Anxiety and stress are overrunning our culture. We have wisdom in our bodies and in our experience that we can't imagine—yet we are rarely in touch with this wisdom because we are so distracted in our minds. If you need to tap into a calmer self, you can do the following exercise to help calm down and ascertain what your intention is for your day, or for your next interaction or event.

The calming, meditative exercise

Find a comfortable seat.

Take two or three minutes to notice each of the following. Ask yourself “what’s happening now?” and construct a response. Do this just as if someone was asking and you needed to explain what you are feeling.

Meditative breathing

Notice your breathing. Notice its qualities. Don’t try to change it, but simply notice it. Where does it go to in your body? Where does it originate? How does it feel? Are you noticing anything else?

Your physical body

How are you feeling today physically? Is anything hurting or calling your attention? If so, simply notice it—try to notice the actual sensation, rather than your thoughts about it. Are there any areas that you don’t feel, or that are habitually silent to you? You may want to do a body scan, spending a breath or two at each body part, beginning with your feet and moving upward.

Your thoughts

What kinds of thoughts are you having? See if you can observe your thoughts without being caught up in them. Which ones resist allowing this freedom of movement?  Do you notice any patterns?

Your emotions

What emotions are present for you? Can you name and identify them? What do they feel like? Are they big feelings, or just slight feelings? Again, see if you can notice the sensations themselves, without being caught up in what you think about them.

Your spirit

Whatever this means to you, see if you can tap in to the place inside you that connects with things that are bigger than you are. That might be God, or it might be nature, karma, and the universe, whatever. How is this place feeling today?

Your whole self

Now spend a few moments connecting to all of this as a whole. Now your breath, body, thoughts, emotion, and spirit are all connected. What does this feel like?

Life situations

Take a moment now to reflect on the kinds of life situations you are currently involved in and that have your attention. Try not to come out of the meditative state into the ‘thinking’ mind. See if you can “feel into” your life situations, and see if anything about them has any connection to what you are already noticing about yourself today. How are you feeling now?

Your intentions

Take a moment to just sit with all you’ve noticed. See if some kind of an intention arises about what is next, whether that be a session, a meeting, or a conversation. Try not to make this a thinking exercise. You are not trying to come up with the perfect, most articulate intention. You are trying to see if something arises for you naturally. This may take some time to develop, and if nothing comes to you, that’s okay.

Take a few deep breaths and come out of this meditation slowly. Be kind to yourself.