Welcome to this talk about calming your mind.
Most people think that a calm mind is something you either have or don't have.
But that isn't true.
A calm mind is a skill,
Not a personality trait.
And like any skill,
It gets better with practice and gets rusty when we stop using it.
So let's talk about what I have found useful.
Start with the body and not the thoughts.
When your mind is busy,
Anxious,
Or overloaded,
It's tempting to attack the thoughts directly.
For example,
I shouldn't think like this.
I need to relax.
Why am I like this?
But that usually adds more noise.
Physically grounding yourself is faster and more reliable than arguing with your thoughts.
Try to put both feet flat on the floor.
Loosen your shoulders.
Take one slow breath out,
Longer than the breath in.
Not deep breathing,
Just slowing down the breathing.
The moment your exhale gets longer,
Your nervous system starts to settle,
Even if your mind is still racing.
This is not magic,
But it's to do with our physiology.
We need to understand that calm doesn't mean empty.
People imagine a calm mind is silent,
But it's not.
A calm mind is a manageable mind.
It's a mind where thoughts show up,
But you're not thrown around by them.
Imagine standing on the side of the road,
Watching cars go by.
That's calm.
Now imagine standing in the middle of the road with cars coming at you.
That's overwhelming.
The cars don't disappear and you just step out of the road.
Try to use the one task attention to break the overwhelming feeling.
Overwhelm is almost always caused by trying to think about too many things at once.
Pick one physical task you can complete in 60 seconds.
For example,
Close the open tabs,
Put one item away,
Send one email,
Make your bed,
Drink a glass of water.
When your mind is scattered,
Giving it one clear job builds momentum and lowers stress.
It's like tidying up the top layer before tackling the rest of the mess.
Try to name what's happening.
For example,
I'm overstimulated.
I'm stressed about tomorrow.
My brain is tired.
I feel rushed.
By naming the chaos,
We take it away from everything,
Everywhere,
All at once to one thing I can work with.
Naming something doesn't solve it,
But it stops the mind from spiraling.
Try to reduce inputs instead of forcing yourself to relax.
A busy mind isn't a personal failure.
It's often a sign you're absorbing too much.
You don't need to meditate for 30 minutes.
You might just need to put your phone face down for five minutes,
Turn off the notifications,
Step outside for some fresh air,
Sit in a quiet room without doing anything.
Calm isn't built by adding techniques,
But rather it's built by removing the noises.
Try to give yourself permission to pause without fixing.
Our mind tries to fix everything instantly.
Arguments,
Deadlines,
Futures,
Fears,
Self-criticism.
But you don't need to solve your entire life in one moment.
A calm mind often starts with the internal permission to say,
I don't have to sort everything out right now.
That single sentence relaxes mental pressure instantly.
Remember that the mind calms in layers and not all at once.
You won't always go from chaos to peaceful.
More often it's chaos,
Then slightly less chaos,
Then manageable,
Then steady,
Then okay,
And then calm.
The goal isn't to feel perfect.
The goal is to move one step closer to grounded.
So I'd like to take the final moments of this talk to remind you that calming the mind isn't about becoming someone different.
It's about returning to the part of yourself that already knows how to breathe,
How to focus,
And how to reset.
You don't have to control every thought.
You just have to guide it gently to the next moment.
And that is always within reach.
Thank you for listening today.
Sending you love and light.
Namaste.
