I Wish I Could Turn Off My Brain
Short of the ultimate cure, meditation, here are some simple ways to give your brain a break from Deepak Chopra:
27 Ways to Go Out of Your Mind
1. Invite someone new out to lunch.
2. Take a break from TV and radio news for at least a week, detaching from the mass consciousness of fear.
3. Find inspiration. Visit www.darynkagan.com for stories about the good things that are happening in the world.
4. Make a list of everything you would try if you weren’t afraid – and then do one thing on that list.
5. Try Nadi Shodhana or channel clearing breathing. Learn how here.
6. Take an improvisational acting class.
7. Practice chakra tuning.
8. Explore your sense of touch. Dig your toes into the earth. Luxuriate in a hot shower. Caress your loved ones.
9. Close your eyes and say to yourself, I wonder what my next thought will be – and notice what happens.
10. Keep a gratitude journal, writing down everything you’re grateful for at the end or beginning of each day.
11. Wear your watch on the other wrist – or don’t wear one at all.
12. Eat a meal in complete silence – notice what happens when you’re not distracted by conversations, TV, reading, or other diversions.
13. Listen to a guided meditation on opening to change.
14. Lie on your back and watch the clouds.
15. Put on your favorite music and dance.
16. Write a letter to yourself in your non-dominant hand.
17. Follow a bird.
18. Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in years.
19. Tickle somebody.
20. Take a walk a really notice what’s around you. Pretend you’re an artist and notice the colors and textures you’d include in your painting.
21. Eat something you’ve never tried before or try combining foods in new ways.
22. Watch old Marx Brothers movies.
23. Plant new flowers in your garden.
24. Read a magazine on a topic you’ve never explored.
25. Spend time with children, who are naturally playful and open. Let yourself be silly and play.
26. Wear new colors.
27. Change your opinion about something or someone.
