Most wisdom literature talks about the power of the mind and focusing our mind.  When we focus our mind, we calm our mind and we can think more clearly.  There are many ways to focus your mind.

Prayer  Spending time praying to God about what you are thinking and feeling.  You don’t have to mince words, if anyone can take it, the creator of the universe can.  There are as many ways to pray as there are people.  Some people pray with their heads bowed, hands folded and eyes closed so that they can concentrate on God.  Others pray with there hands open, arms wide, and head up.  You can pray on your own or in a group.  Group prayer can be a prayer spoken by one person with others listening and praying with the leader or can be pre-written and spoken in unison as is  often done with the Lord’s Prayer.

Here is one way to pray on your own:  Simply talk to God about what is on your mind.  Then be still and be open to God’s presence.  You are probably not going to experience a burning bush or a light shining down on you at night out on I-94, but don’t be surprised if an answer comes to you and you feel like you are in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Meditation  Meditation is a very broad category that is recognized by most religions.  It is like prayer, but more introspective. There are many ways to meditate, but here is one method.  Close your eyes, focus on your breathing, feel your body, and remember a place where you felt completely relaxed.  Give yourself time to get into a very relaxed state.  Spend time thinking about things that you are grateful for. Focus on positive words like Love, Thanks, Peace, Hope, Faith, Kindness, Wealth, Happiness, Acceptance, and Generosity.  Once you are in a state of relaxation and positive energy, visualize your life as you would like it to be or visualize an area of your life as you would like it to be. 

Reading  Unlike television or other forms of media, reading is very active.  It takes effort to read.  Reading stimulates our minds and focuses our minds. It is even better when we read something that inspires us or instructs us, but the act of reading helps give us focus.

Exercise  If you took all of the benefits that come from exercise and put them in a pill, someone would want to regulate it or make it illegal.  If we spend 20 minutes exercising each day, we can decrease our healthcare costs.  Exercise has great benefits for each of us.  Exercise helps with weight management, increases our energy levels, helps us sleep better, and can even combat or prevent chronic diseases.  Finally it improves our mood by releasing chemicals in our brain called endorphins which relax us and give us a feeling of well-being.  There many ways that you can exercise, but most health experts agree that a well-rounded plan include stretching, strengthening, and cardiovascular exercise.

Visualization  A great tool for achieving what you want in life or for getting yourself into a more relaxed or more positive state of mind is visualization.  A basic visualization technique for success is to close your eyes and picture doing what you want to do.  A still photo is ok, but a movie is more powerful.  Even more powerful is if you not only see the movie, but feel yourself in the movie.  When you  feel yourself doing the activity and allow yourself to feel the inner feelings of success, you add even more power to the visualization. 

[Empowering Thoughts] [Focus Your Mind] [Prayer] [Holistic Approach] [Self Improvement Lit] [Empowering Thoughts] [Wisdom of the Ages] [Humor] [Service] [Handling Challenges] [Contact] [Handling Challenges]