Scattered Thoughts

I read an excellent quote this morning, and very appropriate for my life right now - 'Uncontrolled, scattered thoughts are like a speeding car; unless you brake, you loose control and crash. We need to take control and put on the brakes of our own minds if they are to work properly and naturally. A natural mind is peaceful and a peaceful mind brings clarity'.

My thoughts aren't uncontrolled or scattered right now but they could become very close to being so if I didn't stick to my routine of meditation and journal writing. I have so much going on at the moment - as I'm sure we all do - that I could so easily loose control and let my thoughts spiral out of control. But I have learnt that something so easily ignored and brushed aside, if not managed effectively, can push us over the edge. It would be so easy to put off the journal writing or leave the meditation until 'tomorrow' but I know from experience that its just not worth it.

The brain is such a powerful organ and one that we know so little about. If we can learn to manage it effectively by practising mindfulness and meditation and writing our thoughts and problems down then we can overcome a multitude of problems. I guess what I've been learning to do is 'manage' my brain.

My life used to move at a million miles an hour. I was always busy, I worked long hours in a stressful and highly pressured job. I did intense daily workouts and would have scoffed at things like mediation and yoga. All of that 'slow stuff' just seemed so boring to me - I wasn't good at being still. Maybe I was scared of what I would discover? What I do know now is that building meditation, mindfulness and journal writing into my daily routine has been the best thing I ever did.

During a typical day we process thousands of thoughts and images. We are constantly bombarded with information. Technology has driven us into a world of instant responses and extra pressure to keep up with it all. I don't believe we are designed to live this way. We would originally have been spending most of our time hunting and gathering and the remainder of our time we would have spent just 'being' rather than 'doing'. We are, after all, human 'beings', not human 'doings'. Our body isn't something we are it is something we have - it is the only place we have to live so we need to care for it.

I am certainly not disputing that technology is a great thing but as with most other things it needs to be used in moderation.

Deep down I expect most of us have a deep yearning for stillness. Just to 'be', to have time to choose our mood for the day and to contemplate. We all have stillness within us and the challenge is to let go of the layers and the masks we wear so we can become our true selves. Maybe step out of ourselves and recognize we are not the body, we are not the job, the house, the kids etc.

When you meditate and practise mindfulness you are not trying to quiet the mind, the quiet is already there, you are simply accessing it. 'Trying' is a word that implies there can be failure - in meditation there is no failure, therefore just be.

Meditation is a means of transforming or training the mind to encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity and a calm and peaceful way of seeing the true nature of things. By commiting to a meditation and mindfulness practise you learn the patterns and habits of your mind which can cultivate a new, more positive and calm way of being.

In order to benefit from a fulfilling life, no matter what pressures you have, everyone should build meditation and mindfulness into their lives.