Taming the hyper vigilant mind.

I think stories that stand the test of time are more than just entertaining, they teach us something about our innate humanness.

The story that piqued my interest is the story of Scheherazade.

You remember, the one where the depraved sultan killed a women every night until he became enamored by stories told by Scheherazade.

Still don't know the story?

I'll re-tell it for you.

There once was a very powerful man. He believed in what he thought was a good and just existence. He found love and believed that he was in heaven. Then out of the blue everything he believed to be true was a lie. The woman who stole his heart was unfaithful.

This trauma caused the man to become enraged. The demons he thought he had vanquished returned and his rage grew.

Because of his power he remarried every day, but every night he had his wife killed to punish the world he no longer loved.

Then one day, out of nowhere, he heard a voice. Behind that voice was a story that guided him out of his own rage and into a world he had forgotten.

The more he listened the more he realized what he'd been missing. Between his thoughts and emotions was a peaceful place, a place he wanted to stay.

Instead of destroying the woman behind the voice, to tame the beast within, he listened night after night.

As time pasted he realized that the love he once thought he had lost was still there, it had just been covered up.

On the 1001st night he let go completely, married the woman and lived happily ever after.

So what does this story tell us about our innate humanness?

Win the mind, change the heart!

I've brought this up 1,001 times, but it wasn't until I started practicing mindfulness that I finally began to take control of sleeping at night and my meltdowns.

What's so interesting is that modern day mindfulness is like storytelling with a scientific twist.

Science has proven that a mindfulness meditation practice can calm the nervous system, influence the brain, and even influence our genes.

But take away the science and what you are left with is a voice that guides you through the old stuff, your old armor and into a new place. A safe place that you can call your own.

Today I would like to introduce you to the voice of Lisa Wimberger, founder of the Neurosculpting Institute.

Over the next 3 weeks, the exercise of the week isn't one for your body, but one for your mind and it will be Lisa's voice that will guide you.

This week's meditation is called: Grounding your Armor.

It's the first step in training your mind out of the hyper-vigilant state that was your life down range.

The meditation is seven minutes long and I've been training with it for the past 5 days during my morning routine.

I encourage you to press play and at least listen to Lisa's voice.

The tales of Scheherazade only mention her stories, but it was her voice that got the Sultan to listen in the first place.

This post was guided by the 37th stanza of the Art of Peace, a book written by Morihei Ueshiba
Armor Down now has a website. Check it out.

Like the AD Facebook page and I'll email you the PDF of a book called "Mindfulness in Practical English".

Thrive as a civilian.