Calm

Where is the center of centering? Many disciplines speak of centering as a methodology for personal integration and peace of mind. This is a little chicken-or-egg.

It is hard to center a being which has no center. If a person is scattered, plagued by mental or physical disease, there is no peaceful place to find within that person's being. Placing the expectation of a diseased person to center is just adding more stress. Center implies balance. The imbalanced have no readily accessible center.

As a health care provider, I learned early in my career that moving from disease to health requires baby steps initially. Diminishing stress means different things for different situations and diseases. It is not a one-size-fits-all situation when dealing with severe imbalance. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (illustration) is a helpful way of analyzing what level of stress a person may be undergoing, given his/her circumstances/needs.

When can I tell when stress is reduced? The experience of inner calm, even for a brief period, is the first indication of reduced stress. By inner calm I mean the feeling that there is no train to catch, no bills to pay, no calls to make. It is a feeling of absolute peace in the being of the moment. For some, this is accessed through structured meditation. For others, this is reached by simply relaxing in a chair and staring out a window at a favorite view. For others, it comes while kneading bread.

This sense of inner peace, or calm, is expandable with practice. Once discovered, it can be recognized. Once recognized, the path to accessing it at will can be identified and repeated. No fancy words like "mindfulness" are required for anyone to access his/her calm. No prescribed rituals like Zen or yoga are required. Physical well being, mental health and practice are required. Finding and maintaining inner peace is not religion. It is simply good personal development and maintenance.