Resistance vs. Mindfulness!

Trying to force the mind to quieten creates stress and resistance, but feeling and consciously seeing what passes through it in a mindful state, will clear and quieten it!

There are so many teachings about meditation and emptying the mind. It is a proven, and enlightening exercise to bring about inner peace. Meditation is a tool and a practice in quietening the mind to allow one to be present and in one’s body to really feel and appreciate life, without the monkey chatter of unhelpful thoughts, keeping us distracted. With the constant chatter of the mind, it is almost impossible to stay focused and align oneself with the universe and BE.

The explanation of meditation is a state of deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent. After studying with a Buddhist Monk in a certain following for many years, as well as experimenting with many alternative and esoteric meditations, I have learnt, and is my perspective and understanding, that one cannot ‘empty the mind’, by the very use of these words or by force. There are many kinds and applications/protocols for different meditations, but the main focus of meditation is to empty the mind bringing inner peace. We all need to find what works for us as individuals, and not follow the trend, as we are all built and conditioned differently.

What is Mindfulness?: 1. 1. The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. 2. 2. a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

For me, mindfulness has been the most helpful practice in my spiritual growth and inner peace. allowing myself to be present and to feel what comes up and through me, heals and quietens the mind, giving the gift of peace. To keep telling the mind to resist thoughts, memories and feelings while in meditation, causes resistance to quietening the mind. Where there is resistance, there is a battle. The definition of resistance is the refusal to accept or comply with something. One cannot have a peaceful mind in this state. From my experience, being mindful, as much as possible (remember it is a practice, and takes years to master this state 100% of the time), allows me to feel with all my senses what is going on in every moment, memories, feelings, thoughts and physical bodily sensations. In this way, you consciously see and feel what is moving through you, and only when we can do this in a conscious state, can we discard the unhelpful thoughts, which in turn then slowly disappear, and offer a quieter and more peaceful mind.

What does it mean to be Conscious? To be aware of and responding to one’s surroundings. synonyms: aware, awake, wide awake, compos mentis, alert, responsive, reactive, feeling,sentient More Consciousness is that which allows you to be conscious of anything. Every waking moment of life includes consciousness.

Mindfulness is a particular degree and strength of awareness. It is the sort of awareness you have when the hindrances are weak, when the mind is clear and bright, and when there are few thoughts. Mindfulness is a spiritual faculty that gives you a sense of being in charge of your mind. Instead of the hindrances dragging your mind into the past, the future and endless thinking, you are able to stay in the present moment and focus your mind on whatever object you wish to focus on. This is why mindfulness is required before meditation really takes off – only the mindful mind is able to focus on an object at will.

We have choice in our thoughts, but only consciously. If we practice to be mindful more of the time, we have the choice to keep, alter or discard thoughts. Being aware or conscious we can see which are helpful and which are hindrances to our state of mind. Here, is the magic and the healing, our choice in a conscious state to choose to let go of unhelpful, harmful, crippling thoughts which keep our mind racing and uncontent. I encourage you all to try this, and you decide which is a kinder and easier tonic and tool to quiet the mind: resist the thoughts and feelings, or consciously meet them, feel them and choose the ones that strengthen and quieten your mind. It is only by feeling and acknowledging feelings and thoughts in a conscious/aware/awake state, that they can lose power over us and leave us.

Try this with the feelings that upset or harm you, like anxiety, fear or inadequacy. Meet them, don’t resist them. Look the squarely in their eyes as so to speak, it is only a feeling, it cannot kill you. By meeting them, facing them and feeling them, THEN being conscious of what and where they come from (acknowledgement), and choosing to let them be there (non-resistance) they will dissipate and you will be free of them. I promise you, I have tried all ways of healing, destroying, alleviating unwanted feelings that create anxiety or stress in my body, and this is the only way I have found to ultimately and permanently heal them.