July 10th, 2022 3 min read
A story goes like this;
There was a young monk who could not keep still during his meditation.
During each session, he was disturbed by the specter of a spider crawling in front of him.
The young monk told his master that he could not chase the spider away. His master then suggested that during each session, he circled the spider with his pen to see where it was exactly.
The young monk did as told and he felt relaxed after that. But when he opened his eyes later, he found that he had circled his own belly.
The master told him, “Young man, you need to have a quiet mind and heart. Only in this way, you can stay detached from the rest of the happenings and enjoy your life in peace.
I am much like the young monk except that my spider will be running berserk and I cannot circle it.
To quiet my mind, I would like to. mention three ways that have helped me enter a peaceful realm and I hope they are useful to you too.
1 The magic of listening to music.
It’s only recently that I find. classical and. instrumental music contributes much to my general well-being and mood. Guess I have been caught up with life.
On research, classical music has a calming effect that releases dopamine, the feel-good hormones that clear thinking and reduce cortisol and. blood pressure.
This Mozart effect has instilled general calm in everyone in my workplace. I tried it on my active puppy who would literally roll over and snooze in a matter of minutes.
2 The magic of staying positive
I try to read something positive every day.
Every day we are bombarded with bad news – now the world has a climate crisis, war crisis, financial crisis, food crisis, oil crisis, migrant crisis, etc
What can one really do?
Choose to switch your focus to more positive news.
I do my part to alleviate any situation by praying, reducing waste, giving away my excess stuff and noting that steps are being taken globally to solve existing problems.
I know that remarkable progress is made on a daily basis and the world is not going to be extinguished. Things will get better.
3 The magic of Being in the now.
This brings me to a story;
A student once asked his teacher, “ Master, what is enlightenment?”
The master replied, “ When hungry, eat, when tired, sleep.”
Based on this teaching, I am not an enlightened person at all. Because my mind lights up like a 1000W bulb when I am eating or sleeping. My good friend tells me that I need to calm my tsunami mind.
I try to live in the now and it is much more calming. I am doing my best in the present moment. The past is gone, and the future is unknown.
Only at that moment when you are fully aware and doing your best, you are fully alive.
Conclusion;
Three simple steps – By using the magic of listening to classical music, the magic of staying positive, and the magic of living in the now, I have attained much inner peace and quiet.
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