During the season of Lent, our liturgy concludes with a Lenten prayer over the people. I'm not sure how it came to pass that these short prayers took the place of the blessing during Lent, but one of them sticks out for me. The prayer asks that we might serve God 'with a quiet mind.' Boy, do I ever need that!
I don't know about you, but my mind is hardly ever quiet. It is the brain, after all. Like all of the organs of the body, it works 24/7. Some organs manufacture blood cells or bile or glucose or whatever (I'm not a doctor). At any rate, you get my point. The organs exist to produce something. What does the brain produce? Thoughts. Constantly. Always. Even when sleeping, our brain is busy doing what the brain does, creating thoughts. No wonder it's hard to get our brains to slow down or, as the prayer says, to be quiet.
Meditation can help. First of all, meditation acknowledges that our brains are an ongoing stream of activity. Meditation isn't about stopping this activity. It does, however, help us manage our thoughts. By observing them, we see them for what they are. Sometimes thoughts are helpful, sometimes, they're singularly unhelpful. Our thoughts can take us to helpful places, but at times, the cycling, irrational, unrealistic thoughts can drive us into places of anger and self-judgement. Meditation, breathing, prayer, yoga, times of quiet help us cultivate a quiet mind. With a quiet mind, we can be more rational about who we are and what we're facing. When we observe our thoughts, not control them, we gain some distance and our reactions to them are more balanced. The beginning point of meditation is accepting that we'll never stop or control what the brain is doing. Through practice, we can, however, change how we react to what the brain is doing.
Ultimately, our lives, and the world would be a better place if more people would take the time to observe what their brains are doing. If we were better at managing pain, or fear, or anger - if we didn't pick up a gun when we felt threatened - if we just gave ourselves a little more space between how we feel and how we react - more people would be alive and we would be at each others tables instead of at each others throats.
Truth be told, a complex organ creates a complex product. Accepting all that the brain is thinking and doing takes patience and practice - years of practice. I admit, we need our brains to do what it does and, hopefully, we'll never stop our brain from doing it. Even still, we can be more in touch with how it drives us into places of anxiety or places of peace. Slowing down the mind is about acceptance - accepting that we are creative beings, that we have a lot of power, and that have a choice of how we use that creative power . . . for good, or for ill.
May we all serve God, each other, our planet, and ourselves with quiet, gentle minds.
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