Stimulated senses cause an excited mind

EXCITED MIND: Using meditation to calm overly stimulated senses

Last updated: November 1st, 2018

 

The mind is not just the brain, but the sum of the physical, mental, and spiritual. We have six senses in total: sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and thought. Thought is included as a sense organism because we are continuously creating our reality from the inside out through the power of our imagination. As we get caught up in the cycle of desire, we stimulate the senses to seek out rewards, which ends up causing an excited mind.

Acknowledge the excited mind

The urge to excite the mind is the driving force in modern society and keeps most of us under its alluring spell. It seems impossible to get out of this spinning wheel of effort and reward. But it is not impossible at all if we acknowledge that we are slaves to the mind’s craving for excitement, without judging ourselves for it. The next step is to observe how the mind suffers when not stimulated, from boredom or negative thoughts that keep the wheels of the mind churning in an attempt to stimulate itself. In the process our imagination works overtime, coming up with the next “fix.” Some can’t go anywhere without their music since the music sends the mind rolling to beats and melodies and is thus kept occupied. In most cultures food is a popular form of indulgence. Its basic role is to keep us nourished and healthy, but few keep it to just that since we overindulge out of a desire for pleasure. Nicotine gives the mind a rush and keeps it excited awhile. Alcohol and drugs do the same, but for longer. The list goes on.

The things we do for stimulation share the same characteristics as drug abuse since there’s always a chemical reward for our actions. A jogger gets his endorphin rush or the muncher gets a sedated high after a sugar rush. If you look at today’s news or movie releases it’s all about creating enough drama, sex, and action to keep us on the edge of our seats—deliberate attempts to excite our minds to take part in the drama.

Meditate to calm the mind

The only sustainable method to silence the never-ending quest for stimulation is meditation. It could be argued that this is just another form of stimulation that keeps the mind busy, but meditation has the opposite effect on the mind. It calms and makes the mind peaceful, satisfied, and joyful about life itself—enjoying what is with no judgment or attachment to the outcome of the moment.

To master meditation, patience, dedication, determination, and practice are all required. After being able to silence the mind, which alone is an incredible achievement, you can continue by attempting to master your feelings. Feelings don’t need to be at the mercy of circumstances. Our minds give birth to feeling and mastering the mind means we can also master our feelings since it all starts with thought and from there develops into an emotion. This is where being mindful in everyday life plays such an important role in the quality of our existence.

Start meditating today not to miss out on such an important practice. It will unveil to you piece by piece the ultimate truth about human nature.

[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]Are Saltveit provides co-active coaching services through his organization b-present (http://www.b-present.no).