Tuesday, September 18, 2007

How do you quiet the mind?

I think one of the things about being a woman than can be frustrating at best is the inability to not complicate, not over analyze, or to just plain stop thinking for a brief period of time.
Perhaps that’s not a fair assessment. Perhaps that’s far too general of a statement. Moreover, perhaps it’s too stereotypical. Please, I ask for your forgiveness in advance if my pondering thoughts cause offense; it’s not my intention.

Of course the beauty of having girlfriends is being able to talk something to death; to analyze it to the tenth degree; and even relate or reflect back to the one having the "issue" with consoling words of wisdom, hugs, shared tears or alliances to seek and destroy depending on the topic. But is that enough? Is it enough to calm our inner nerves? Is it enough to assist us with letting things go? Is it enough to quiet our minds long enough for us to wait poised for Allah to reveal his plan or wisdom to us?

Truly, from past experiences I’ve learned that if I wait poised in calm silence the answers come quickly and clearly; however, knowing this doesn’t seem to make the current quandary any easier. Honstly I've used this method countless times through devout prayer, faithfulness and a willingness to wait patiently, which has ALWAYS worked, but for some reason I cannot settle my mind enough to just wait. I remind myself of the story about a hunter that hunts monkeys, and how he successfully captures them. They take a coconut, place a hole in it, and then place something inside the coconut for the monkey to grab. Of course, if you slip your hand in and out without grasping the object you’ll be fine, but as soon as you grasp the object inside the coconut you can no longer remove your hand from it. And because the monkey is so intend on retrieving the object that is inside the coconut they fail to hear, sense or see the hunter until it is too late----they are captured. The story is a great reminder not to be so focused on something that you fail to hear, see, sense things around you, which could be the very message Allah is trying to deliver, but for some reason this task is very difficult for me at times.

See what I mean? Blah, blah, blah, blah =)

So, tell me, how do you quiet your mind long enough to receive information? Moreover, if you care to share your success story/stories related to this issue I’d be honored to read them.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a quick reply, so sorry :P, but I find if you focus for too long on a single problem you loose focus of the bigger picture, so I just let it go. I go watch a movie, go hang out with friends who can't bring up the problem on my mind, watch TV for the whole day or eat anything to get it off my mind ... then when I come back my mind is clearer and I have a different perspective of the problem and sometimes new ideas ...... but usually my problems are technical so I don't know how that would work with you :P.

salaam

ibeebarbie said...

Salam PH,
Excellent example! I know you're busy, so please know how much I appreciate the time you've taken to respond.

Happymoi said...

I dont know ifs possible to just shut something away. I think we just have to juggle between everything. You may keep yourself busy with something else but the shift is only a moment thing, so i say its impossible to just quiet away the mind. I have this problem of over thinking,one of my friends always tells me could you do me a favour and never ever stay alone.So i guess when we are alone our mind just wont stop...we may get distracted by other things when we are doing other things but when we are alone our mind just wont stop! Again, the distraction is just a momentary thing. I may go hang out with friends, but if lets say we were having lunch together i would be with them but at the same time would be thinking about whats on my mind..i may go to the beach but that just a place that helps me think even more..but maybe in a stress free enviroment! I dont know if any of what i said makes since..its closer to magrib time so excuse moi...Happy Ramadan to you sweetheart and to everyone..

ibeebarbie said...

Salam Happymoi,
So wonderful to see you habititi, alhamdullilah.

Nope, you made absolutely since because I feel the same way. However, a distraction although not a permanent fix may just be what someone needs to refocus. For me personally, I get so focused on something like a pit-pull that I forget to remove myself from the situation to look more objectively.

Thank you for taking the time to share your insight; as always it's greatly appreciated and respected. Miss you!

dusk till dawn said...

hi ibee
well its such a difficuilt issue.to quiet the mind is not a switch just to turn on off.we allgo through the motion of ups and down.if we where a teenager our mind will be free,it nice if u share ur life with the loves once.i think thats whats missing in ur life some great person to challenge ur life wt u and keep ur mind function.new hidden hoby might help.hope i did make sense

ibeebarbie said...

Salam Dusk Till Dawn,
Nice to see you and to receive your comment.

Why do you think I have a blog? :-) To come to my loved ones and talk about life. ;-)