughts; only notice the tension draining out, in the present. Feel the weight of the back of your head on the pillow. Feel the gravity and the tingle on your skin where it touches the pillow (or bed).

Even now, as you read this magazine, you can try it. Feel the weight of it, in your hand. Feel how gravity pulls it down. As long as you concentrate on the present, and you don’t let any thoughts come through, you are meditating. Even wide awake, like you are now, a moment of peace is at your fingertips. All you need is a moment. Then, concentrate on only the physical situation you are presently in. If you are sitting in a chair, feel the pressure where there’s contact, and really concentrate on it for ten or more minutes.

By simply concentrating on the present only, you are giving your brain a break. Just ten or fifteen minutes (the longer the better) of total relaxation and concentration on the present, and you will be amazed at the fresh feeling you get. It really reduces stress.

Some of you may be thinking this sounds like hypnosis, and you’d be right - to a point. The only difference is that hypnosis takes you farther into the land of the imagination, and after you get relaxed, you make suggestions to yourself, rather than simply relaxing for the sake of relaxing your mind. Meditation is all about the present and taking your mind off everything else. It’s an exercise in relaxation. Hypnosis is much more. Self Hypnosis, or hypnotherapy as it’s really called, starts out much the same, except instead of focusing on one body part (the hand or the brain) and concentrating on the present, hypnosis goes through the whole body, relaxing every part, then attempting to plant suggestions like "quit smoking" or "lose weight". The (hypnosis) theory is that when you are this relaxed, suggestions get planted much deeper into your subconscious, which can affect behavior, even habits. In other words, with meditation, you think about nothing but the present and with hypnosis, you are thinking about something specific, like a behavioral change.

In case you were wondering, I am a certified hypnotherapist. Meditate and let your conscience catch up with you. Your brain (and the fellow drivers around you) will be ever so grateful.