Quiet the Busy Mind

During this time of staying at home I’m sure you’re noticing the extensive noise going on in your mind with our 50,000 thoughts a day. These are stressful times and it’s normal to feel those emotions. But I’m talking about self-created and self-inflicted pain from our mental noise that can easily become a constant undercut of anxiety and stress that depletes your peace of mind. It’s like a thousand paper cuts.

There is a deluge of information available to us, and it’s easy to allow our brains to be on all the time: running, spinning, obsessing, and getting caught up in analysis paralysis. This is what some call the “monkey mind,” the mind that races, is bored and anxious, and skips unhappily from feeling to feeling, trying to outrun those that are least pleasant. This can be a vicious cycle since the more you have a busy mind, the more stimulation you seek, and the more stimulation you get, the busier your mind becomes. It can drive you to drink or otherwise self-medicate. Our electronic stimulation and gaming seem to create more anxiety since our brains don’t get used to having wind down and quiet time. Hence our brains will look to avoid this state at all costs and will create more and more anxiety to stay out of this state.

Doesn’t it seem like so many people are afraid of, and try to avoid, boredom? But breaking through that resistance and leaning into boredom and resting the mind is a game changer. The dichotomy is that more you feel as though you can’t do it, the more you need to do it.

We need to disconnect, detach, and shut everything down periodically, especially during national emergencies. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a switch on the back of our heads and we could just turn it off?

Meditation is the closest thing to a mental turn-off switch that we’ll find. You block off a period of time to do nothing but sit up straight with your eyes closed (with most forms) and with the specific intent to quiet or ignore your noise. You pick a focal point to place your attention. A common one is your process of breathing.

During meditation you don’t try to stop your thoughts since that’s futile. You simply notice the thoughts and gently return back to your focal point. Notice and return. Notice and return. Don’t let the thoughts draw you into them. As Paul McCartney and the Beatles said, “let it be.” Just let them be. Don’t argue with them. Don’t react to them.

Meditation reminds you to be here now, in the present moment. You become accustomed to living in the moment, which is vital since so much of our noise is related to thoughts about the past or future. Nowadays, if I’m feeling uncomfortable and my mind is racing, I know one of the foremost reasons why is that I haven’t done anything for a few days to quiet my mind.

Taking a respite, not engaging or following any of your thoughts, and letting your mind go into neutral is crucial. Every so often we just need to give it a rest. Doing it consistently keeps putting the noise in its place. It reminds you that you are the master and your brain and thoughts are the servant.