Feeling at peace and having a clear mind are among the most sought-after abilities today. Perhaps you know what it is like: your thoughts circle, jump from topic to topic, and even when you are tired, your head simply will not become quiet.
“The mind creates bondage and the mind creates liberation.” (Sathya Sai Baba)
This is exactly where the good news lies: the same mind that makes you restless can also lead you into calm. In this article you will find the three fundamental ways of working with your mind and my most effective practices for everyday life.
The three ways of working with your mind
There are three main ways to work with the mind, and each fulfils a different purpose. In everyday life these three ways interweave: on the mat you practise being present and peaceful, and throughout the day you have the tools ready as soon as uncomfortable thoughts or feelings arise.
Open awareness: You observe your thoughts without judgment. It is the mind’s job to think, so do not judge yourself for thinking. In this type of meditation you have no task and no goal; you simply guide yourself gently back into the role of the witness once you notice you have jumped onto a thought train. You watch whatever comes up with a benevolent disinterest, and precisely because of this you feel refreshed afterwards.
Focus and concentration: You consciously give your mind a content, for example your breath, a mantra or an affirmation. The usual mind chatter recedes because the mind is occupied, and you intentionally fill it with something positive.
The quiet mind: For many people, having no thoughts at all sounds impossible. Start small, with a few conscious pauses during the day. An image I love: open awareness is watching with a light heart what is on TV. Concentration is switching the channel. And the quiet mind is switching the TV off. It is possible; it only needs a light heart, an intention and a few minutes of practice per day.
Self-observation: the watch on your wrist
My spiritual teacher Sathya Sai Baba called self-observation one of the most important spiritual practices of all, and he liked to give watches to visitors as a reminder to watch themselves. For the word WATCH contains a whole school of life. Every glance at your watch becomes a small practice. And just as the lotus flower needs the mud to blossom, you sometimes have to become fully aware of your negative thinking before you can transform it and shine brighter than ever before.
- W tells you to watch your words.
- A warns you to watch your actions.
- T indicates to watch your thoughts.
- C advises you to watch your character.
- H declares: watch your heart.
Morning meditation: your foundation for the day
The most wonderful thing about meditating first thing in the morning is this feeling of peace before the day begins. Three things have proven most important to me over the years:
Give your sitting time a fixed framework and keep to it, whether you are going to work, have a day off or are on holiday. The core: at least 10 to 20 minutes of still sitting, followed by Shavasana to ground the energy in your system. The fixed framework turns meditation into a habit, and once it is one, you will not want to miss it, because it becomes the sweetest part of the morning.
Make your sitting time playful and change it from time to time, so that you do not become attached to the form. Every practice has its own energy, and there is so much to explore. Just keep the core: stillness and Shavasana. And put aside all judgments about what meditation time should look like. It is your private time; make it joyful for you.
Carry the peace into your day. If there is a large gap between your quiet morning time and your daily life, it feels like switching between two worlds. The key is to see the morning time as practice for your day: pray on the tram, bless the people on the street or yourself in the shopping line, and take a few quiet moments during your lunch break.
“Start the day with love; spend the day with love; fill the day with love; end the day with love; this is the way to God.” (Sathya Sai Baba)
Music can carry your practice beautifully. My favourite album is “Embodiment of Love”, sung by Sathya Sai Baba himself, Vedic texts accompanied by instruments. Sai Baba calls everyone an embodiment of love, and the Vedas say that the universe is made of love, so naturally everyone on earth is also love. I especially love the Gayatri Mantra, which you can repeat endlessly during your personal Shavasana at home.
My favourite practices for everyday life
- Bless disturbing thoughts. Notice them, acknowledge them and bless them. Most of the time this is enough for them to change or leave.
- Keep a perspective notebook. Write down recurring negative thoughts during the day and look at them in the evening. Most negative thoughts are a wake-up call that another perspective exists. When you find the hidden positive view, you have taken the thought seriously, and it has fulfilled its purpose.
- Speak releasing statements. Say out loud: “I release all fear of …” The author Sharon Cameron describes this technique beautifully, with statements such as “I release my belief that …”. A Course in Miracles says the basis of the universe is love. When you release the fear, love remains.
- Ask your Higher Self a question. Sit for 20 minutes in silence with a question, then turn to open awareness. Or ask the question before falling asleep and interpret your dream in the morning, for dreams always want to help you. You can read more in my article on connecting with your Higher Self.
- Switch from autopilot to conscious thinking. Notice during the day when your thinking runs automatically, and return without judgment to consciously choosing your thoughts. You can read how the Gita recommends name repetition for this in my article on the Bhagavad Gita.
- Solve your problems in real life. Make lists, make decisions and follow through, for fewer open issues in your life mean a more peaceful mind.
- For acute fear: Listen to my free Star Meditation to remove fear, recorded in English and German.
When thoughts sit deeper
Some thought patterns keep coming back despite all practice. This is because the subconscious runs its own programs, which were once meant to protect us. One example: if you fell from a tree as a child, your subconscious may have stored this kind of tree as a great danger and “protects” you today with an allergy. The program made sense once, but it was never resolved, so it keeps running.
Meditation alone often cannot reach such stored patterns, and this is exactly where my work begins: with methods like Resonance Repatterning or Southwood Healing we release the old situation or the false belief and replace it with a new one that serves you. Then the stillness in your meditation deepens by itself.
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