Mental Health and Mindfulness

These Five Mindfulness Practices Might Give Us Mental Clarity If Done Regularly.

Here’s how to stay calm and composed despite the setbacks and challenges of life.

Practical Steps to Remain Calm and Composed

Many people find happiness and joy in calmness and tranquility. The vital sign of such a desirable state is mental clarity. Staying calm at all times might be impossible, and it is against our nature as we grow, transform, and need to prepare for future threats.

However, it is possible to keep the mind calm most of the time with some practical mindfulness approaches. Ancient wisdom advises, “Stay calm and serene regardless of what life throws at you,” attributed to Marcus Aurelius. Mindfulness practices combine ancient wisdom with scientific breakthroughs.

Life is full of setbacks and constant challenges. The effects of our setbacks are considered the first darts by mindfulness experts. However, they want us to focus on the second darts in solving issues. The meaning we add to impediments is known as the second darts in mindfulness practices.

While we cannot prevent the first darts, as we cannot control what others do and how our amygdala reacts, we can control the second ones with the power of the neocortex, as I explained in this article. Managing second darts is where a mindful approach to life can play a critical role in our well-being.

Reducing the effects of unpleasant feelings can alleviate stress, bring us to a stable state, and increase the quality of our lives. With reduced anxiety, fear, and other uncomfortable emotions, we can taste joy and experience a healthy and meaningful life.

Even though biological and physical aspects play a role in mental clarity, in this post, I only focus on the mental aspects of using mindfulness practices. My goal is to share five simple, natural, and powerful techniques to reduce stress, prevent anxiety, and calm the mind.

1 — Tranquillity starts with observing thoughts.

Our mental health revolves around managing what occupies the mind, as physical manifestation starts with thoughts.

Even though we have some hypotheses, we still don’t know precisely where thoughts come from. Most likely, they are by-products of the neural activities in the neocortex.

However, we have the capability to observe our thoughts as they start showing in our conscious minds. Throughout our evolution, humans developed practices to observe thoughts and give meanings based on their intention and desires.

Those who leave thoughts unattended and believe everything they say might face serious mental health issues. Negative thoughts trigger unpleasant emotions, which turn to destructive behavior.

Those who observe thoughts and let them go might prevent the trigger of negative emotions and usually have a calm mind to keep events in a neutral perspective.

Mindfulness practices are practical tools that guide us to observe thoughts and accept them. Thus, by learning how to stay mindful and meditate regularly, we can create tranquillity most of the time, preventing anxiety.

By remaining mindful, we can calm the amygdala, the ancient part of the brain, and lower the rate of perceptive alarms. Regular meditation can tame the amygdala and lower anxiety.

Some anxious behaviors form due to a cluttered mind. We have thousands of thoughts in a day. If they are not observed and understood, they turn into toxic emotions due to amygdala activation.

As mentioned in a previous article, excessive release of stress hormones can increase our anxiety, creating negative emotions and causing undesirable behavior. I will touch on this in the next step.

2 — Clearing the Mental Clutter with Conscious Breathing and Gentle Exercises

Breathing is a physical activity, but it has a positive mental effect when done consciously and diligently.

By focusing on our breath, we might observe our thoughts better and learn about the mind. By deliberately clearing our minds, we increase our focus and attention on reality. Improved focus and attention help us calm the anxious part of the brain. Rumination is a known cause of anxiety.

One of the proven ways to clear the mind is being aware of our breath and controlling it with focus and attention. Traditional meditators have used mindful breathing for centuries.

There are many helpful breathing techniques creating different physiological and psychological effects. For example, just observing each breath in and out for a few minutes can significantly reduce anxious thoughts and calm the amygdala.

Another physical activity that has a psychological impact is walking. I use mindful walking in nature as an excellent tool to clear the cluttered mind. Another calming exercise for the mind is yoga.

3 — Accepting Situations and Events As They Are

Acceptance of situations and events might give us a fresh perspective on reality. Acceptance is an important step to mindful living. Mindfulness practices encourage us to observe conditions and circumstances first and accept them as they are without judgment.

