Five Minute Miracle, a couple of questions

[nancylebovitz]

I put this in the comments to the blog entry, but it was about 55 comments down....

I've tried working with the Five Minute Miracle (or at least what I understood of it), and found that my mind pretty much shuts down if I tried to focus on big goals.

And it looks as though what I understood (from Sonnon's book and from Let Every Breath) was incomplete-- I thought it was a thorough exhale, but one made voluntarily rather than through movement. So my first question is, what sort of movement should drive the exhale?

My second question is-- I seem to be sort of before-the-beginning for some of your advice. Injecting goals from the outside doesn't seem to work terribly well for me. Any recommendations for starting from scratch?

Even so, I found that doing some deliberate thorough exhale/spontaneous inhale breathing tended to break up depressive inertia and was handy for charging up subway stairs. What's more, last week, I chose a medium-sized goal (completely topping off my button trays in time for a convention-- about 30 hours of work-- maybe it's a medium-small goal), and used that breathing while thinking about it. It was somewhat stressful, but I did get the trays done. This is the first time in some 25 years of doing conventions that I've had the trays completely filled, and I do count this as a miracle.

[Steven Barnes]

Nancy:
The Five Minute Miracle drives an exhalation with compression of the abdominal muscles, in specific sequence. Once you've learned it, you can create similar compressions during any activity, or even if laying down. Goals should be about 50% better than current status: enough improvement to inspire, not enough to freak you out. They should be in alignment with your own values and beliefs, and reflect an adult expression of childhood dreams. But take it slowly! Improve about 1% per week in all three arenas, rather than trying to leap ahead drastically. Then...pay attention to the results you get.

[Steven Barnes]

If interjecting goals "from the outside" seems difficult, you may not have clarity about the goals which underlie them. I would suggest centering yourself, and then use the calm produced by meditation to examine and prioritize your values.