By Elizabeth Herman| Posted: October 22, 2019
Did anyone teach you to protect your own mind? There are all kinds of things in our lives that can cause harm to our peace of mind: sedentary lifestyles, overuse of technology, peer pressure, junk food diets, abuse, addiction, etc. are just a few examples. With all these damaging avenues around us, it makes sense to have a strategy for keeping our mind healthy and in good shape, the same way we should have plans for taking care of our body.
When I was in school, teachers demonstrated tooth brushing, told us to eat vegetables, and made sure we got exercise during gym class. But they didn’t talk much about the health of our minds. In schools today, children go outside for science classes and recess, but they don’t often learn how to benefit mentally from just being in nature, without academic objectives.
That’s why it’s helpful to learn skills for maintaining mental health, regardless of what society does or doesn’t help you to understand.
9 tips for protecting your mind
Be in nature. Research shows that 20 minutes in nature on a regular basis can significantly lower your stress hormone (cortisol) levels, thus calming your mind and bringing you in touch with your inner peace. Doctors prescribe time outdoors in natural areas increasingly, for both physical and mental healing.
Help others. When you contribute to others’ wellbeing, your mind feels safer and sounder, because you’ve given yourself a way to be generous, and you’ve given them a reason to express gratitude towards you. You make sure that there’s something in your day that has been worthwhile. This keeps your mind on an upward trajectory rather than a downward spiral.
Forgive. Not just the mistakes of others, but your own mistakes happen, not necessarily with bad intentions. And whatever intentions there may have been, you can help yourself by forgiving yourself and others for whatever hurtful happenings occur in life. Forgiveness frees your mind of stress by releasing the past feelings caused by the unavoidable errors that human beings make. And forgiveness happens naturally and easily when we drop our grudges. As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “The moment the feelings of grudge falls, forgiveness has already happened.”
Breathe. The rhythm of your breath has an impact on the state of your mind, and your mind also affects how you breathe. When you’re agitated, you breathe faster, and when you’re calm, you breathe more slowly. Learning a few simple breathing techniques can help you control how your mind is working at any given time. If you start to get upset, you can slow your breathing for quieter thoughts, and control over fears and anxieties.
Partake of wisdom. Sources of timeless wisdom are easy to find on the internet and from within many spiritual traditions. Reminding yourself consistently by reading and listening to quotes, essays, stories, and talks can help you transcend daily dramas that tax the mind. When mundane, ridiculous problems come up, the content that uplifts the mind and transcends petty roadblocks helps with maintaining sanity. Wisdom helps you sail on and escape the doldrums of life.
Understand bigger forces. Humans can’t control events, since bigger forces are often at work in the world. For example, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar states, “People of less wisdom see others' mistakes as big and their own as small. People of a little more wisdom see others' mistakes as small and their own as big. People of great wisdom see the mistake as neither their's nor the other's. They see the mistake as a happening which nobody could control.” This wisdom helps protect our minds from blame, guilt, and the escalation of fighting over mistakes.
Write privately for self-expression. Vocalizing what’s troubling you to others may not always be appropriate, but the ability to describe your own feelings has value in itself. If you say what’s on your mind privately, in the context of a journal or diary, you can go back and revisit it and see how writing it down helped to shift your mental energy away from useless rumination. Once the experiences are on paper, you’re more likely to be able to distance your mind from them, protecting yourself from exhausting, racing thoughts about some difficult happening.
Meditate. The human mind benefits enormously from the opportunity to rest and relax. Any number of meditation techniques (vipassana, sahaj samadhi, mindfulness, etc.) can bring rejuvenation and energy back to your life. Only a few minutes daily can mean the difference between pressures overtaking you and you being empowered to handle any challenge or issue with confidence and grace.
Exercise. The state of your body affects the state of your mind, and vice-versa. Yoga asanas can integrate physical exercise with mental and spiritual health, to strengthen your faculties and keep you fit in every way possible. Other forms of exercise, or fitness programs, can also encourage bright, alert, and aware thinking.
More strategies for protecting your mind can be learned in Art of Living’s Happiness Programs or Art of Silence courses. Best wishes on finding peace of mind!
Elizabeth Herman writes, offers writing support to clients, teaches, and volunteers for a better world. She has a PhD in Rhetoric, Composition and Literature.
