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6 Techniques in Quiteing the Mind

1 and 2 are my favorite!

1. Focus On What You See When You Close Your Eyes

If asked to describe what we see when we close our eyes, most of us would describe it as the colour black. However, the truth is that our closed eyes are often telling us a much more interesting story. Close your eyes right now, focus on what you see. Is it actually just the solid colour black? Or is it more of a mixture of colours, some of which are undoubtedly created by the lighting in the room in which you are sitting?

No matter what you see, when you actually pay attention to it, it’s definitely something that can draw quite a bit of your attention, and I’ve often found it to be a great starting point to quieting my mind. At the very least it helps to shift my mind away from scattered thoughts, instead closing in on one focused thought – one that often sparks the creative element of my brain, which starts looking for images amongst the colourful display.

2. Scan Your Body

Our bodies are pretty damn intricate, and when you actually break them down part by part they can be quite interesting to explore. When it comes to quieting your mind, this same intricacy can also be quite a powerful tool. One of my personal favourite ways to bring myself into a quieter state of mind is to scan my body from top to bottom, focusing on how each part feels as I pay attention to it.

Once you can move past the judgemental thoughts of how stupid or silly this seems, you may actually find yourself pleasantly surprised by how much energy you feel. I find that focusing on this energetic flow not only quiets my mind but shifts my focus to the internal elements of who I am, rather than the distractions of the outside world.

3. Stay Connected To Nature

As someone who just moved from a nature-filled suburb into a condo in the heart of downtown Toronto, the difficulty of finding ways to regularly connect with nature has never been higher, but I intend to make it work. I intend to make it work because I know how important it is to my own well-being, and because I know that nature is the perfect surrounding in which to find peace.

Nature is both colourful and happening like a city, but it manages to capture these elements in a way that is much more calming and connective, rather than rampant and distracting. The next time you are looking to quiet your mind, spend some time outdoors. Focus on how naturally a stream flows or how calmly a blade of grass sits and realize that you too can flow and be calm just as naturally.

4. The Power Of Your Breath

There’s a reason why the majority of guided meditations begin by instructing us to focus on our breath. It’s something that we all do, all the time, yet it happens and adapts so naturally that we can often go days without ever actually thinking about it. Giving some attention to your breath can be an incredibly powerful way to quiet your mind and relax your body in general.

A particular breathing pattern I’ll often practise when aiming to quiet my mind is to do 3 cycles of breath where I breath in through my nose for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 3, and then release through my mouth for another 4 seconds. I’ll also ensure that the breath inflates my stomach (rather than my chest), since this type of breathing in particular seems most calming.

5. Go Through What You’re Grateful For

We love inundating our minds with negative thought patterns and basking in reasons why people should feel sorry for us, but we rarely take the time to go through what we are appreciative of in life. This technique may not quiet your mind completely, but it certainly helps to shut up the Negative Nancy we often let run as a part of our auto-pilot.

I’ve found the best way to do this is to sit down with a paper and pen, and jot down – without judgement – everything in life that you are grateful for. It could be something as heartwarming as your loving pet, or as seemingly silly as your easily accessible parking spot at work. The bottom line is we all have things to be grateful for in life, and can gain a lot from taking some time to focus on them rather than on our seemingly insurmountable problems.

6. Drop The Label

So many of us admire people who can effectively meditate or quiet their minds, yet we also love labelling ourselves as incapable of being like them. I don’t mean to sound condescending, but just because you tried meditating once and ended up just thinking about dinner doesn’t mean you are incapable of experiencing a quiet mind.

Meditation, like everything else, is something that you need to work on and be committed to practicing. They say it takes about 21 days to develop a new habit, so why not push yourself to regularly practice something you’d like to experience rather than opt to take the quitter’s mentality? You have a lot more control than you may think!

The 5 States of the Human Mind

1) Kshipta (Restless wandering) It is a state of mind where the mind is like a pendulum. It is unable to reach to a conclusion. One is anxious due to the restlessness of the mind. Everything around appears unsettled and concentrating becomes problematic. The attention is constantly shifting or fluctuating. Mind is not steady. One experiences this state of mind because of collision of thoughts. In this condition, one should try to avoid several chains of thoughts in the mind and wait for the matter to come on the surface on its own. It is the lowest state of the mind to be in.

2) Mudha (Infatuated, Forgetful) One goes through this condition when one is extremely angry or is experiencing series of emotions. It’s a kind of distraction that takes birth because of attachment, hatred or greediness. The flow of energy in the mind is blocked. The mind is dull and forgetful. One has to work on de-cluttering and rebooting oneself. Connect to your energy. Know your mind. Know your mind.

3) Vikshipta (Distracted mind) In this state, the mind is distracted, occasionally steady but it’s easily drawn here and there. One is dealing with a compromised sense of self. The mind is experiencing parallel and conflicting chain of thoughts. Vacaspati Misra, an Indian philosopher who founded one of the main Advaita Vedanta schools, says in his book “Tattva vaisaradi” that it’s a condition of the mind brought by a disease, disinclination or gluttony. This is one of the extremely negative conditions of the mind. And one should not be dwelling in this mental state at all as it clogs the mind and poisons the thought process with pessimism. The Vikshipta mind can be easily influenced and manipulated. A person faces self-doubt, agony and fear in this state where the internal and external worlds are constantly clashing. One needs to take essential steps to purify this state of mind. Introspection and knowledge of self are two sole factors that help the mind in the cleansing process.

