Tapping the Quiet Mind

 
Tapping the Quiet Mind might be as simple as stepping back from a situation to take a few deep breaths, just zoning out, or the practice of meditation. But one way or another we all need to escape from demands, distractions and disturbances. A Quiet Mind lets us pause to enjoy some peace and quiet. In quietude we become detached from outward thinking to be ‘here’, and relinquish the past and future in favor of ‘now’.

When we are here and now, all fantasies, anxieties, ideas and willfulness dissolve into silence. In silence we might find what is sometimes called a Higher Power, God, Tao, Buddha nature, Nothingness, or other term for the source of peace and purity. By any name, we can tap a sustaining essence of “the deep heart’s core” (WB Yeats). Sages, saints and science all encourage us to tap a Quiet Mind. A primary outcome of this is to reduce “An uneasiness… a sense that there is something wrong about us as we naturally stand” (William James). The silent mind helps us to become reconciled to a fuller sense of self. This ‘home-coming’ brings peace. Serenity awaits us in quietude because, as the various names signify, there we find no wrong.

This place of peace in silence serves as a gateway to enlightenment. Lao Tzu (6 BCE) declared, “Silence is the great revelation”. And neuroscientists have brain-scanned their way to the same conclusion! They have shown that the Quiet Mind is a source of rest, recovery and renewal. In the TED video “How Meditation Can Reshape Our Brains”, Sara Lazar describes how meditation helps our minds become more fulfilled and improves functioning. She is not alone in her assertions. An online search for the ‘benefits of meditation’ brings many results from academic, medical, psychological, business, spiritual and looney sources. The once esoteric Quiet Mind has become a mainstream multi-million dollar self-help industry!

But whatever it is linked to or named and however we practice it, quietude can activate a primary adjustment in our mind-sets. In quietness we can diminish the dominance of narrow, black and white ‘either/or’ attitudes—dichotomous notions that feed on assertions, denials, comparisons and preferences. Instead we can develop a more generous ‘not only, but also’ way of gauging things. Even the people with whom we disagree, for example are not only wrong but also partly right. This less fragmentary, more combining way of thinking leads toward what is sometimes described as ‘oneness’. But to develop the broader, more inclusive perspectives of oneness we must be willing to learn.

Unless we are willing to learn, our views can narrow until they harm us! In “Cognitive Distortion: How Does Black-and-White Thinking Hurt Us?”, Summer Beretsky explains the perils of too much dichotomous thinking. Beretsky shows how dichotomous thinking can develop into a harmful habit and create an ineffectual compulsion for absolute standards. And as we cling to unquestioned values, we insist upon restrictive views and pronounce either/or stipulations.

Despite the positive appeal of quietude, however we tend to cling to accustomed thoughts that return us to familiar perspectives. But our tenacious thoughts are not all they might claim to be, or as powerful as we wish. The next essay in this series will explore the notion that the intellect is not boss.

Read Part 1 Here
Read Part 2 Here
Read Part 4 Here
Read Part 5 Here
Read Part 6 Here