During stressful periods, I like to practice a small meditation. I am by no account a very religious person, but this practice helps to ground my thoughts and find some measure of peace in a hectic world. For those that may be interested, I present a short description.
This method is based heavily on the teachings of Thầy Nhất Hạnh, so it may be recognizable to those familiar with his work.
Over a fresh cup of hot tea, close your eyes and begin to focus on the feeling of the steam as you inhale. Try to use a short sentence or mantra to time each inhalation and exhalation of breath. It is important that each breath be even.
After twenty breaths, begin to imagine a small pebble, perhaps the size of a quarter. Imagine this pebble dropping into a clear stream; perhaps a brook along a favorite trail or the cool, smooth surface of a river on a windless, autumn day. Imagine the pebble slowly falling into the water.
As it strikes the surface, imagine the sudden weightlessness of the pebble. Feel how the pebble slowly drifts through the current, effortless and unburdened. The pebble is completely at the whim of the water, having shed its weight with ripples on the surface. Watch as it floats lazily toward the bottom.
As the pebble nestles itself softly in the silt, take a slow, deep breath of the steam from the tea. Exhale. Keeping the image of the pebble, repeat the short sentence for each inhalation and exhalation of the steam.
Count twenty even breaths, using the sentence as a metronome, and begin breathing normally.