Over the years, meditation has increasingly evolved into one of the most transformative practices. Practically everywhere you look, there’s some mention of its benefits. However, sitting in silence to meditate can trigger a swirl of unrelenting mental activity that can easily lead one to believe that they’re doing it all wrong.
If you, by chance, have found yourself wondering how to exactly go about quieting the busy mind, you are not alone. This piece will delve into 6 Ways to Meditate When Your Mind Races.
The Wandering Mind
At any given moment, our awareness can freely flow into any given tense in time. From what was in the past, to what may potentially be in the future, our attention can easily be everywhere other than the present moment. The moment one sits to meditate, thoughts, feelings, and sensations can begin to rise, making it that much harder to quiet the mind. Beyond the outward appearance of what it looks like to meditate, there’s this notion that one needs to forcibly quiet the mind to sit in complete solitude.
Only moments after assuming a quiet, still, calm position, the mind is likely to begin to run amuck with rampant thoughts, feelings, and reactions ranging from what happened in childhood to just this day and moments before. Of which the mind is liable to revert to all possible suboptimal things that are likely to occur in the future. In order words, if left to its own devices it’s likely to revert to the absolute Worst case scenario. All thoughts that center on the very things you do not wish to come into fruition can easily have a domino effect, with one thought leading to several similar thoughts that entertain more of the same, as like attracts like.
If the mind is left to its own devices, it can further leave one at the mercy of their wandering mind. The more we unknowingly relinquish our power to the waywardness of our thoughts, the less likely we are to calm and quiet the mind. This raises a fascinating question. How can one quiet the mind in the face of such rampant thoughts and a wandering mind? So glad you asked.
Reclaiming Your Attention
The mind is a beautiful complex faculty that allows us to think, contemplate, and create. As conscious creators, we all can manifest mere thoughts into physical manifestations. Whether we are aware of it, we constantly manifest thoughts into tangible things.
Be it the most precious thoughts that house our most coveted dreams to the most reluctant potentialities that embody the very realities that we fear most, everything that we give our increased focused attention expands. Likewise, where our attention goes, our energy flows. In other words, the more we give our attention to racing thoughts, the more the mind wanders. A wandering mind is not present with all that is unfolding on a moment-to-moment basis.
The breath one is one of the singular facilities that roots us in the present moment. Unlike our thoughts, the breath is not something we can reserve to practice in the future, it can only occur in the present. Likewise rooting our attention in the present further anchors us in the present.
To practice meditation, one is encouraged to source a calm, quiet locale in where we are unlikely to be disturbed. This instruction is intentional in that assuming a position in a quiet, peaceful, and tranquil place offers the space to calm both the mind and body. The mind and body are interconnected. Likewise, a calm and quiet stance is sure to follow suit within bothering the body and mind.
Interestingly, calming the mind cannot be done by force. Being that what one focuses on expands, the more one focuses their energy to forcibly still the mind, the more it will amplify its current state. Likewise, forcibly attempting to quiet the mind can have the opposite effect.
Assuming an upright position with the back erect and not rigid with feet planted firmly on the floor, or assuming the lotus position, walking, or lying flat on the ground, are all supportive positions that can help one to assume a calm state. Whether we like it or not, the mind will persistently do what the mind does best, think. Regardless of whether it aligns with our intention, or if we’d simply prefer to magically turn it off, it is just going to persist to do what it does best.
The good news is that we are conscious creators with the power to reclaim our attention to manifest our intentions. When it comes to meditation, it’s no different. Here are six ways to mediate amid the persistent wandering mind.
4 Ways To Meditate When the Mind Races
1. Sit in A Quiet Space
Source a quiet space and which you are unlikely to be disturbed. Assume a relatively comfortable position in which you can physically still and calm the body.
2. Withdraw Your Attention Away From External Distractions
Go within. One of the best ways to reclaim your attention is to close your eyes. Please close your eyes and extract your attention away from solely being in your head and onto how it physically feels to be present in your body.
3. Feel into Your Body
From the crown (very top of your head) of your head to the soles of your feet. Allow yourself to feel every space within your body in its entirely. From temperature, textures, sensations, and everything else in between feel into all that is present are within physical body. Notice how it feels to exist in your body, as well as what may be rising up in your awareness. Be a racing mind, wayward thoughts, or feelings of discomfort and resistance, simply notice all that is present.
4. Release Any Judgement
As a collective, we all tend to place judgment on all that we feel and experience. Grant yourself permission to notice and accept whatever you feel notice, from the nature of your feelings, to whether or not it pleases or displeases you. Release any judgment, and accept whatever it maybe as is, without any interference.
5. Focus Attention on the Breath
Direct your awareness to the natural rhythm and flow of the breath. Directly focus on the feeling, mechanics, and natural physical movements that correlate with breath, allowing yourself to observe all that is taking place from the inside out.
6. Redirect Your Awareness Back to the Breath
We are all creatures of habit, so naturally, our minds will revert to the old habits of relinquishing the power of our attention to the wandering mind. Despite our best intentions, the mind will persistently wander. However, with persistent practice, we can forge new habits that support us in reclaiming power over our attention to meditate. Anytime the mind wanders, revert your attention to the breath as often as needed. The more we still and calm the body and mind the more the mind settles down, allowing you to present with all that is unfolding in the moment.
Are you interested in expanding your mindfulness practice in a virtual community of like-minded individuals? We welcome you to join our growing Mindfulness Community Circle for twice-weekly live facilitated mindfulness sessions. We’d love to have you join our rapidly growing global community.
Sign up for your free 7-day trial today.