Taming the Tumult...Finding Mental Peace

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Do you find it difficult to just sit with your own inner ramblings? So you find it hard to tame the chattering and find some mental peace and quiet? It sounds simple right? Just sit quietly, with nothing to do and relax. All you have to do is sit back, kick up your feet and slip away into mental bliss. I wish it were that easy. Too often, being left alone with our own thoughts turns out to be anything but relaxing. In fact, sometimes it can produce more anxiety.

I seem to have this problem quite often...my mind doesn't know how to be quiet...actually my mouth follows suit a lot also but really, I need to learn how to turn off my brain. Especially after Boston, I had a hard time turning it off. So much, I was having a hard time sleeping.  Distracting ideas, worries and feelings constantly came racing through my head. For people it can be an anxious projection about the future...that is what it was for me after Boston. Worrying about things that were out of my control or fearing the worst. The thoughts would not leave. Usually these thoughts rob us of any hope of relaxation we wish to receive. Do the things we worry about leave us feeling fidgety or eager to get up and do something in order to take our minds off of our thoughts?

I found an article that has some suggestions on how to accept, handle and move on from these moments and thoughts in our life so we can have mental peace!

It first addressed the Barriers to Overcome...I am going to give a quick summary of the things addressed!

1. Neurological programming. The mind is designed to take in outside stuff and make sense of it, so we are distracted by these things that the mind can not solve.
2. Worries about the future. The mind often fills in the blanks of events by strategizing about the future. These forward-focused thoughts often take on the form of anxious projections. For example, a fleeting worry about money can morph into a list of concerns which make our own thoughts on the topic intolerable.
3. Fear of psychic pain.  We experience difficult situations at moments in our life. We deal with painful memories from experiences. When dealing with these we are compelled to numb the pain by trying to distract ourselves by trying any method.
4. Busyness as socially acceptable. In our day and age we associate noise and busyness with life and silence and quietness with death. If we remain busy constantly we are seen as important and responsible while the opposite is seen as lazy or self indulgent.
5. Being strangers to ourselves. We tend to value the external things: what can be seen and touched. We look over the internal states of mind and soul.

After we address the barriers in our life to overcome, we need to implement a Strategy for Success. Here is a summary of what was suggested:

1. Let go of the perfection. Rather than seeking after a "blank mind" accept that you will always have thoughts in your mind. The key to creating a calm mental space is choosing how your respond to your thoughts or if you respond to them at all.
2. Be a spectator. Instead of taking the thoughts and feelings that come into your head as the truth, simply observe them as they come and go. Think of it all as a "theatre in your mind."
3. Invoke curiosity. One of the best ways to just be with your thoughts without getting upset or anxious is to treat them as objects of curiosity. Explore your thoughts as a "tourist"...You are visiting, looking and learning.
4. Record actions you want to take. You may learn things about yourself in this process that inspire or require action. However, you don't need to jump up and act right away for fear that you will forget. Keep a notepad or journal handy to capture big ideas, thoughts or insights. Jot them down to clear your brain then return to your quiet time or whatever you were doing before the thought came.
5. Breathe. If your thoughts are negative or anxiety producing, use breathing to stay focused in the moment! I find myself doing this quite often...at the beginning of a race, sometimes dealing with different situations with my kids. Instead of reacting by freaking out, I take a moment and breathe!!!
6. Don't get upset about being upset. Self explanatory. Don't get more worked up over stuff then you already are in your head. Try and stay calm and let your thoughts have their moment and then move on.
7. Seek your center. Being able to sit with yourself, to be comfortable with yourself and your thoughts is a skill you develop like any other skill...with regular practice and discipline. The more you practice, the easier it becomes.

I can not tell you how good this article was for me. I am a worrier by nature. I am a perfectionist. I am a people pleaser. I think a lot. But like this article says...I need to practice and learn discipline with my head! One thing I actually do that is helpful is I keep a notepad by my bed. I tend to have the most thoughts of things I need to do, or change right as I am trying to fall asleep. So having that notepad there and being able to right them down before I go to sleep has helped me. As I learn to quiet my mind I am able to more fully enjoy the things of my daily life!

Do you have any troubles with quieting your mind?

What do you do that helps?