Hello everyone!
I wanted to share with you a few thoughts about a
recent personal study of mine. Some of you may already know this, but I work in
a Concierge Center. For those who have never worked in one, just know that it
is a place where: A.) You have to remain constantly calm under the deluge of phone
calls, and B.) You have to deal with long stretches of dead, often soul-killing
downtime, when there are no calls in the queue- and this will suffice for a fair
definition.
As a way to cope with the stress of my job, I’ve begun
to study meditation. At first I just breezed through an article online, when
management had its back turned on me; however, I soon found it to be highly
engaging. The positive effects that it has on the mind and body, and effect on
the alpha brain-waves, got me thinking. Soon, I began to wonder about how changes
that I went through at work were affecting my state of emotions- happiness,
focus, etc. After doing some research, I came to a realization: I was stressed
out at work, because I was unaware of these mindful states- I was allowing my
environment to dictate the state of my emotions, rather than allowing myself- quite
perversely- to control them!
There was so much material that seems to support the
fact that extended periods of focus brings better attention to us during work,
exercise, etc. The idea that the mind can be ‘retrained,’ and that we can control its direction, is one that is obsolete
in our society. I have always believed that the mind was an organ that could facilitate
per direction- it is a gear that can be manually shifted, NOT- as others think,
an automated control gear. The mind is a flexible organ, and we use it to
facilitate control in daily life. Consciousness, or ‘awareness’ of the mind, is
the ability to know its changes in state as they happen; you allow your
thoughts to pass, and refrain from getting involved with them. This brings you
to an awareness of the human tendency to judge.
Why does it matter? The theory behind all this is that
it allows you to exercise the control over your mind. When you are aware of the
change in state, you can shift your focus- the mind is a muscle that can be
used over, and over, and over. Once it becomes used to a specific state, like
calves that becomes used to running, it is more prepared to follow your will. There
are at least two meditation techniques which accomplish this, but I like the
idea of Mindfulness best. You can read about others at the links I provided.
These concepts has helped me to become more aware of
my emotions at work. They have given me better control over daily life and work,
because I understand that I have the control over my state of happiness- if something
attempts to threaten that state, I can throw my walls up. Once the stimulus is
blocked, I can quickly revamp, and revert into my peace of mind. Research behind Meditation is dynamic, even
though the knowledge that we control our thoughts is instinctive. Widespread
belief leads us to think that the mind controls us, but this is far from the
truth- you have a choice of whether to
be depressed, or to be dissatisfied- and again, knowledge is key here. I love
this idea- I think it is a great way to facilitate control when our thoughts ideas
to wander . . . and bring them back into focus, in spite of how rebellious they
become!
Here are some articles that I looked at:
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