Taming the Wild Mind
By
Theresa Chaze
The mind is the most powerful phenomenon every created. It can heal or kill with equal effectiveness. Whatever we can envision, we can create for good or ill. Yet in most people, it is wild and uncontrollable. Sometimes thoughts run in random directions, without focus or restraint. At the other end of the spectrum, our thoughts get stuck on a single topic or person in spite all efforts to change the focus of our attention. We become obsessed with one thing to the detriment of other aspects of our life. In both cases, the mind is out of control. Yet it doesn’t have to be. There are techniques to tame the wild mind. By relaxing into a simple thought or action, you can control your mind and relax your body without the aid of medication.
Meditation has been used for eons to gain spiritual and emotional perspective. It is not a religious practice, but a way a releasing all other thoughts save one for a short period of time. Some focus on the inhaling and exhaling pattern of their breathe. Others chant mantras or repeat prayers to achieve the single mindedness needed to relax the mind and body. In the Catholic Church, a novena is repeating the Virgin Mary prayer nine times for nine days. In other spiritual practices, saying “Om” in various tones achieves spiritual concentration. When combined with visualization, meditation can be used not only to calm the mind but also focus your spiritual energy on a specific area or aspect of your life that needs to be healed. It is a way of focusing the attention inward as a way to simplify the thinking process.
Prayers or rituals help a person step out of the mundane and into the spiritual. It is a way a creating a sacred space, which creates a barrier between one’s normal existence and a safe place. It is why people leave a spiritual service feeling more peaceful and calm. Wiccans and Pagan create a circle of protection that keeps out all negative energy and pulls in positive spiritual forces. In both cases, the person’s attention is directed outward onto a being, which is more powerful than themselves. In doing so, they feel connect to and protected by total unconditional love. Whether as an individual or in a group, prayer or ritual gives individuals a way to release the stresses in their lives by offering them up to the Divine, as they know it.
Yoga or other exercise not only is a way to calm the mind, but a way to hormonally energize the body. Endorphins are a naturally released hormone, which is painkiller and mood enhancer. It has been known to help a mother lift a car off her child and runner to finish the race in spite of injuries. This hormone also uplifts the spirit and enhances a person’s positive attitude. It is the substance that causes the runner’s high. By regularly participating in an exercise program, a person will not only make her or his body healthier and stronger, but uplift the spirit and quiet the mind as the exercise routine becomes the primary focal point. Whereas the mediation and prayers focus the mind in a specific direction, exercise empties the mind in favor of the physical action or movement.
All three options are a way of gaining control of your thoughts by focusing your attention on a specific action or thought for a short period of time. In doing so, you divert your attention away from the stress of your life and release it from the normal thought process. By gaining control over mind, you help yourself heal spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Theses are only three ways of taking back power over your life and your destiny.
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