You get all set up in a quiet room, close your eyes, and concentrate on your breath. Only your mind starts racing and your thoughts are all over the place:
…I can’t forget to reschedule my dentist appointment after this.
…Oh, and I need to take the dog to the groomer’s, too.
…What time do I have to pick up the kids today?
…Lunch today was delicious!
…When’s Judy back in town? Next time we’ll have to try that other sushi place.
…Wait, I’m supposed to be meditating. That doesn’t matter right now.
Sound familiar? It’s ok. Learning to quiet your mind is a difficult task for everyone. And it’s normal to feel like you can’t do this.
As a spiritual counselor, I see my clients struggle with calming their conscious minds in our sessions all the time. But as difficult as it is, understanding how to quiet your mind is an important first step in any kind of spiritual healing.
With calmer thoughts, you’ll open your mind to growth and new possibilities – while activating multiple parts of your brain and cultivating mindfulness of the present moment.¹
But I understand why you might struggle with this. Because quieting your mind isn’t a normal state for our brains – they’re just not built that way.
What Is the “Normal” Brain?
When we hear about others who can meditate or quiet their minds, it’s easy to think, “They can do it, so I should be able to as well.” You might even believe you’re “bad” or “wrong” or “weird” for not being able to do this.
But that’s simply not true.
Quieting our minds isn’t a normal state for our brains, especially when we’re used to having constant stimulation every moment of the day. Stress, medications, health problems, and altered sleep patterns can further stimulate our minds, causing the thoughts to keep racing and never stop.²
In the words of one of my adjunct professors, who’s the main English translator to the Dalai Lama:
“The normal brain is the one that runs around like crazy. So you’re not bad if you can’t meditate. You’re normal because you can’t meditate.”
To make matters worse, Western medicine encourages you to take a passive role in your healing journey by giving your power away to doctors who don’t always know what’s best. Their solutions enable you to rely on medications rather than seeking the answers from within yourself using ancient healing techniques.
So if quieting your mind or learning to meditate makes you feel frustrated and ashamed (because you feel like you can’t do it), remember that it’s ok. You’re going against what feels natural – and you’re not the only one who has a tough time doing this.
But if you can learn how to quiet your mind, you’ll be one step closer to your healing journey.
Why Is It So Important to Quiet Our Minds?
As a spiritual counselor, I’ve met hundreds of people and helped them with spiritual healing during our shamanic counseling and depth hypnosis sessions.
Something I’ve noticed over the years: the second session is our first meditative session together – and it’s work for most people. Many of my clients don’t meditate or feel comfortable going into their minds. So it usually takes them a few sessions to trust what they’re visualizing, thinking, and feeling.
This is perfectly normal, and it’s ok if it’s difficult for you, too.
But once you learn how to quiet your mind, you’re taking the first big step in your spiritual journey. You learn to heal yourself and trust your inner guidance and wisdom.
You’re not getting distracted by mindless and unimportant chatter. Or avoiding the trauma and spiritual wounds you’ve needed to address for years. Instead, you’re starting down the path of self-discovery by opening space in your mind for new thoughts, ideas, and growth.
On top of that, you’re reaping the many benefits to your mind, body, and spirit that come with quieting your conscious mind.
The Benefits of Calming Your Thoughts
Many of my clients believe that learning to quiet their minds is only helpful during our spiritual counseling sessions – or for learning to meditate. But turning down the volume on your conscious mind actually improves your physical, mental, and emotional health, too.
Developing a regular practice of silence and stillness might lead to changes such as:
- Lower blood pressure and heart rate.
- More creativity and stimulation in your brain.
- Better concentration and focus during the day.
- Increased awareness and mindfulness in the present.
- Lower cortisol levels and less stress.
- Increased gratitude and appreciation of the world around us.
- Improved communication and stronger relationships.³
This is why learning to quiet your mind is a big part of the spiritual journey – you’re improving your spiritual health, which leads to improvements in other areas of your life.
But what can you do if you’ve never tried to quiet your mind?
How to Quiet Your Mind
As I mentioned earlier, learning to quiet your conscious mind isn’t something your brain automatically knows how to do. So forcing yourself to sit still in a quiet room for long periods of time each day, hoping it’ll improve your spiritual health, will be extremely difficult – and discouraging if it doesn’t work.
But if you’re wondering how you can quiet your mind, I recommend starting with simple techniques like:
- Breathing Exercises – closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths is an easy way to find your center. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes, and you can do it anywhere. As you focus on your breaths in and out, don’t try to grab onto any thoughts – simply observe them float in and out of your mind.
- Guided Meditations – try a guided session using YouTube or an app like Headspace, especially if sitting by yourself in a quiet room makes your mind race. Having someone walk you through the process with easy-to-follow steps will help you stay focused on the present. With practice, you’ll find it’s easier to calm your conscious mind.
- Taking Walks – try going for a walk, but don’t listen to music, talk on the phone, or do any other engaging activity. Simply try to increase your awareness of the world around you by opening all your senses. This will keep you present and grounded in the moment, allowing you to turn off any chatter or loud thoughts.
- Putting Down Your Devices – shut off or put away your devices (phone, tablet, laptop, etc.) the next time you do a routine task like drinking your morning coffee or driving to work. Use that time to focus on what you’re doing and stay present. This will quiet your mind as your brain is forced to concentrate.
Each of these techniques only takes a few minutes to do, and they’re easy to work into your daily routine. But if you want to work with a spiritual counselor who can guide you through the process every step of the way, I recommend trying my shamanic counseling and depth hypnosis methods.
As your guide, I can help you feel more comfortable learning to quiet your mind – and teach you how to trust your inner wisdom as you move through your healing journey.
Take the First Step Toward Healing
Our brains aren’t designed to meditate or be calm – they’re usually racing a million miles an hour, jumping from thought to thought.
So learning to quiet your mind can feel daunting, overwhelming, or even impossible. But it’s an important first step in the healing process. It can lead to amazing health benefits from lowering your blood pressure to stimulating creativity.
But if you’ve never tried to quiet your mind before, try some simple techniques (like breathing exercises or going for a walk). Or work with a spiritual counselor like me who can guide you through your healing journey.
Sources:
- “An Ode to Silence: Why You Need It in Your Life.” Cleveland Clinic, 7 Oct. 2020, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-you-need-more-silence-in-your-life/.
- Igumnova, Anastasia. “Here’s Why You Want To Sleep But Your Brain Won’t Stop Talking To Itself.” Atlas Biomed, 15 Sept. 2020, https://atlasbiomed.com/blog/how-to-shut-off-your-brain-for-better-sleep/.
- Garone, Sarah. “8 Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Silence, Plus How to Get More of It.” Healthline, 24 Sept. 2021, www.healthline.com/health/mind-body/physical-and-mental-health-benefits-of-silence.
