Lao Tzu said, “ Man was meant to sit quietly and discover the truth within” and Pascal, the great French mathematician of the 17th century wrote, “ All of man’s problems could be solved if he could just learn to sit alone in a room with himself for an hour”
The mind is a chatter machine. There are about 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts that goes through it everyday. No wonder inner peace seems so elusive.
There are several benefits to be gained from having a quiet mind.
- · There will be less stress in your life.
- · Mental clarity. This means you will be able to concentrate and solve problems better.
- · Increase your creativity.
- · Freedom from unwanted thoughts and habits
- · Inner peace.
There are several ways you can achieve a quiet mind. Here are a few:
- Meditation.
- Writing things out. Take it out of your mind and put in on paper. Do reflective thinking.
- Intensive exercise. Exercise releases natural hormones that make you calmer and this helps to control the inner chattering.
- Lowering your gaze. Yes this actually helps. If you limit what you see, you will not think about what you don’t see.
- Do not watch news or read newspaper. Most of it are useless and if there is something important you need to know, you will hear it anyway.
- Avoid alcohol. Alcohol, even in small quantities causes havoc to your mind in the long term.
- Focus on the now. One day at a time. That is all we have.