The internet meme of the British World War II slogan, “Keep Calm and Carry On” has morphed into any number of amusing applications.
The latest I saw was “Keep Calm and Have a Tarot Reading”! Is it really possible to keep calm in any situation in today’s challenging world?
Well, the possibility undoubtedly exists for those who are practicing meditators or adhere to certain philosophies. But what about the average person? Let’s look at some situations:
Difficult Relationships
Everyone knows someone who responds with attitude, is belligerent, or brings a lot of ego to the table. In this situation, calmness results from monitoring one’s reactions to hot-button statements. For instance, is the statement true? Do you feel weak or vulnerable about what has been said about you, or aimed in your direction? Do you feel the need to justify your position?
Or can you remove yourself from that emotional reaction and remain in simple logic? Just a pause to ask yourself where the other person is coming from and whether their position is the only truth is probably sufficient to calm you down, at least enough to not react in anger or with an equally aggressive response.
The pause that centers you is the key; it is the shift from any type of strong emotion to a detached and logical approach that gives you the power to be calm in the face of difficult relationships. A person who can choose their response and not feel buffeted by strong emotion is, by definition, calm.
Health
What if you feel under the weather, or see a doctor and get some bad news. How does one stay calm? To fall into anxiety and fear alters the body’s chemistry, muscle tension, and immune system, none of which is helpful for the actual condition. Is the diagnosis correct? Are there alternative ways to address it? And (most of all) can you visualize the part of the body that may be unhealthy in order to direct healing energy – as light or thoughts – at it?
This is a visualization technique which has been shown to be effective, the more so if the person doing it refuses to succumb to a place of anxiety. The muscles can be “told” to relax, and the cells can be visualized as surrounded by healing light, e.g., green for red inflammation, or golden yellow for grayish (low) energy.
Visualization techniques also require concentration, and thus the breathing must be slowed and regulated so that the method can be pursued. Calmness results from getting out of physical distress and into helpful mental tranquility, and that immediately begins a self-healing process.
Job Situation
What if you have concern about the loss of a position, or the reduction of income, or just bad luck in your career? Is there a way to stay calm?
Yes, for this you can shift your attitude about money. Money is not just currency; it’s an exchange of energy. In order to draw more of that good financial energy to you, have you given some energy back to the world in some fashion based upon your skills, labor, or abilities? Or are you frightened and hoarding things? The best way to find calmness when your finances are threatened is to begin giving to the world in small but frequent ways.
Each incident of conscious and deliberate return of energy to the whole puts a little dab of karmic credit on your cosmic ledger, and now the universe owes you a bit of luck. This is a calming thought, even as you pursue the goal of prosperity. You can, in other words, know that you can have a direct impact on your financial future by being in the flow, giving more than you get, and having a positive attitude about the circumstances, i.e., as opportunity rather than distress.
Global Happenings
Finally, what if the situation globally is altogether too much – terrorism, politics, the environment, and all the rest of it that we are currently struggling with? Can there be calm in the face of today’s headlines?
Yes, but for this the greatest inner work is required. One must look at the whole state of affairs and see it as humanity’s evolution, fully aligned with a greater cosmic purpose. The best way to put this is, “let go and let God”. We’re talking of faith. Faith that the world will work itself out, that the human race has a purpose, that we can’t see why it looks dark and uninviting or confusing and bewildering at any particular time.
We can look back over centuries of history and know that by and large there has been progress, such as more people who can live better and longer lives, more care for all sentient beings including animals, more concern and activity in the service of environmental clean-up, and other such things. The long view gives hope, and calmness comes from centering in the thought that all is well and working out perfectly.
So here we have it. “Keep calm and carry on” is not just a slogan; it’s really a way of life.
Judi Thomases is a contributing blogger for JenningsWire online magazine.
JenningsWire.com is created by National Publicity Firm, Annie Jennings PR that specializes in providing book marketing strategies to self-published and traditionally published authors. Annie Jennings PR books authors, speakers and experts on major top city radio talk shows that broadcast to the heart of the market, on local, regionally syndicated and national TV shows and on influential online media and in prestigious print magazines and newspapers.
