Namaste friends. Today about something so very important: organising your mind. Because if your mind is unorganised, you lose so much of your life energy.
Your mind energy is like a battery
Imagine that every day you wake up with a full battery of energy. How you use that battery decides how you feel at the end of the day: depleted, or recharged.
Maybe you had an argument with someone last week, and you keep going through it in your head. That costs maybe 10 or 20% of your battery. Then you worry a little about the future: the rent, the children’s school, your work. Another 20%. Then you worry about your health, about a relationship, about this and that. And before you know it, people spend almost all of their mind energy every day on things that don’t serve them at all.
And then they wonder: why am I so tired? I didn’t even work that hard. I feel as if I ran a whole marathon. That’s the moment to look at how you are using your mind.
Meditation is not about feeling relaxed
Many people think meditation means sitting still and feeling relaxed, and when they sit and don’t feel relaxed, they think it’s not working. That’s not it at all. Meditation is learning to sit still and become aware: where is my mind energy flowing right now?
When you close your eyes you might notice: ah, my mind keeps going back to that argument. Or: I’m worrying again about something that hasn’t even happened. And just recognising that is the first step. Then you can ask yourself: do I really want to spend my life energy on this?
Four ways to organise your mind
- Write it down. Before you sleep, write down what’s on your mind and what you need to do tomorrow. Once it’s on paper, the mind can let go of holding it.
- Separate what you can and can’t change. If you can do something about it, plan one small step. If you can’t, practise letting it go with your breath.
- Take mini breaks. A few times a day, stop for one minute and take some slow breaths. You bring the mind back to the present and stop the leak in your battery.
- Meditate daily. Even 10 minutes a day trains you to notice thoughts without being pulled away by them.
A 5-minute practice to stop overthinking
Sit comfortably and breathe slowly through the nose into the belly. Every time you notice a thought, silently label it: “past”, “future” or “now”. Don’t fight it. Just label it and come back to the breath. After five minutes you’ll be surprised how much of your mind energy goes to past and future, and how peaceful it becomes when you come back to now.
When your mind is organised, you suddenly have so much more energy for creative things, for the people you love, and for living your life in a mindful way.
Continue your practice
If you want to go deeper, Awakening, my complete online meditation course, teaches you step by step how to train and master the mind. All my courses are pay what you can, so everyone can learn these practices, whatever their situation.
May we all be blessed with peace, love and wisdom.
Michaël
