The C.H.I. Exercise And Goal Setting

“What is it you really want, Veronica?”  Scooter from The Saddle Club Series 2

In the above quote, Scooter confronts Veronica with a fundamental existential question:  “What does one want out of life?”  Veronica has put on a series of masks that enable her to dodge this crucial question.  Her parents have instilled in her their values of wealth, position, and consequent prestige, but are those values what she really wants?  In our commercialized American society we are told how to look, to smell, what to eat, what pills to take, what cars to drive, what constitutes romance, what constitutes beauty and what love is about.  Our parents give us their own values, but what do we really want?  For some people that question remains unanswered and unexplored.  The Chi exercise is a means for approaching this problem.

Rod and Brooks Newton of the Hidden Springs Wellness Center in Ashland Oregon have developed brief morning and evening chi exercises to put the mind in a receptive state for deep thinking.  They begin the exercise by asking you to be aware of your life energy and your heartbeat.  Then, you take three deep breaths and let go of any remaining tension.  This clears the body and mind for concentration.  They then ask you to focus on a candle flame, which grows brighter and brighter until it fills your whole body with light and energy.  The energy takes you to your creating workshop, and you are asked to invite your creating guide, who is a source of intense energy.  Together you try to create the kind of day you want to have.  Two questions arise:  “What has your life really been about?” and, “What do you really want out of life?”  Not easy questions to answer, but essential if you are to lead the most fulfilling life possible.  By increasing your ability to concentrate and by intensifying your energy level, you are more likely to clarify issues that prevent you from answering these questions.  Once you can truly state what you desire out of life, you can begin setting goals of how to get there.  Remember that a major part of life’s magic is process and the surprises that may occur when you take that first crucial step towards getting towards your goal.