Do you ever find yourself trying to ‘get away from yourself’, drowning your sorrows or just trying to distract yourself? All these are signs of a restless mind.
What is the root cause of a restless mind?
It comes down to not knowing who we are i.e. who the being that thinks and feels is.
Having forgotten ‘who I am’…
– When something negative happens I am robbed of my peace.
– Now I worry about what will happen next.
– Then I am anxious about what I will do if ‘x’ does happen.
– So I madly try to maintain the status quo despite the fact that one definite truth of this physical world is that second by second everything changes.
– I look for approval from others. We want to be liked so we project the persona we calculate is best suited to gain the other’s approval. However, all the time we are anxious that they will realise it is just a mask and not who I really am.
– My persona is all caught up in externals (limitations) so I create negative thoughts like ‘I can’t’ based on this persona and make a prison for myself.
– I compare myself with others and others with others making some better / less than me / others.
The root remedy?
This is to re-discover who I am. Who are you? Who is the being that thinks?
Who are you?A woman.No, that is your gender. Who are you?A mother.No, that is your relationship with your children. Who are you?A doctor.No, that is your profession. Who are you?
This ‘I‘ is the one that is always peaceful, joyful and independent (not dependent on anyone or anything to be so). This ‘I‘ is our greatest treasure. To touch this ‘I‘ begin by creating the thought: ‘I am a peaceful being’. Let go of the mask for now and go in and discover ‘you’. Then you will no longer need to impress anyone. As we re-discover our inner qualities our self-esteem and self-respect grows and we no longer need to impress anyone.
More remedies
1) The only thing that we can have any control over is our own thinking and so our feelings. See the connection between your thoughts and feelings. Make your mind your best friend. If I am full of intolerance how can my mind be anything but restless.
Each and everyone of us has the power to create beneficial thoughts for ourselves. So, what thoughts can I choose to bring the fruits of peace, comfort, love, happiness and contentment?
2) Remember: What we give out is what we get back. So share happiness and receive happiness back. Give thoughts of appreciation, peace and respect to receive these back.
3) Don’t focus on what has gone wrong asking ‘why me?’ Focus on finding a solution / the benefit. When my mind is restless it is like a turbulent lake. How can I possibly see the solution then? Accept whatever has come – it has already happened and you can’t change that. Then talk gently to yourself rather than criticizing and blaming.
Traps:
– Blame, when we blame we give our power away and let someone rob us of our peace and happiness.
– Guilt, it is a message to change. Instead we get trapped in feeling guilty and so don’t learn from our mistakes and repeat them again and again.
– Desires, they fool us. Why do you want to go on that holiday, get that job, buy that house etc.? First find what you seek within you.
I like this post
Very helpful and insightful
Interesting take!