What is Mind?
I have been working on better quieting my mind.
Yes, I know that as human beings, we are ALWAYS thinking, always processing stuff. I also know that we are capable of finding stillness and peace, and turning the brain “off” for periods of time. This is something I am currently working on doing more.
Why? Because it’s not, at least for me, about stopping thinking. It’s about getting the inner dialogue – specifically the uncomplimentary aspects – to be silent. I desire to turn off the inner skeptic, cynic, and critic that tend to help me sabotage myself.
Everybody has an inner dialogue. As I have discussed before, this is a place where we often do not speak so well of ourselves, and tend to hold less-than-stellar notions about who we are and what we think about that.
For the past few weeks I have been actively working on changing my personal inner dialogue. I am replacing I don’t have enough money; I am old; My joints are sore and stiff; I’m fat; I am broken; I don’t know how that can be done with I feel money is flowing to me; I’m feeling young; I feel that my joints are flexible and strong; I feel that I am in shape; I’m feeling solid; I know a way will be found. Adding feeling, as well as changing the dialogue, further empowers and gives action to this shift.
For a long time before this, my goal had been to simply silence the negative inner voice. That has not been as successful as hoped, so now I am striving to instead change the dialogue to a positive one. Active versus passive action.
However, finding stillness and quietude for the mind builds connection to the inner self.
The mind needs to rest from time to time
I read and listen to a lot of different self-help and spiritual guidance types of books. Some are kind of out there, while many have some really useful ideas to impart. I rarely take everything presented in these works at face value, but there is nearly always something useful that resonates with me, which I can then make use of in my own self-improvement.
Nearly every single one of these, even those exploring wealth consciousness, suggests quieting the mind from time to time in order to better connect. Better connect with what, you might ask? Better connect with our inner selves. These meat-suits we run around planet Earth in are not who we are. They are the physical manifestation of the self, so that we can interact with the world around us.
Our inner-self is made of energy. EVERYTHING in the Universe is made of energy. You, me, the trees, the air, stars, you name it, energy is its core. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it simply changes form. This is why consciousness creates reality and we are capable of manifesting both incredible and horrific things into this world. Like attracts like, and our energies vibrate at low or high frequencies. Low frequencies are negative, high frequencies are positive.
Yes, I know that I have been reiterating this a lot. But that is because it is the truth. Spirituality and science both agree that energy is our core, they just use different language in order to say that. My point here is that the inner self to which I refer is the energetic being that is me.
The self is both mind and energy
A book I am reading through now has offered a new perspective on the self, and living in the now. What it suggests is that whom we identify ourselves as is a matter of mind. The self we believe we are is made up of thoughts, and because thoughts are influenced through experience and input from the world around us, as well as our own beliefs, ideas, biases, prejudices and judgements, it is not who we are at our core.
Meditation is the process of giving the mind a chance to take a break, and for us to connect to our higher selves. Yes, some people take this to mean they are connecting with a “higher power”, but it also is about connecting with our true inner self. Giving our minds some peace, rest, and quiet allows our true inner being to be.
Of course I was somewhat skeptical of this notion when I first read it, but it was only a single exploration of it that convinced me it’s really rather powerful. When I took the time to really be in the now, and to shut reach beyond my mind, I felt something more peaceful and calming than I had in a while.
The mind processes unbelievable amounts of information. In addition to that, it is running our internal organs, keeping us breathing and moving and all the other functions that go into us being alive. But much of the construct of the mind that is what we believe the self to be believes things that are uncomplimentary, and thus untrue.
You are amazing
Plain and simple, you are an incredible being. When we can quiet our minds, we can better see and experience this. This is not just about meditation either. I find that when I focus on being present in the things I am doing, right here, right now, I feel I am bridging a better connection to the inner being of energy that is my true self.
I desire to be a happier, more joyful, better person. Quieting the mind and allowing it to have a break is rather empowering. I intend to write about this further as I continue exploring it.
As always, thank you for crossing the bridges between my worlds with me.
This is the eighty-fifth entry of my personal journey, the Crossing the Bridges series. My collectively published writing can be found here.
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