On the Verge. Cara Bradley

in your naturally occurring state of clear mind. In the space of your clear mind, you are on the verge.

      I run a few times per week. I run to clear my mind. I don’t care how far I run, and I certainly no longer care about my pace. I run simply to breathe and move. Breathing and moving in rhythm shifts me from busy to clear fairly quickly. The steady motion of my body when synchronized with my breath settles my thoughts and calms my nervous system in a way few other activities do. Beyond my busy mind I glimpse my natural state of clear mind.

      Compared to the stuffy, crowded feeling of your busy mind, shifting into your clear mind feels like a huge relief. It’s as if a gust of sweet spring air sweeps through your mind. The mental fog dissipates, tension dissolves, and your senses come to life.

      When you shift into a clearer state, you experience the world in high definition. The sky appears bluer, noises are crisper, smells are stronger, tastes are more flavorful, and your body surges with energy. Beyond your busy mind, you feel fully alive.

      When you shift into a clearer state, you experience the world in high definition.

      Although I can’t tell you exactly what glimpsing your clear mind will feel like for you, I will say that training your mind will help you find out for yourself. Research proves that mindfulness practices work. A committed, consistent practice can change the physiology of your brain so that you’re more engaged and less distracted. Mental strength training improves the way your brain works, and with practice you live more often from your clear mind and less from busy mind.

      The Snapshot below offers you a handful of ways to recognize your clear mind. Pocket a few and use them in both your practices and your daily life.

       SNAPSHOT: YOUR NATURAL STATE OF CLEAR MIND

Alert	Composed	Settled
Stable	Free	Open
Calm	At ease	Radiant
Strong	Spacious	Unhooked
Present	Sharp	Awake

      Besides feeling clear, shifting beyond your busy mind has many benefits. Accessing your clear mind offers you space and time to precisely assess situations, to stay open to the opinions of others, to regulate emotions, and to prepare appropriate responses in heated discussions. When you have glimpses of clear mind, you may find that you:

      1. Speak genuinely and authentically

      2. Connect more deeply with others

      3. Feel relaxed

      4. Are easier to be around

      5. Rally others around your message and vision

      6. Execute tasks with precision

      7. Create with freedom and joy

      8. Sense your intuition or inner direction

      9. Know what to say and what to do

GUT CHECK: SLIPPING INTO CLEAR MIND