There are many gurus out there that recommend meditation. A daily mindful routine that helps ground you and gives you focus an control over your emotions. I do believe they are correct and have made a habit out of this practice and recommend…but…
There are many mentors out there that recommend prayer. Daily prayer is a powerful tool. Connecting with Deity can provide you with profound meaning in life. Faith can provide you with enough spiritual strength to resolve what life throws at you. I do believe they are correct and have also made a habit out of this practice and recommend…but…
There are other ways of gaining focus as well. There are thousands of methodologies you can follow. I have tried many of them and have had some great success with a few. I do believe there are some awesome practices that you can do each day and recommend you try a few…but…
When all else fails. When you do not have the mental energy, capacity, or desire to do anything. When the burden, anxiety, stress are more than you can bear. When the blanket of tired has fallen all around you and you feel too heavy to do anything. What do you do then?
I DO NOT recommend binge watching anything. I DO NOT recommend binge eating anything. I DO NOT recommend scrolling on whatever social media platform you are into. There are many things that I would recommend avoiding…but…
The thing that I do recommend is to BE STILL. That is right, do nothing. Sit in a quiet place where you will free from distraction for at least 30 minutes. No electronics. No noise. No music. Nothing. Be still. Do not worry about your thoughts. Be still. Let your thoughts come and go. Even if a thought comes to mind that you feel you must act right now, let it hang in your mind and be still. listen to your own internal thoughts, listen to your own mind.
Generally, I have learned this over the years. Your internal mind, or if you prefer the whisperings of God, come through when you are still. You can wrestle thoughts and find understanding by delineating good versus bad ones. A 30 minute session in your own mind, will often times resolve the most complex, most stressful matter. Now, there are times when you cannot get comfortable in your inner mind after sitting for 30 minutes. This happens when something is wrong. For me, it is because I am doing something wrong or allowing others to do something wrong to me or around me. When I am not aligned with my internal soul, my mind will NOT shut up. When I sit and stop receiving inputs, the mind finally gets a chance to break through and have a voice. If something is wrong, that inner mind is LOUD and OBNOXIOUS. For good reason.
When nothing is wrong and I am being a stressed out idiot, my mind will sort through that nonsense. You are being silly, lets think about more important things is what ends up happening.
Now I say this, because I have now a lot of experience with this. Some people have spent their entire life ignoring, avoiding, and tuning out their own mind. So sitting can be a very scary thing. You will not be able to handle it. You will become restless. You will not be able to sit still. You will want to reach for a phone, a remote, anything. You will want to play music, or watch something on TV. You will want to talk to people, you will talk to your pets. You will do anything you can to avoid sitting in your own thoughts. Have you thought about why that is?
In the sea of advice on how to be a better human, there is one option that we may want to consider more often than not. That is to shut up, be still and listen to our own minds. That mind, regardless of your religious beliefs is powerful. If you align toward evolution, creation, or something else, the conclusion is the same. The human mind is the pinnacle of all species. A marvelous organic machine. We should learn to use this mind more often. Be still.
Guy
