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Cultivating a Mind Room

The Mind Room, your own inner retreat or holiday.

Imagine being able to go on retreat for a few minutes every day, a place of sanctuary and nourishment that cost you nothing but minutes. You always had full access to the retreat and did not have to book or go on a waiting list.

This is a room that is built for you by you, in your own imagination. You design and furnish it as you like using your 5 senses. Your imagination is the architect, carpenter and builder, soft furnishings consultant, lighting director, even DJ.

You can write, draw or imagine with your eyes closed, whatever works for you today.

A reminder from the Stoics.

“Men seek retreats for themselves: houses int the country, seashores and mountains; and thou too art wont to desire such things very much. But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. For nowhere, either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble, does a man retire than in his own soul, particularly when he has within him such thoughts that looking into them he is immediately in perfect tranquility; and I affirm that tranquility is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind. Constantly then give to thyself this retreat, and renew thyself”

Marcus Aurelius.

Mind Room

The Mind Room exists within you and works as a mental and emotional decompression chamber. It dissolves the tension, worry, pressures, stresses, and strain, refreshes you and enables you to return to your life better prepared to cope with more space between the stimulus and response.

“In order, for you to get to that next level. The one thing you need to do. To go where you've never gone before. Is to change the way you think”

 

Practical exercise

A ten-minute nourishment of the imagination.

Close your eyes, feel the contact with the body and whatever is supporting it, notice any unnecessary tension and as best you can soften and let go.

Take ten in breaths and out breaths.

Starting to picture or think about choose to go upstairs or downstairs that take you towards a room.

Walk into the room.

Notice the feeling of relaxation and ease as you walk into it and leave the activity of the day behind you.

Furnish this room with whatever is most restful and refreshing to you, perhaps you like beautiful landscapes, if you like paintings, your favorite flowers.

The colors of the wall are your own pleasant colors, perhaps a blue, light green, yellow or gold. The room is plainly and simply furnished, there are no distracting elements. It is truly clear, calm and everything is in order. Simplicity, quietness, beauty are its key features. It contains your favorite chair.

Take as much care in building this room in your imagination as you would building an actual room. Be thoroughly familiar with every detail.

 

Our imagination is like a dormant superpower that we have access to but it may feel it takes time to fully connect with. However, some people may struggle with imagery and feel like giving up, so here is an alternative think of it like a couch to 5 km for your imagination.

Alternatives

If you cannot see it in your mind and thinking about it does not help, you can draw it or paint first or write about it. Then open and close your eyes and picture it again and build up your vision in your imagination.