Wednesdays from the Well and Mind Traffic...

Mind Chatter and Silence

My prayer today is for you and your journey with God and others. I pray that you are beginning to see God working in your life. Yes, it is difficult at times to see God at work, especially when life is so fast and furious from day to day. So, how are you doing in your practice of silence/solitude? I know it is hard to do in our busy lives, but it can be very rewarding on your journey. Last week we took some time and looked at the prayer word. You can go back and read that post here (Prayer word). We looked at how the prayer word can be a good tool for remaining centered in your silence practice. 

This week I want to discuss another way of thinking that will help you in your practice of silence and solitude. What are we to do with our thoughts? They just will not go away! They keep coming back every second and from all different directions in our minds. Our thoughts fill our minds with traffic and it becomes very challenging to experience any silence at all. Thoughts, ideas, worries, self talk, agendas, and other things race through our minds at every second, minute, and hour of the day. I want to introduce you to a way of thinking that may help in the settling of your racing mind chatter in moments of silence and solitude. 

The next time you practice your silence try to just be for a moment. Let the mind chatter be, let it run and don't fight it. Do this for about 2-5 minutes in a calm manner. Sit, stand, or walk as you do this and see what happens. Remember not to resist the chatter, just let it be for a moment. You will find that your heart and mind will eventually calm a little with some chatter still roaming. This may vary from person to person as you develop the practice into your daily life. It may take you longer that 5 minutes, but stay with it. Don't chase any of the chatter, just let it run. You see, when we chase after a thought, it begins to consume us. As you learn to leave it alone, you will naturally learn to let it be. We will stop there for this week. Try this a few times and see what it does. Place it (letting the chatter be) in front of your time of silence and see if the mind chatter is less each time you practice your silence and solitude. This is a journey, you will not change over night, but only with consistency will you see changes over time. Let the chatter be and let it run wild.....

Stay with it.....Trent