Got a good email yesterday asking me...
Why would you want to quiet your mind?
What a great question!
It has been about 12 years since I first started to meditate. I have no idea what made me start to meditate, it was probably some book I was reading but I do remember hearing people say they meditated and I was super duper curious about it.
I remember the beginning so well. When I first started to quiet my mind, it was very difficult. It took a good month for me to be able to just sit and be still in my mind. When I first started, it took like 10 to 15 minutes to get my thoughts to stop and when you are meditating for 20 or 30 minutes, that is a long time.
To answer the question, this is what I got...
When you learn to quiet your mind, you really notice your thoughts in your head. What I mean is, you practice meditating and then when you are not meditating you become so aware of your mind you hear your thoughts. You hear the thoughts that are going on and on without you even knowing it because you are busy with other activities.
When you hear your thoughts more clearly, you start to become astonished at the mood of your mind. Maybe your mood is to constantly defend yourself, which can mean low self-esteem. Maybe your mood is to criticize others, which could mean you are critical of yourself. Maybe your mood is to worry about the future, which is a culprit of anxiety. Maybe your mood is to focus on what you don't have or how lousy your life is, which is depression.
When you hear these thoughts more clearly, you can, and will discover your stressful thought patterns.
WAIT! There is something else too. When you begin to quiet your mind, you become more focused, more patient, and able to enjoy life more.
When your mind is still, it becomes a habit and when you are thinking about the things you need to do, you become more focused on your to do tasks. Not the to do tasks you have written down but the tasks in your head.
When your mind is still, it becomes a habit and when you are standing in line, or waiting for something, because your mind is quiet, you are more patient.
When your mind is still, it becomes a habit and when you are just sitting there you can notice, JUST NOTICE, the beauty around you, the beauty in your surroundings, the beauty in your life, and the beauty in the person you are with. Kind of like smelling the roses.
WAIT THERE'S MORE!
Ever since I started to meditate, things I wished for, or dreamed about began to show up. Be careful for what you wish for comes to mind. I don't know what makes this happen but it does. It's like magic, I swear.
Money for a trip I wanted to take showed up when I didn't have the money. The car of my dreams showed up at an affordable price when it was usually much more expensive. I wanted to live in a small town and within a year I ended up where I am now. I no longer wanted to work for a corporation because I wanted to focus on my business and then I was laid-off with a 7 month severance package.
And, finally, I have always wanted to be close to Heavenly Father and I have been getting closer and closer every year and I know that my soul is truly expanding, and evolving, and developing, and progressing. I know that this is so because I am reacting totally different than I use to in a much kinder, more patient, and loving way.
Much more has happened and continues to happen and I think, no I know, it is because I quiet my mind, and it really really creates happiness, energy, focus, organization, productivity, and vitality.
Now, those are just some reasons, my friend, why you want to quiet your mind.
But please, please, please, do not believe me, try it for yourself.
That's all I got.
Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.
Elizabeth
