How can meditation help to calm a busy and agitated mind?
nitten mahadik
Mindfulness Coach | Theatre-based Learning for Sales & Leadership | ICF-PCC | Personal Impact & Storytelling Facilitator
The mind is usually preoccupied with a plethora of thoughts, images, emotions, and desires. We identify with everything that arises in the mind and get carried away, as if we were washed away by powerful tidal waves with no ability to deal with them. The mind is exhausted as a result of these continuous oscillations of thoughts which has an impact on our energy levels and efficiency. If we don't settle our mind and body at the end of the day, the same exhaustion is carried over in sleep, and we wake up irritable and tired the next day.
Observing all of the contents of the mind without engaging or grasping is one way to calm it. The more we practice witnessing without grasping, the calmer our minds become. We do this repeatedly in meditation, recognizing when the mind is grasping, releasing it, and returning to witnessing. While there is some effort here to refresh our awareness whenever our minds wander, the practitioner does not use force or willpower to settle the mind. By witnessing without grasping, we discover that anything that arises in the mind self dissolves, allowing the mind to find its balance and heal.
This may be difficult at first because we are so deeply identified with the mind that we have no separation from its content. This skill can be improved with practice, and short sessions of practice may be beneficial. A sense of well-being and clarity emerges as the mind heals and finds its balance.