Quiet Your Mind

I hear the waves
Sun beating down on my shoulders
It’s a near-perfect day
Wishing I wouldn’t get any older
They say that it’s gone before you know it now

Quiet your mind
Soak it all in
It’s a game you can’t win
Enjoy the ride

I feel the change
Going on all around me
It’s strange
How I’m taken and guided
Where I end up right where I’m needed to be

Zac Brown Band – Quiet Your Mind

Quiet Your Mind

Peace and quiet are precious commodities these days, but sometimes we’re our own worst enemies.  How many times have you gone to bed only to relive your day in your head or make a mental to-do list for tomorrow?

Or maybe you’ve carved out a few minutes to relax and been hijacked by a barrage of thoughts or worries?  Unfortunately, finding calm in a world of chaos can be a tall order.

“Americans suffer from a case of ADD,” says Victor Davich, author 8-Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind, Change Your Life.  “With technology, economic pressures, work, and family, it’s impossible to be on top of everything, and it’s upsetting our natural balance.”

This overload and overwhelm often lead to anxiety, fear, and depression, and while you can’t check out of life and avoid responsibility, you can approach things in a gentler way.

Benefits of a Quiet Mind

1. Stress reduction. – When the mind is quiet, the stress response is shut off in the body, and calmness and relaxation are amplified.
2. Improve concentration and mental clarity. – Regular practice in slowing and quieting the thinking mind leads to enhanced concentration, improved critical thinking, and effective problem-solving.
3. Enhanced creativity. – Too much thinking stifles creativity.  The most creative individuals know how to shut off the thinking mind so deeper creative energies are free to flow.
4. Freedom from unhealthy habits and self-destructive patterns. – Our thinking mind produces over 60,000 thoughts a day, and 85% of them are the same thoughts we had yesterday. By learning to quiet the mind, you place yourself back in control.

How to Develop a Quiet Mind

• Breathe – We do this all the time, but to use your breathing to find stillness, be more careful and conscious about it.
• Exercise – Just 5 minutes of aerobic exercise, like a brisk walk, could start to calm your mind. It releases endorphins — chemicals that make you feel good and can help improve your mood, focus, and sleep.
• Listen to Music – It literally calms the activity in your brain. While listening to music, fewer neurons fire in your amygdala (the part of your brain that responds to fear), which may lead to fewer signals sent to other parts of your brain.
• Help Someone – It lights up parts of your brain that make you feel pleasure and connection. Doing something nice for someone lowers stress and lessens feelings of loneliness.
• Take a Break – When you find your mind racing full-speed or spiraling down a rabbit hole, change your focus: stretch, daydream, walk around, get a snack, or chat with a friend.

The Bible

There is a great story in the Old Testament about the Prophet Elijah.  He was involved in an altercation with the local king and queen and had to run to save his life.  So he hid in a cave and asked God for help.  And God showed up to answer his call.

In 1 Kings 19:11-13 we read,

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.  And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”

God showed as a windstorm, but Elijah didn’t recognize Him.  He showed as an earthquake, but Elijah still didn’t recognize Him.  God showed as a whisper, and Elijah heard him.

Only when our minds are quiet are we most easily able to hear God.  And what could be more important than hearing God?

Successful leaders and entrepreneurs know that the ability to focus is essential.  And to focus requires a quiet mind.  The Bible teaches that chaos is our enemy and that God wants to help us be successful.  So lean on God and listen to Him to help develop a quiet mind.