Friday, July 22, 2016

Quieting the Mind

The mind will only settle down when there's something in place that allows one to live Now. Now is the only time when the wandering state of mind of the past or future isn't in control.

Excerpt from "It's Monday Only in Mind: You Are Not Your Thoughts" Quieting the Mind - pg. 15

One method I use to quiet my mind is to sit or lie down and get as comfortable as possible. If sitting, I have both feet on the ground and my hands on my lap. If lying down I lay on my back with my hands on my stomach. I start out by breathing in and out at a very slow, deliberate pace. I just sit and follow my breath in and out. The noise in the head will try and divert my attention from the breath, but I just bring it back to the breath. This is what is meant by developing the discipline that is necessary for the mind to become quiet; the timeframe of how long to sit is not important for now. Learning to watch how the mind reacts to trying to quiet it is what is of importance here.

This is the key to meditation practice, just watching how the mind wanders and then bring it back to the breath. I do not sit to achieve a certain state of being, or to experience anything in particular. I just use the sitting to discipline an undisciplined mind. Any time I sit I am developing this discipline. This is just one method to try. If this does not satisfy you, try another. You will need to experiment with what method works the best for you. In the beginning quieting your mind will seem impossible, but with patience and perseverance you will eventually experience a peace in your life that can’t be described in words.

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