4) Ekagra (Focus, Knowledge) Ekagra means that the mind has achieved one-pointed concentration and the person is fully present in the moment, unaffected by any external factors. Unlike in Vikshipta, concentration is not forced as it comes effortlessly and naturally. In this state of mind, one can connect with their higher spiritual self, as the mind is deeply focused and is able to choose the peaceful path. In this condition, one has thorough knowledge of reality and has control over the mind and its’ string of thoughts. The mind is peaceful and full of energy. It is on its desired spiritual path.

5) Niruddha (Final epiphany) The Niruddha mind is in complete stillness and goes through series of epiphanies. When the mind is mastered and regulated, it is devoid of thought patterns. One learns to rise above the self and becomes spiritually intelligent. It is the most desired state of mind. It is calm and still. Thoughts are just like watching passers-by from the gallery. The breath is in control and the mind is on its journey to explore its magnificence. This state of mind is generally achieved through meditation and deep contemplation. To achieve the Niruddha state of mind, one must master the ability to control the flow of thoughts and overcome all the obstacles. Awareness of the state of mind can help to lead your way out of chaos. It’s in the stillness that you can feel your mind and knowing that you are completely alive through self-knowledge. Like the Buddha said, “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”

Yoga classifies the mind into five states, according to Nyaya Bhasya (Nyaya Sutras written by Aksapada Gautama in the 2nd century CE.) -

Yoga classifies the mind into five states, according to Nyaya Bhasya (Nyaya Sutras written by Aksapada Gautama in the 2nd century CE.) -

Read more at: http://fractalenlightenment.com/24968/spirituality/five-states-of-the-human-mind | Taken from FractalEnlightenment.com 

Yoga classifies the mind into five states, according to Nyaya Bhasya (Nyaya Sutras written by Aksapada Gautama in the 2nd century CE.) -

Read more at: http://fractalenlightenment.com/24968/spirituality/five-states-of-the-human-mind | Taken from FractalEnlightenment.com 

Yoga classifies the mind into five states, according to Nyaya Bhasya (Nyaya Sutras written by Aksapada Gautama in the 2nd century CE.) -

Read more at: http://fractalenlightenment.com/24968/spirituality/five-states-of-the-human-mind | Taken from FractalEnlightenment.com 

A Few Things to Remember When Worry Takes Over

1. You are not your worry, thoughts, emotions or even your mind.
- "The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not the possessing entity - the thinker. The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated."

-"Learn to disidentify from your mind. Every time you create a gap in the stream of mind, the light of your consciousness grows stronger." -Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

2. Worry cannot exist in the present.
Worry is fueled by the ego which thrives in the past or future only.

3. Worry can be confined.
Here is an awesome technique to stop or control your worry:

"Want to confine your worry? Try scheduling ten to thirty minutes a day for worry. Use this time to visualize your anxious feelings, write them down, and come up with an action plan for dealing with the root causes of your worry. If the worry reappears outside this scheduled time, postpone it until the next worry period."  - 5 Things to Remember When Worry Takes Over (So You Can Let It Go)

How to manage the emotional Pain-body:
Pain-body = Accumulated pain acting as a negative energy field that occupies your body and mind. It is the dark shadow cast by the ego. The pain-body, like the ego, is afraid of being found out. 
 "It's survival depends on your unconscious fear of facing the pain that lives in you. But if you don't face it, if you don't bring the light of your consciousness into the pain, you will be forced to relive it again and again." - Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

Here is Tolle's formula for dealing with the Pain-body:
1- Focus attention on the feeling inside you.
2- Know that it is the Pain-body.
3- Accept that it is there.
4- Don't think about it - don't let the feeling turn into thinking.
5- Don't judge or analyze.
6- Don't make an identity for yourself oout of it.
7- Stay present, and continue to be the observer of what is happening inside you.
8- Become aware not only of the emotional pain but also of "the one who observes," the silent watcher. This is the Power of Now, the power of your own conscious presence. Then see what happens.

*Follow Your Excitement & Let Your Brain Do It's Job*

A possible trick in this life:
Follow your true Excitements, to your very best ability, with Zero expectations of the outcome or result.
#Boom

Also, a fine quote from Mr. Bashar:
"The physical mind is not designed to know how something should look. It only is designed to know what things look like that have already manifested. The physical mind is simply experience-oriented. It is not precognitive, only the HIGHER MIND IS."

Partial snippet from his 'Game of Chess' talk on the Following Excitement & the Brain:



Bashar on "Permission Slips"

If only we were able to correctly use our brains!

The Physical Mind (Cerebellum) PERCEIVES

The Brain (Neocortex) RECEIVES

The Higher Mind (Limbic System/Eye of RA) CONCEIVES