Unlock Your Self-control with Meditation and Mindfulness

Quiet Mind, Focused Action

One problem that I have with managing stress and anxiety is getting my mind to slow down. It sometimes seems to go a thousand miles a minute. Some things my mind will do is: projecting the impact of a mistake far into the future, or creating overly imaginative visualizations of the activities in front of me, leading to confusion about what to tackle next. This information overload has very little, if any, value. The results are usually an overly inflated ego about my importance and the success of my work, analysis paralysis caused by a lack of self-confidence, or an inability to prioritize tasks successfully. A couple of ways I have found to combat these feelings are meditation and mindfulness.

Meditation

Meditation is the age-old technique of slowing your mind and focusing your attention. It helps to untangle the threads of thoughts that are dominating your consciousness and distracting you from making real progress.

During meditation you focus your attention, weakening the effect of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind, and producing stress. This process can cause enhanced physical and emotional well-being. It has for me. To become skilled at meditation, you need to start with two rules: 1) Don’t be critical of your ability to practice meditation. It's a skill and will need time to develop. 2) Continue to practice so that your meditation skill becomes a tool you can use to combat stress, reduce anxiety, and create positive self-talk. Meditation is a foundational tool for managing emotional well-being.

Here are some meditation techniques that I frequently use. Hopefully, you’ll find one that is a good fit for you.

Guided Meditation

This is a good way to begin the practice of meditating. Guided meditations have a narrator or speaker talking you through the meditation process. There is often soothing music playing in the background. You can either sit or lie down and close your eyes. You can also do gentle movement with your eyes open like Tai Chi or just swaying from side to side.Then just do as instructed in the audio or video program. Don’t worry if you fall asleep. Your subconscious is still hearing the meditation and you will realize some positive effects after the practice is completed.

Prayers & Chants

Using prayer is a good way to quiet your mind. You focus on the words and images that are part of the prayer. This takes your mind away from those troubling thoughts that may be overwhelming you. Instead, you focus on the mystic elements of the prayer. Buddhist chants, mantras, The Lord’s Prayer, and Rosaries are common prayers for this kind of practice. There are countless books of prayers that you could use to enhance your spiritual energy.

Like with guided meditation, you don’t need to invent to use prayers and chants. You need only read, listen, or memorize these then repeat them to feel their power. I like prayer because I feel that I’m deepening my spiritual relationships as I recite them.

Chakra Meditation

The chakras are the primary energy centers of your body. There are seven of them, from bottom to top: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. Having these seven energy systems working in tandem helps life to go smoothly. However, if you have a blockage in one or more areas, you may be feeling that nothing is going right for you. I often assess where a potential block exists and use a chakra meditation to clear the block. If you are not sure which chakras to work on, you could use a meditation for all seven, or a guided meditation for just the lower or upper chakras.

Root Chakra (Muladhara)

The root chakra is responsible for your sense of belonging. Its focus is on survival, security, safety, and family. If you are having financial challenges or feeling over-reliant on others, your root chakra may be the cause. When your root chakra is in alignment, you will feel self-confident and able to face life’s challenges. It is located in the tailbone region of your body and its color is red.

Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana)

The sacral chakra is the base of your emotional well being. If your sacral chakra is in balance, you will feel more creative and could have more sexual energy. If it’s not, you may be experiencing difficulty in your romantic relationships. You may also be overly emotional or not feeling connected to others. The sacral chakra is just below your belly button and its color is orange.

Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)

If you are feeling overwhelmed or nervous about a situation, your solar plexus chakra may be the problem. Its focus is on inner strength and self-esteem. If this chakra is balanced, you will feel uninhibited and confident in expressing who you are and what you want. The solar plexus chakra is located just below your rib cage, and its color is yellow.

Heart Chakra (Anahata)

Love flows through the heart chakra. It’s the link between the lower chakras of the body and the upper ones of the mind. An open heart chakra allows you to feel love for yourself, those around you, and people in general. If you have a healthy heart chakra, you will experience a deeper sense of empathy, forgiveness, and compassion. As its name implies, the heart chakra is located in the center of your chest, and its color is green.

Throat Chakra (Vishudda)

The throat chakra is the center of communication. If you’re feeling that no one understands you or that you’re not communicating your thoughts and ideas clearly, your throat chakra may be the culprit. This chakra is also associated with timing. Feeling lucky? Your throat chakra is clear. The throat chakra is located in the center of your throat, and its color is turquoise.

Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)

The third eye chakra is your key to illumination. When it’s healthy, you will find that your intuitions are accurate. You may have a heightened sense of morality and awareness of the world around you. If you feel that you can’t catch a break or like your efforts are falling flat, your third eye chakra may be out of alignment. The third eye chakra is located between your eyes at your eyebrow line. Its color is purple.

Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)

The crown chakra, located at the top of the head, plays a key role in your ability to connect spiritually. A person with a strong crown chakra can feel their connection to the universe and a higher sense of consciousness. This person will experience the beauty in themselves and the world around them. This chakra is often beyond our consciousness, as there is much to experience and learn before we can truly understand our individual connection to the universe. Still, it is worth attempting to tap into. The crown chakra’s color is white or violet.

To practice chakra meditation, listen to the corresponding chakra frequency while sitting in a relaxed position. Focus on the area of the body that the chakra targets, or form an image of the chakra’s color in your mind. You can also do this while laying down. These frequencies will also be used in guided meditations. They are often part of musical pieces specifically designed to unlock and realign your energy forces. Chakra health is a focus of Reiki and Yoga as well.

Mindfulness

Another exercise I like for regaining a sense of control over my life is to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is an exercise that involves being in the moment and avoiding distractions. One benefit of practicing mindfulness is that you are hyper-focused on what you’re doing, where you are, and what you’re experiencing. Here are some techniques for being more mindful.

Quiet Your Mind

Sit in silence, listening to and experiencing your environment. What are the sounds that you hear? How does it feel to have the sun on your back or the wind in your face? Is there something baking in the oven? What does that smell like?

Really be engulfed in your surroundings. Do this for as long as you can keep your focus on the moment. Once your mind starts to wander, stop. At first, you may only be able to quiet your mind for a moment or two, but as you continue to practice, your ability to focus will get stronger and you will gradually be able to sit in silence for long periods of time.

Single Task Focus

As you work through your day, choose some activities to do uninterrupted. No notifications, no distractions, just you and the activity. Keep your mind focused by scheduling the activity and when you feel your concentration slipping, remind yourself that you just have a few minutes to go until you take a break or move on to a new activity. I find that when I am in single-task focus mode, I am significantly more productive. You may be too.

Be the Observer

Sit in a public place, like a coffee shop or park, and just observe the world around you. No judgments, just observe. So many people in a shared experience, yet each one is different. How do people interact with others and the environment? What are people wearing? Just this practice of observation will help you to develop your own awareness.

Amazingly, each person’s point of view is different. What one person experiences in a situation is different from what the others do. Those experiences imprint memories which ultimately shape lives. Taking some time to experience that in others will help you to reduce anxiety over your own situations.

Summary

Most of the time your stress or anxiety is self-generated. You do this by overthinking or not taking action. This is normal. Nevertheless, it’s not going to increase your confidence or provide you an opportunity to grow your coping skills. Practicing meditation and mindfulness allow you to slow down for a few minutes and quiet your mind. With a new sense of calm, you will be more resourceful in your problem-solving. Having a greater understanding of your energy, emotions and the environment will also help you to identify imbalances that you can repair with practice. This will result in living your day-to-day life with an enhanced sense of control.

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