Managing Mind Clutter

We speak to God in prayer but when He speaks to us, is anybody home? Are we so busy, distracted and overextended that we can’t quiet our minds enough to feel our connection? Do you feel that your mind is cluttered and your heart is hungry? Do you long for peace of mind, clarity of purpose and clear direction? Here are some ways to manage the mind clutter and open your heart to divine guidance. -De-Clutter Your Immediate physical Environment; If your environment is a mess, the same cluttered feeling carries over to your mind. Even if you don’t have time to clean up the whole house, or even one room, put away the clutter in the area where you pray and meditate. Even with your eyes closed, it is nice to know that when you open your eyes, you will see order instead of chaos. Don’t wait until you get time to get organized because you have probably noticed that the time never comes. Getting organized tends to always be an intention that stays in the future tense. Just straighten up around your chair if that’s all you have time to do. Set aside 10 minutes to pick up; set the timer, and see how much you can get done. It’s surprising how much progress you can make in just a few minutes. The hardest part of any job is getting started. -Exercise Your Body; Stress hormones accumulate as we are continuously bombarded with daily stressors such as traffic, noise, difficult people, constant interruptions, intrusive technology, relationship issues, health issues, money issues and world events. The body is equipped with the “fight-or flight” reaction to stress. When our ancestors were confronted with threats that raised stress hormones, they chose to either fight the foe or run from it. Both of these reactions required physical activity. After exercising, stress hormones are released and the body is back at equilibrium. Our culture does not encourage the “fight reaction” so many of us express the “flight reaction” by retreating to our chairs with the remote and a bag of chips. The alarming increase in obesity and heart disease reflects that trend. Exercise your body. It clears the stress hormones and it clears your mind. Time, again, is an issue. Who’s got time to exercise, even if you wanted to? The key here is “even if you wanted to”. The first step is to create the desire so that the urge to exercise is greater than the urge to channel surf. The list of benefits for exercising gets longer every day. Almost every health issue, from heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia and depression, is improved with exercise. Exercise builds muscle, strengthens bones, reduces body fat, regulates appetite and increases energy level. Recent clinical trials compared the leading drug for depression with daily physical exercise and found that exercise reduced the symptoms of depression more than the drug. It’s free and there are no harmful side effects. One of the greatest benefits of exercise is how it makes you feel. It clears your mind. If you begin your walk (or run) feeling stressed and low on energy, you find that just getting your body moving, breathing more oxygen and taking some time for yourself clears your mind. Some people like to listen to music or educational tapes while they exercise, but I like to have that as quiet time to reflect and process what’s going on in my life. Many exercisers say “This is the one thing I do for myself all day long. It keeps me centered and gives me the energy I need to do everything I do.”

Ann Tyndall, Ph.D.
PO Box 102
Morehead City, NC
28557
atyndall@ec.rr.com