How To Slow Down And Quiet The Mind

By: Marlene Affeld

With the frantic pace and incessant demands of a busy life, many people feel stressed, feeling there is not enough time in a day to get everything done they think they need to accomplish. Stress and fatigue contribute to making us feel frustrated, impatient, and irritable. Stress can even impact our health.

We have all heard the advice to slow down and quiet our minds, but we get so busy we fail to take the time to stop and meditate. Meditation gives us more time by making our minds calm and focused.

Meditation helps us understand our minds by learning how to transform negative to positive, sad to joyful, and chaos to calm. Through meditation, we can overcome negative “mind chatter” and cultivate constructive thoughts. Think of meditation a workout for your brain that improves your ability to focus. Enhanced focus means improved performance.

Dr. Deepak Chopra, one of the world’s leading experts on meditation, explains the benefits of calming the mind, stating, “In meditation, we get into this space, so we find infinite possibilities, infinite correlation, infinite creativity, endless imagination, and the endless power of intention. That’s what meditation is really about.

Breathe

Find a comfortable sitting position with your feet flat on the floor. If you prefer, you can lie down. It doesn’t matter what position you are in; the point is to be comfortable.

In an article, How to do Meditation and Yoga to Reduce Stress, adapted from Engs, R.C. Alcohol and Other Drugs: Self-Responsibility, Tichenor Publishing Company, Bloomington, IN, 1987, the author notes, “Most societies have developed methods to induce altered states and the relaxation response passively. For example, in most religions, prayer and meditation are common. It is often done rhythmically and repeatedly, and, when carried out for a long period, a relaxed or altered state is reached. This repeated form of prayer and meditation is common in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Roman Catholicism. Some other forms of passively induced altered states, besides meditation, are systematic relaxation, self-hypnosis, yoga, and biofeedback. Most of these alternatives, besides being used for tension and stress reduction, can also be used for alleviating insomnia. When using them for sleep, do them lying down. When you use them for stress reduction, sit comfortably in a chair.”

Close your eyes to help you focus on the inner workings of the body. Now take several deep breaths, slowing inhaling, then exhaling while observing the sensations of your body.

Awareness

Remain aware of your breathing. If “mind chatter” or random negative thoughts run through your mind, don’t push them aside or dwell on them. Rather, acknowledge the idea as a mote of harmless dust floating on the wind. Acknowledging your worries without responding to them with strong emotions removes their power. If a negative or sad thought persists, make a mental note of it, dismiss the notion, and return to your meditation. Continue to breathe deeply, inhaling for a count of four, exhaling to a count of six.

Deep breathing is integral to meditation. By paying attention to our breath, we stay focused in the moment. During the day, most of us take short, shallow breaths that deprive our bodies of oxygen. Just a few minutes of deep breathing can rejuvenate and refresh. Relax and connect with the gentle rise and fall of your chest. Visualize each breath you take in as white, healing mist. Visualize each exhales as riding the body of vile, black smoke.

Relax and Rest

Removing your concentration from your breathing, rest for a few moments as you center your thoughts on how relaxed your muscles feel and the steadiness of your heartbeat. Remind yourself that this is “your time” and for the moment, there is nothing you have to do but focus on “you.”

An Attitude Of Gratitude

Adopt “An attitude of gratitude” by focusing your thoughts on something you are grateful for, such as family, friends, or the beauty of the day. No matter how sad or sorry your scenario, you have many things to for which to be grateful. Give thanks.

A Fresh Perspective

Open your eyes, stand up, stretch, and go about the rest of your day with a fresh perspective and renewed energy.

References:

Stress and ways to reduce stress and anxiety without drugs. http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eengs/rbook/stress.html

Dr. Ruth Engs: How to do meditation and yoga for stress .... http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/hints/med.htm

10 Stress-Related Health Problems That You Can Fix - WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/10-fixable-stress-related-health-problems