Taming the Stressed Mind

Even in ancient times, the mind was understood to be extremely difficult to control. It was said to be like the wind: you could never catch it, or hold it - it went where it wished and no human being could become the master. In other instances, it was said that the mind was like an elephant; extremely powerful but equally gentle and patient, able to do a lot of work for its master. However, when an elephant turns wild, its gentleness and patience completely disappear an it destroys and damages everything in its path. When the mind is under stress, it resembles a wild elephant; it has no control and cannot be controlled.

Taming the mind is regarded as a great art requiring time, attention, practice and, above all, a sincerity of heart where individuals truly want to change their way of thinking. To relax, to be positive, to be peaceful and kind all require a change in out thought patterns and this can only happen when we look deeply within. However hard they try, other people cannot change us; we must have personal realization and the desire to make changes through our own effort. Permanent and positive change cannot be imposed from outside; it is something that we choose.

Meditation is the discovery of that point of silence within, like a compass needle that guides us in the right direction at the right time. To become silent, to be still in the ocean of hectic, noisy action, is a choice many people are now making. When this is achieved, this stillness acts on the mind like oxygen, giving the breath to both understand and enrich life. Of course, action is a necessity, an expression of ourselves through time, relationships and the roles we play. However, if we do not sometimes stop and take a breath of silence, then mind begins to suffocate, thoughts speed like bullet trains and the brain feels as if it is in a pressure cooker. Emotions erupt and react like volcanoes, the eyes become dizzy with mountains of information and the head feels like a rollercoaster. This is stress. The mind needs to come up for air, to leave the jungle of pressures, deadlines and speed and slow down and find the point of silence within.

Meditation is the method to find that point which recharges the mind with peace, clarity and balance.

(Excerpt from "Eastern Thought for the Western Mind" by Anthony Strano)