Stillness – when was the last time you were still? Can you be still? Our computers have taught even the youngest members of our society to multi-task. Multi-tasking itself is a keyword business today. You have to be able to do ten things at the same time and you have to do them well. When you commute to or from work you are busy. The cell phone is plugged firmly into your ear. Now with the advent of “Blue-tooth”, we all look like Lt. Uhura from Star Trek. If you’re on the train you not only have your phone or Blueberry plugged in, but you’re plugged into your laptop computer as well!

Then we get home and the dog needs to walk, dinner needs to be fixed… household chores… ohhhh don’t forget the kids that’s a whole other ball of wax, string and earthworms. Come nine or ten o’clock after the kids are in bed, and things start to quiet down a bit… on comes the TV to relax to a movie or brain numbing sitcom. Or if there is no TV, you might pick up a book. That’s better of course (MUCH better) but it’s not silence.

STOP! Take the time to breathe. Your breath is the stuff that sustains you, and you are barely even aware of it. Did you know that the average pair of lungs holds 6 liters of air? But when we breathe we take in, or expel an average of ONLY 500 ml! Now I hope you understand what breathing does for the human condition. That’s 5.5 liters of oxygen rich air that our brain is NOT getting!

Now when you meditate. When you begin a practice of silence you breathe deeper. In some practices you are consciously aware of your breath; you focus on it. Most practices maintain deep breathing exercises. No wonder we feel better after meditation – our brain finally gets some that much needed OXYGEN! You can final be happy you are an Air-head!