By The Spiritual Explorer | Published 5 June, 2015
Dear Spiritual Explorer: I feel as if I am admitting this to my confessor, but my mind is a garbage can which needs to be cleaned out. Do you have a spiritual rotorooter that I can use? Selma P., Kansas City, KS
Little Book of Inner Peace
Dear Selma: I am happy to be your confessor, and have come across a very interesting online suggestion by an esteemed spiritual teacher to answer your question of how to quiet the mind:
- Say what you mean. Mean what you say.
- Don’t say to anyone what you can’t say to everyone.
- Don’t say inside, what you cannot say outside.
- Don’t say unless it is true, useful or kind.
I must say that these formulas for quieting the mind call forth within us a true desire to become virtuous within ourselves. It is certainly for me a call to my higher mind to begin to practice what I have preached. When you can say inwardly what you can also say outwardly that is also true, useful and kind, you have come a long way in your spiritual growth. My favorite book that speaks to this challenge is the Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Inner Peace.
When how to quiet the mind becomes a battle
On another tack,when we ask about how to quiet the mind, in some instances we might be engaging in a battle within ourselves. In fact, in our desire to answer how to quiet the mind, it seems that we are setting up an adversarial thing. It is similar to when one goes on a diet; it seems that ice cream and cookies loom very largely in our minds.
One of my suggestions in that case in reviewing how to quiet the mind would be to stop thinking of the mind as an enemy, and begin a more subtle strategy, such as just saying “stop” or “pause” or “no” when unwanted thoughts appear. That way we do not create an enemy within. It is when we create an enemy within that we contribute to the duality of our lives.
Suggestions on how to quiet the mind that are physical
A friend of mine goes into the shower when she wants to quiet her mind. She sneaks up on her quest and as the water pours down upon her,she says that the mind just disappears. Other ways to make the mind disappear without taking up arms against it might be to engage in activities that just naturally quiet the mind such as kayaking, swimming, boxing, or other physical events that force us to engage our physicality. Being a sybarite myself, I often use massage as a way to stop my mind.
And then let us not forget a personal sitting meditation or finding a group or teacher with whom to meditate. It is much easier when addressing how to quiet the mind to find a group of like-minded others to share a quiet space.The combined energy of others provides a vibrational level that lifts one’s spirit more easily.
Thanks for writing a very interesting question. Spiritual Explorer
If you have a question about “how to quiet the mind,” or anything else, you can write me at Ask The Spiritual Explorer.
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