"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky…"   — Rumi

For about a year now, I do a little relaxation activity after work and before "me time".  Although I telecommute, I still need to switch my mind-set from "working" to "relaxing".  For most of my life, I’ve had problems with worrying.  If someone bullied me at school (which happened almost every day) I’d go over the incident again and again and then wonder what treat for me the next day.  It got so I couldn’t relax enough to eat or fall asleep.  We all need time to relax from under the weights of our worldly obligations, or we’d break under the constant strain.  Having a way to switch over from "working" to "relaxing" was essential.  Now I read Rumi for relaxation after work.

You don’t have to read Rumi in particular, but there may be a poet, mystic or singer that helps throw a switch in your brain, telling it "OK — time to party!"  For me, it’s the Rumi-meister.

Who?

Rumi was an incredible Islamic mystic and poet who lived in the thirteenth century.  He was one of the inspirations behind the Whirling Dervishes, founded after Rumi’s death by his followers.  Rituals help overcome being blinded by everyday concerns by uniting with God (however you imagine God).  Whirling, mental focus, reciting poetry spontaneously, it’s all a form of moving meditation.  I can’t whirl (I throw up if I do), but I can read Rumi’s poetry aloud.

Rumi’s poems are quite short and do not have to be read in the original Persian, although there are some who claim the sound waves produced by the original language is more beneficial to the listener and speaker.  But there are excellent English translations available, in book form and online.

I have tried Rumi silently and it just doesn’t seem to get my mind and body to relax as when I read Rumi aloud.  Perhaps it’s the same as listening to music instead of merely trying to remember it.  The act of reading Rumi for relaxation seems to bathe me in warm (albeit dry) waves.

Keep It In Balance

More is not necessarily better with reading Rumi for relaxation.  There does get to be a point where my mind just can’t absorb the images and words anymore.  It’s like being so used to your perfume, that you just can’t smell it anymore.  So I read only one or two pages a night and that’s it.  I sit in the same chair with a cup of tea by me.  My only audience is the dog and the goldfish. 

After reading Rumi for relaxation, I pause, and think of — well, come to think of it, I don’t think of anything.  I just appreciate the moment.  Then, after who knows how long, I’m ready for some fun reading, doing cryptograms or snacking. Then, I’m groggy and relaxed enough for a solid sleep.

Try your own little reading or singing ritual for a while if you have problems turning your daily problems off.  Try it for at least a month to help re-program your mind that now is the time to stop worrying and start relaxing.

Hope this helps.

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