Stilling the Mind
Suppose you have to make decision in the near future. For example you may have been offered a job in another state and you will have to say yes or no, or you have to give a decision on purchasing a new house. Most people go over and over the scenarios in their mind, often to the point of insomnia. This intellectual analysis is usually of little help. In fact, it can be worse than useless as the mind simply goes over the same tracks again and again. Sometimes the best thing is to sleep on a decision.
I've mentioned many times before the importance of stilling the mind. The conscious
going over events cuts the mind off from information that can be gleaned at
other levels. It also causes insomnia, road rage and many other ailments of
the twenty-first century. The problem with stilling the mind is that it is the
mind that is attempting to still the mind.
Deepak Chopra writes about a woman who claimed to meditate but was permanently tense. When questioned she said that thoughts kept invading her mind and she became concerned when this happened. This concern triggered more thoughts etc. Deepak pointed out to her that having thoughts come into the mind was inevitable. The secret was to acknowledge the thoughts and let them pass. In a controlled environment, such as when meditating or trying to get to sleep at night, a method of achieving this is to concentrate on the breath.
- Breathe out slowly in short bursts through the mouth until the lungs are completely empty. It takes quite a bit of practice to empty the lungs so at first simply breathe out for the count of three or five.
- Hold the breath out for a short period. Again at first keep the period short – a count of three of five.
- Breathe in slowly through the nose but concentrating at the back of the throat. Do this initially while counting up to five or seven.
- Hold the breath for a short period
It is important that at first you do not strain yourself. With practice you can slow down this process but there is nothing to be gained from pushing yourself.
Whilst doing this it is important that you concentrate on the breathing process. Concentrate on the air going out; then on the keeping the air out; then on the air coming in through the back of the throat; then on holding the air in.
