Keeping it Cool in the Midst of Chaos

I went to the Rubin Museum with a friend, and we spent time enjoying the exhibition “The All Knowing Buddha : A Secret Guide”. The exhibition includes 54 detailed paintings, which provide step-by-step guidance to visualization of the Buddha Sarvavid Vairochana, and it offers unique insight into the meditation and rituals of Tibetan Buddhism. Both of us chose to stop in front of each painting, take it in, and have our own interpretations of it. Maybe we had stared at five of those paintings, when someone opened the emergency exit door, and the alarm was really loud. I started laughing… it was really as life is, we are all centered, focused, enjoying a quiet moment, and then, bam! something happens. It is up to us to keep our cool. I think we waited until silence was restored to keep enjoying the paintings, and to me, the whole episode was a reminder to practice keeping it cool in the midst of chaos.

Then, I was invited to share a few coaching strategies for a new app project in a video format. We spent all day filming, and the street noises, the honking, the sirens, or even someone walking upstairs would disturb the sound, and I had to record whatever message I was saying, again, and again and again. And again. I encouraged the team a few times, to set an intention together that the noise would stop. It did stop for a while, and then, maybe we let go of our guards and it started again. It was an all day ordeal, and I believe that if we had not set the intention, it would probably have gone through the night.

The examples above may not be as chaotic as real chaos we find ourselves in every now and then in our lives. Still if we can learn the lessons, and remind ourselves to practice them, through the small challenges we face, we will be better prepared to face the more difficult ones.

• Set an intention. Every day. Every hour. Every moment. If things are not going your way, instead of fighting it, complaining about it, adding to the stress, take a step back, and set an intention of what you’d like to make happen.
• Breathe. A few times throughout the day of recording, I took a few focused and deep breaths, to let go of all the noise, all the doubts, and all the worries. I focused on my breathing, even if only for a brief moment.
• Acknowledge your feelings. Sometimes simply stating to yourself how you feel, can help to move the energy. And give yourself permission to feel the feelings that come up.
• Ground yourself. When things are becoming too chaotic, it is very easy to be lost within it. I started a practice to imagine roots growing from my feet into the earth, and that helps me ground in a minute’s notice.
• Repeat. Whenever you are in a chaotic situation, you may need to keep setting intentions, to keep reminding yourself to breathe, to connect to your feelings, and to ground yourself. You may even need to remind yourself to do so every hour or so. (It is very easy to set up reminders on smart phones nowadays, and I’d suggest that you set up a few)

How about you? What are strategies you practice to help you handle chaos?

Namaste,

Elisa Balabram

PS. Here is an article I wrote a few years ago, when I faced a chaotic situation within my business - Chaos.