One must embrace the unsettled mind. We must realize that it is a part of who we are and will never leave us. Analyze it to understand ourselves better. Listen to the conversations. Engage them for they will help you understand who you are. Act on both the negative and positive thoughts! But always act on them in a positive and non-judgmental way showing yourself love and kindness.
It is in this ACTION that we can then harness the power of the unsettled mind and begin to control it by telling it we are working on what we are hearing. It is only then that we can quiet the chatter. It is only then that we can sit and begin to work on staying in the now!
This is a lifelong endeavor but as we master it we can sit for meditation and “tell” the chatter to stop for a while. We will deal with it later. This does get easier over time.
When I first started to meditate I would use a “film strip” concept watching or observing the mind while focusing on breathing and NOT engaging in the minds conversation; letting the thought pass and drop as if the film strip image had passed. Quieting the mind during meditation takes focus let’s say focusing on a mantra for example. Yet the mind will continue to pull you in so we need to re-focus on the mantra. Eventually we can focus more and more on the mantra and less on the chatter; again, a lifelong endeavor. What I have found is that as I continue my meditation practice, it becomes easier to move away from the chatter in my daily life; thinking more with the heart.
Our thoughts are not who we are but they help us create. The metaphor I like to use for this is that thoughts are like a pencil. We can hold the pencil in our hand and write prose or create a beautiful drawing. The prose or drawing I’ve created is a reflection of me but the pencil is not me. I simply used it to create.
Photo Credit: qigongvitality.blogspot.com
About the Author: Gasper F. Ilasi has twenty-five years’ experience in the Information Technology field. He is currently an independent Information Technology Project Manager working with clients in the transportation and cosmetics fields.
