Home   >   Art & Lifestyle   >   How to Quieten Your Mind

How to Quieten Your Mind

By on March 17, 2023
Simply Woman - Woman Meditating

By Gillian McMichael

As with any journey, taking that first step is always the hardest but once made, you will ask yourself, ‘What took me so long?’ So here we are at the beginning.

On this journey we must start with self-first, which means we have to look within. Any transformational journey has a dual aspect to it, and that’s why we must start with learning to quieten the mind. Most of us spend our whole lives in activity, navigating the demands of a noisy and stimulating world. Even when we are in a completely quiet setting, you will find your mind full of thoughts about the past and plans for the future. If, like me, you will find yourself having a continual stream of interpretations and judgments about yourself and others. You will frequently review past stories and events you’ve experienced in your life. They will roll over and over in your mind until you can’t remember what the truth of those experiences was.

Find time for stillness within

Finding stillness within is not easy to do, especially in the world we live in today. Quietening the mind and trying to create stillness within is tricky. We can try and force things to slow down, switch off, to stop thinking, to stop analysing, but it’s difficult to do. In fact, it is impossible to not have thoughts.

We have between 60-80,000 thoughts a day, meaning we experience 1.2 thoughts every second. So as long as you are breathing, you will have thoughts. Every thought you have has a beginning, middle and end. Yet, the thoughts we have today, we will have tomorrow and the day after, the week after, the month after, and so on. No wonder we’re exhausted.

New thoughts will arise based upon our experiences, our patterns of behaviour and our external stimulus. These thoughts will drift in and out of our consciousness. Thoughts will disappear, some will be the same, and others will be new. Our thoughts are stored in our minds, and over time they turn into memories.

Remove technology

The world we live in is complex, challenging and complicated. Technology, for all its wonder, is drowning us and taking over our lives. With the constant need to follow each other, like and receive likes. The persistence to show others how happy we are by posting selfies. The desire to impress by how quickly we can respond to an email, text message, a friend request, a like, a post, and it goes on and on and on. None of this requires a quiet mind; in fact, the busier the mind, the quicker you are to get on and stay online.

Living life in this way means none of us live in the present or fully in the moment. When we do not live in the moment, it can lead to an imbalance, and that, in turn, can affect our physical, emotional and mental health.

Virtual connections can be useful, but not at the cost of losing the connection with yourself. Most of us have become comfortable with this way of living and what I would call ‘role-playing,’ pretending that life is awesome, having a huge following of friends, showing others how good you look, in forced poses, with fake smiles and showcasing where you are in the world, what you’re doing and with who.

Learn to meditate

Meditation is one of the most powerful practices for awakening your true self. And the peace that lies within. When in meditation, you go beyond the noisy chatter and chaos into inner quiet and expanded awareness. You begin to see that you are not your thoughts, emotions and the stories you tell yourself. When this happens, you can start to unfold your inner potential. Meditation allows us to be more effective, more creative, and every time you meditate, you unfold more and more of that potential and connect with who you really are.

If you genuinely want to come home to your true self, you need to stop focusing your attention on the outside world and turn your attention to what’s going on inside. We

must find a way that allows us to connect at a deeper and authentic level with ourselves whilst living and fully functioning in the world we live in. Learning to move from activity into silence and in a way that works for you.

Gillian McMichael – Transformational coach, founder of Full Circle Global and author of Coming Home: A Guide to Being Your True Self

 

 

********

 

More about Gillian: 

Gillian is a master transformational coach, meditation teacher and energy healer who has supported thousands of clients to overcome their barriers to success and journey back home to their true selves. A coach educator, mentor and supervisor for over twenty years, she embodies a holistic, whole-person approach and has become one of the leading voices in transformational coaching and development. Gillian is also a podcast host and keynote speaker, delivering global transformational retreats and workshops. Gillian is based in Edinburgh and has over twenty years of experience in coaching and self-development and has become one of the leading voices in the field.

Gillian has also released her new book Coming Home which has been linked above – You can view the accompanying press release here.

About simply...woman!

We encourage spreading the message of knowledge and wisdom. We appreciate and thank our featured partners for their articles. All information provided on Simply…Woman online magazine is for reference only; the content is based on the authors’ experiences and therefore is not intended as a substitute to the services of a fully qualified professional. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, Simply…Woman makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information.