Welcome to our New Forums!

Our forums have been upgraded and expanded!

Mental Integrity

adonis1

New member
Joined
May 20, 2014
Messages
15
Mental Integrity: Five Techniques to Quiet the Mind

Our internal dialogue is comprised of the many voices in our head.
They distract, judge, compare, and appear to support us in solving
problems. These voices take us out of the present, causing us to cycle
old thoughts about the past and worries about the future. Our internal
dialogue snags our attention in a mess of stories and dramas, keeping
us from attending to what is actually in front of us.

Learning to consciously direct our mind and stop our internal dialogue
allows us to soften into each moment and open to all possibilities. It
leads us into mental integrity, where we can hear our own true voice.

  a great man writes "In stillness, inner energies spontaneously wake
up and bring about the appropriate transformation for every
situation." When we bring our attention to stillness we tap into our
knowing, which is based in love and infinite choice, rather than our
thinking, which is often based in fear and scarcity. Within stillness
rests our innate connection to Spirit and our sacred creativity.

Stopping our internal dialogue can take many different forms. Try any
of the following five practices to quiet your mind.

1. Fill the Space with Something More Helpful

Give your mind a chant or an affirmation to repeat. This action fills
the brain space your random thoughts would normally occupy. If you can
bring your attention fully to the chant or affirmation you will begin
to feel the silence between each word. You must be firm in coming back
to your chosen words over and over again, and letting the stillness
between the words permeate you.

I like to start my mornings off with chanting, and then take one chant
into my day. I keep a list of chants from a variety of cultures
(Native American, Hindu, etc.) that I have learned over the
years. It can be good to work with chants that are not in English, so
you don't get stuck on the words, or to have ones that affirm
something positive so if the chant does get stuck in your head you
will be repeating something like, "I am opening up in sweet surrender
to the luminous love light of the One." Your affirmation can be one
word or a sentence, e.g., anything from "Peace, peace, peace" or the
Sanskrit version, "Om, shanti" to "May I open to all possibilities."

2. Punctuate

Proper punctuation is another invaluable tool for stopping the
internal dialogue. We tend to string together huge run-on sentences in
our heads, weaving together our fears of the past or future with
present events or triggers. We do nonsensical things like talk to
ourselves about how we should not be having any voices in our head and
then tell ourselves stories about what that means. For example, have
you ever caught yourself thinking in a circular, tangled fashion like
this:

"The voices in my head are so loud, I am comparing myself to people
around me all the time, I can't get still, I just keep thinking and
thinking. Will I ever get this right? What if I can't get quiet? I'll
never be able to go any farther on my spiritual path until I still my
mind, but it is impossible! My mind is totally out of control. Darn, I
forgot to get toilet paper at the store. I always forget something. I
am a terrible warrior (priestess, healer, teacher, human being...) If
only I could be still inside. I hate my mind! I'm never going to have
any peace..."

With a mind that busy, it is no wonder we fill our time talking,
watching television, or fantasizing, instead of being quiet. Our minds
comment on everything, even our thoughts. By learning to use a period
and stop the next thought, we create space. For the example above,
imagine hearing, "The voices in my head are so loud," and then say,
"Period." Stop yourself after the first thought and take a breath. Do
not let any more thoughts squeeze in. "The voices in my head are so
loud, period." Do not allow your mind to comment on this statement,
justify it, whine, or judge. Do this many times during the day, and
you will notice gaps of stillness between your thoughts. Keep strong
punctuation.

3. Take Mental Breaks

Get habituated to taking breaks during the day to sink into silence.
For example, let your mind rest when you eat, have a few minutes
between meetings, or go to the bathroom. Instead of running from one
activity to the next in constant thought, breathe into your feet.
Notice the colors around you. Slow your movement. Walk deliberately
from place to place. Consciously reconnect with silence.

4. Let Thoughts Pass

Quieting the mind takes awareness and the commitment to keep coming
back to stillness over and over again. A daily meditation practice can
greatly increase your capacity to find silence during your day. I
recommend you set an alarm (e.g., five to ten minutes to start) for
your practice and simply let your thoughts float by without attaching
to them. You do not need to stop them, but let them pass without judgment.

5. Stop Thinking

Lastly, an advanced technique is to stop the thoughts before they
arise. I sit and imagine the foundation from where my thoughts arise.
It looks like a grey-brown field, and I can feel it in my head. From
this field thoughts bubble up. By using my intent I stop them from
coming. At first they pop out of the field spontaneously, but over
time I have learned to feel and witness when a thought is about to
arise and gently push it back down into the silence. Over time you can
build your capacity to keep the thoughts from being birthed as well.

Stopping the internal dialogue and living from stillness take
perseverance and lots of practice. Cleaning your mind is a lot like
cleaning a very messy room: if you look at the overall picture it can
feel daunting. But if you start in one corner and work your way around
step by step, you see that the action in front of you is doable, and
before you know it the room is clean. Pick one practice and do not
worry about how much chatter or noise there is, or how impossible the
task at hand seems. Then do the next step. Breathe. Chant. Punctuate.
Meditate. Stop. And then do it all over again, and again, and again.

Make this repetitive cleaning a joy, and be gentle. The stillness that
will begin to arise will be the nectar that will motivate you to
continue quieting your mind. Taste the silence and let it inspire you
keep going.
 

Al Jilwah: Chapter IV

"It is my desire that all my followers unite in a bond of unity, lest those who are without prevail against them." - Shaitan

Back
Top