We gain an advantaged position when we accept a situation or event. For example, we might start understanding the symptoms and root causes of the problems.

My definition of acceptance is being realistic and staying in the reality zone without taking things out of context and not interpreting them out of nature. The meaning we give to them might change their context and essence.

The opposite of acceptance is denial. Within an emotional context, it also indicates suppression. Denying and suppressing our negative feelings can be detrimental because those feelings are messengers for us to take corrective actions.

Denial and suppression can delay solving problems. However, by accepting a situation and its associated emotions, we get a chance to understand the conditions and find viable solutions.

4 — Self-love can lead to loving others.

Some of our concerns and anxiety are caused by our inner critic. In general, we are the worst critic of ourselves. Some of us get very self-judgemental and magnify small mistakes and turn them into significant issues.

Within the mindfulness practice context, another handy technique is the awareness of self-compassion. When we listen to our inner voice and approach it with self-compassion, we create a healing space in the mind and the body.

Self-compassion can lead to self-love, which is a powerful psychological state to calm the mind and remove psychological blocks. In this state, our self-confidence also increases.

In addition, self-love, self-compassion, and self-confidence might lead to having compassion for others and loving them. Improving our relationship with ourselves and others can calm the mind and lower anxious thoughts.

From my observations, people with self-compassion and self-love can solve problems effectively, reduce cumulative stress faster, and might cope with tense situations better. Loving ourselves and others unconditionally despite mistakes might put us in a better psychological position

5 — Awareness of Blessings and Cultivating Gratitude

One of the mindfulness practices to calm the mind is to focus on blessings and taste gratitude. Gratitude allows us to recognize hidden blessings in our lives. It is possible to rewire our brains for happiness using the power of gratitude.

When we are grateful, we can recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate good things in our environment and interactions. Recognizing and acknowledging even the most minor things giving us pleasure can help us reduce stressful and anxious thoughts and calm our minds.

Gratitude also gives us an optimistic outlook on life. From my observations of happy people, especially centenarians who live with joy are grateful people living with realistic optimism.

When we look at a situation from an optimistic angle, our worries and anxious thoughts get calmed. But conversely, the pessimistic approach might make us more concerned and anxious.

Conclusions and Takeaways

These approaches are, of course, common sense for many of us, but some of us might neglect them when we face challenging situations. Therefore, an effective way would be to make them habits and add to our skill sets.

All of us are prone to the effects of anxious thoughts and feelings. Anxiety is natural. It is similar to hunger, thirst, and sleep. It is part of our survival system. However, it is possible to reduce anxious thoughts and feelings with mindfulness practices and slowing down.

Each of us is unique and feels anxiety in various ways. We cope with tense situations using different approaches based on our conditions, personalities, and lifestyle. However, mindfulness principles remain the same for everyone. These practices help us influence the whole brain.

We all face setbacks creating tension, anxiety, and fear, causing a cluttered mind. Social and economic conditions contribute to the culmination of this clutter. Thus, unless we deliberate to calm our minds by addressing the second darts, we might struggle with anxious thoughts and feelings.

Fortunately, there are proven strategies used by many people successfully. I introduced a few of them in this post. However, some may need professional assistance and intervention in exceptional and chronic situations. So, in addition to these practices, some people might need therapy or medication.

For healthy people, I believe that a mindful approach to life situations can significantly reduce stress, anxiety, and even fear to some extent. We can use mindfulness practices such as the flow state to calm down our amygdala, lower stress, and anxiety, and improve our mental health and relationships.

Remaining calm and composed with mindfulness practices and slowing down as needed can be an excellent approach to a happy and healthy life. Living with tranquility can rewire the neurocircuits for joy and might increase our adversity quotient and emotional intelligence.

I also introduced six innovative yet underutilized cognitive tools for personal and professional success that can help us calm our minds and by clearing the mental clutter regularly and naturally.

When we address micro stressors timely, it is possible to make epigenetic effects on our health and lifespan as stress affects us at a genetic level.

Mindfulness practices by creating awareness of our feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations are used as a therapeutic technique and hence can naturally change our neurons and genes for a delightful life.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and joyful life.

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