How To Quiet Your Mind In Even The Loudest Settings

Collective Evolution

October 24, 2015 by Peter Russell.

The building where I used to run a meditation group was on the same street as a fire station; one could almost guarantee that sometime during the meditation a fire engine would come rushing past, sirens wailing. Not surprisingly, people would afterwards complain: “How could I meditate with that going on?”

How often have we felt something similar? There’s an unspoken assumption that the mind can only become quiet if the world around it is quiet. We imagine the ideal meditation setting to be somewhere far from the madding crowd—a retreat deep in a forest, a peaceful chapel, or the quiet of one’s own bedroom, perhaps. It is much harder for the mind to settle down in a noisy environment. Or is it?

I suggested to the group that the next time a fire engine came blasting by they look within and explore whether the sound really was that disturbing? After the following meditation, a participant reported how the noise no longer seemed a problem; it was there, but it didn’t disturb her. The disturbance, she realized, came not from the sound itself, but from wishing it weren’t there.

This was the essence of Buddha’s realization 2,500 years ago. We all experience what he called dukkha. The word is conventionally translated as “suffering,” but in Pali, the language of Buddha’s time, dukkha is the negation of the word sukha, meaning “at ease.” So dukkha might more generally be translated as not-at-ease, or discontent—an experience we all can relate to.

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Collective-EvolutionCollective Evolution October 14, 2015 by Alexa Erickson. We all know the detriments of putting ourselves down. When we tell ourselves we’re not good enough too many times, we truly begin to believe it, and for many people, mornings aren’t the easiest. The feeling of getting out of bed to exercise, go to work, or take on any other responsibility we feel obligated to do is tough. But that’s because we make it tough. We tell ourselves Mondays are the worst. We tell ourselves it’s too early to exercise. Thoughts begin to circulate in our heads regarding all the things we have to do, all the things we should be doing, and all the things we actually want to do but don’t feel like we deserve or have time for. This negativity only brings on stress. We get into such a groove of doing this, of complaining about our Monday through Fridays, that we tend to live for moments, like the weekends or vacations, to get us through the rest of our days. But what we should be doing is living for every day. So how can you change your morning around? Mantras are words or phrases meant to be chanted either internally or out loud as a means of meditating. They originated about 3,000 years ago in India, at least to the Vedic tradition, in which they were used to influence and control the gods. Throughout history, they have continued to be used in various ways to promote transformation. In our modern day Western world, they are often seen as a means to shifting our perspectives in order to welcome a new sense of self. In the words of Buddha, “What we think, we become.” To help you find the beauty in each day, and at every moment, try changing the way you view yourself in this world by incorporating these 20 motivational mantras. 1. Today, I will choose happiness. 2. I am enough. 3. Today, I will positively impact someone’s day. 4. Today, accept what is instead of resenting what isn’t. 5. Just to be alive is a grand thing. Morning mantras to live by. 6. May I be Happy. May I be Healthy. May I be Creative. May I be at ease. 7. I am thankful for everything I have. 8. Today, I will breathe deeply and go slowly. 9. It is enough to do my best. 10. Breathe in joy and strength, breathe out wisdom and peace. Read More Here

Collective Evolution

October 14, 2015 by Alexa Erickson.

 

We all know the detriments of putting ourselves down. When we tell ourselves we’re not good enough too many times, we truly begin to believe it, and for many people, mornings aren’t the easiest. The feeling of getting out of bed to exercise, go to work, or take on any other responsibility we feel obligated to do is tough. But that’s because we make it tough. We tell ourselves Mondays are the worst. We tell ourselves it’s too early to exercise. Thoughts begin to circulate in our heads regarding all the things we have to do, all the things we should be doing, and all the things we actually want to do but don’t feel like we deserve or have time for. This negativity only brings on stress.

We get into such a groove of doing this, of complaining about our Monday through Fridays, that we tend to live for moments, like the weekends or vacations, to get us through the rest of our days. But what we should be doing is living for every day. So how can you change your morning around?

Mantras are words or phrases meant to be chanted either internally or out loud as a means of meditating. They originated about 3,000 years ago in India, at least to the Vedic tradition, in which they were used to influence and control the gods. Throughout history, they have continued to be used in various ways to promote transformation. In our modern day Western world, they are often seen as a means to shifting our perspectives in order to welcome a new sense of self. In the words of Buddha, “What we think, we become.”

To help you find the beauty in each day, and at every moment, try changing the way you view yourself in this world by incorporating these 20 motivational mantras. 

1. Today, I will choose happiness. 

2. I am enough. 

3. Today, I will positively impact someone’s day.

4. Today, accept what is instead of resenting what isn’t.

5. Just to be alive is a grand thing.

6. May I be Happy. May I be Healthy. May I be Creative. May I be at ease.

7.  I am thankful for everything I have.

8. Today, I will breathe deeply and go slowly.

9. It is enough to do my best.

10. Breathe in joy and strength, breathe out wisdom and peace.

Read More Here