What is taking up residence in your mind right now? Are you allowing worries, regrets, and “what if’s” to rent space free of charge? Thich Nhat Hanh calls this “radio Non Stop Thinking (NST)” in his book Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise.
For most of us, we have this radio NST on our minds all the time. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, and many times this continuous train of thoughts will even keep us from going to sleep. Sometimes they even permeate our dreams and keep us from sleeping well. We allow our subconscious minds to rule us.
Our minds are amazing. They are spectacular. They have more abilities than we will ever be able to tap into; however, we can tap into quite a bit if we just train our minds slightly. Timber Hawkeye, author of Buddhist Bootcamp, likens the mind to that of an excitable puppy on a walk; it jumps from thought to thought, and is difficult to control. Yet, like a puppy, our minds can be trained; most of us just do not take the time to train our minds so we can turn off radio NST.
The best way to begin to train our minds is through meditation. For many, the word “meditation” conjures images of men in robes sitting cross-legged on pillows and chanting a mantra in unison. Though this type of traditional meditation is still very popular and very effective, it is not the only type. Moreover, in our modern world where we are constantly connected and tend to not be able to find even a moment for ourselves during the day, this type of traditional sitting meditation may seem daunting to even start.
Thankfully, there are many different types of meditation. And, when done properly, all are just as effective to quieting your mind and finding your inner peace. Any act can be done meditatively if you simply allow yourself to focus on the task at hand and do not allow your mind to wander. If your mind does wander, realize it is, and put your attention back on the task at hand. Just like training a puppy to walk next to you, your mind will slowly learn to focus fully on the task at hand and little by little you will find less thoughts intruding on you.
For instance, if you are in a staff meeting, be fully present in the staff meeting, listen to your colleagues fully, and take in everything that is happening. If thoughts such as “Ugh, when will this end? I have so many other things to do…” or anything else pop into your mind, simply acknowledge the thought and go back to focusing on the meeting at hand.
No matter how you choose to meditate, do not discount the practice. Learning to be able to focus fully for yourself is a priceless tool. Once you get skilled at it, it is tool that you can call upon in any situation, no matter how stressful or difficult. Additionally, it’s incredibly nice to be able to fully enjoy really happy and pleasant situations without other worries, etc. creeping in to ruin the time.
I challenge you to give meditation a try this week. Let me know what you find when you truly quiet your mind, even if it just a moment or two. It may surprise you.
Live Life,
Bert Oliva
