We live in a stress-filled world. From jobs, to relationships of all kinds, to the global events that we can’t help but hear about, even if we take a break from watching the news on TV, the toll that certain energies take on us can pack a wallop.
And those of us who tend towards strong emotional sensitivities (which is never a bad thing, mind you) tend to be affected the most by whatever stresses us out. Even positive stress (such as healthy competition in sports) can present an emotional—and hormonal—challenge to just about anyone, because stress, good or bad, increases the stream ‘fight or flight’ hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, throughout the body.
And that’s just the ordinary, every-day stress we all face. Think about what happens to someone who’s been through the ringer of difficult life circumstances, including abuse of any kind, and the emotional wounding that can result from such trauma. Having a healthy mind is challenging for them, and they know it. They really have to work at learning to have a calm and Zen mind, let alone developing daily habits for dealing with the stressors we’ve come to view as normal.
Have a Healthy Mindset
But learning to look after oneself and therefore cultivating good energy that spills over into all aspects of living is an absolute must for being grounded, centred, calm and Zen. ‘Where to begin?’ you might ask. That’s why we’re here to give you some pointers, or ‘pump-primers’ if you will, for walking a path where you are not denying your emotions, but not mishandling them, either. And the latter, unfortunately, can be so easy to do.
Here are tips for learning to be the calm in the storm, the lighthouse to everyone else’s tempest-tossed ship:
1) Breathe Deeply. There’s a reason why the simplest type of meditation is often the most calming: paying attention to the breath, like watching the ocean waves, can soothe the mind and allow for calm clarity.
2) Affirm What Is Positive in Your Life. While repeating rote affirmations you see in books and listen to on CDs—or even creating your own–can seem a bit silly at first, you’ll find that doing so can actually help you see the blessings that are there. And the affirmations don’t have to be big and grandiose to be helpful. All that’s important is that you create good energy for yourself, because it will ripple outward to the rest of your life.
3) Recognise What’s Controllable In Your Life And What Is Not. Knowing how to discern this can make a big difference towards cultivating a Zen mind. For instance, a family member may drive you mad with a particular behaviour, but you really can’t control them. You can only control your reaction to them.
4) Have a Sense of Humour About Life. It’s truly all too easy to take life too seriously. This is partly because we’re expected to, and partly because it could just be part of our core personality. Learning to see the humourous side of a situation can help you keep a proper perspective, so that while you might be feeling out of sorts about something for a time, laughing about how silly that ‘something’ truly is in the grand scheme of things helps balance those ‘out-of-sorts’ feelings and keeps them in check so you don’t spiral downwards out of the Zen mind you truly want to have.
There are many other positive attitudes to take for good spiritual and mental health, but these four are perfect gateways to the Zen garden of peace within your own mind.