Day One Hundred Sixty-Eight

Concentration and mindfulness generally help me to feel more relaxed, on sum. Yoga helps me to feel more calm as well.

I feel sugar and caffeine and their effects. I am more worried, more withdrawn from life. It is not either of these stimulants that are to blame for worry, but they trigger an over-energetic response.

Without enough awareness, I overuse them, and they cause some sort of physical twitching, fluttering, excessive movement, tinnitus, oversaturation of tastebuds, tightening of the stomache, and other physical responses which I become restless around, feel I must do something about.

The effect of body state on mood is impressive. The thoughts generated from a body state are quite off base from reality, although they are a good indication of the body state. When I notice despair and anxiety as being tied to the body, I begin to work well with a restless state and can often just be with it until it changes to a more easygoing one. On the other hand, too easy going and I become very comfortable and really find I am living a dream.

I may take grounging and awareness to feel subtle outside influences when I am meditating, but working with body states which seem to dictate mood, is even more subtle. I gently let body state go as a measure of how things are. It is just how I am feeling.