Transcending Ordinary Mind

The pace of life, technology and information is accelerating. For most, our minds race along several tracks to keep up. If we try to perform, make decisions, take in information straddling these tracks, we get derailed. Multitasking rarely works.

Advances in Neuroscience show us that our brain pathways can change. Good news: We can control our minds! Of course, we all know this at one level when we create habits (and feel frustration when trying to break one). When we create a habit, we create a new pathway. For example, stopping for a cup of coffee after a workout becomes paired as, workout, then coffee.

We can rewire unhealthy pathways and wire new ones in our brains through Mindfulness. Mindfulness has become a survival tool for many since it allows us to focus on one thing at a time. It’s the difference between standing on a sidewalk and watching traffic whiz by at 60 MPH and lifting our eyes just above the traffic. That one point of focus that hovers over the traffic calms our nervous system.

Focusing on one task or thought with our full attention allows us to accomplish more. If we divert our attention to all the other tasks and decisions awaiting resolution, we get anxious. Refocusing on the matter at hand yields results.

When under stress, our minds tempt us to leave the present and teleport us to similar situations in our past or project us into the future (a fantasy of no stress). Without a disciplined focus, our mind automatically follows. We follow an overused script that torments or promises leading is to the same place. Nowhere.

There are many mindfulness strategies. One strategy is to bring your mind to your surroundings. Notice if you are sitting, standing, lying down. Can you feel your body on the furniture, feet on the floor? What do you see, feel or hear? Be fully present with identifying your surroundings as if entering this place for the first time. Let each reflection slow your mind and your breath. Each moment of sustained attention adds up to many moments of inner freedom.