The mind or ego, in its conscious or unconscious state, is a genial development of nature. It has helped all living species to take care of themselves and to survive most daily threats, over millions of years. Evolution as we know it is unthinkable without the assistance of mind, regardless what state.
However, modern mankind in general is the first creature on this planet that has the possibility of not having to stand up to life-threatening situations everyday. Even more, modern mankind is the first creature on this planet that has the luxury to relax over a longer period of time without suffering negative consequences.
Mankind and the environment that it has created have developed in such a way that the possibility exists to switch off this "survival-mode", this busy mind, and come to an inner rest.
By doing so you will discover a new component of yourself: the awareness of your body as an equivalent system to your mind and the possibility to enter into a special type of dialogue with it. As you are used to "speak to yourself" you will discover the possibility to "speak to your body". Our brain is not the only source of intelligence and sensation, as our heart is not the only component of our blood circulation. Both, brain and heart, are indeed the most developed and visible components of respectively our nerve and our blood system, but they both are a part of a specific integral system on which they depend as much as the less visible components, like the nerve cells and arteries in our body and limbs.
Our mind, our ego, always wants to play the most important role in the score of daily life - and it never shuts up, even when it should or when we would like it to do so. It is like the regularly appearing newsflashes or commercials during a nice movie. And everybody knows how disturbing that can be. The mind is just the same, but we are almost used to it, almost. Don't get me wrong, our mind is absolutely and still useful to us in daily life such as during work, traffic, housekeeping, sport, etc, but it becomes annoying and even obsolete when it can't shut up and continues to rule our off-time, our "free-time".
But, how can you silence your mind? What do you have to do to get it quiet?
There are many ways to get to that point, but all of them have at least one thing in common for the vast majority of us: first come to a relative rest, which means that you will have to look out for a quiet place. Only very experienced people don't need this. Fuerteventura has many isolated places where you can find yourself completely secluded from all the buzz of modern life. Here, on this island, you can find your ideal spot to come to real rest, and this within walking distance. If you are willing to shut up your mind for a while and to offer yourself "Freedom of Mind", then Fuerteventura is the place to experiment. Find yourself a quiet beach, a remote hill or dune, a valley, during the day or at night and sit there comfortably. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and feel the air filling your lungs. Enjoy this feeling, don't take it for granted or don't regard this as something trivial. Feel good about this very moment that you are inhaling pure air and passing it on to your body. At this very moment you are giving one of the nicest presents to your body - so feel happiness and smile whilst you inhale. Feel the acceptance and the gratitude of your body - feel the harmony and calm. After a couple of relaxed respirations you will feel a sensation of being relaxed. Let some of your senses work, your ears, your skin, your nose. Don't try to interpret the sensations, don't classify them, just enjoy them and absorb them as they are - timeless. Absorb the noise of silence, the humming rumour of the sea or the gentle sweep of the wind. Just absorb and enjoy.
Some will call this "relaxation", some will define it as "meditation"; I call it "Freedom of Mind - The Fuerteventura Experiment".
Michel