Mental Resilience: The Power of Clarity
By Kamal Sarma
(New World Library)
Most people come to
meditation thinking, or even fearing, that it is difficult. No matter how much
some people rave about the benefits of meditation, many think it would be easier
to relax by merely playing a sport, reading a book, grabbing a drink, watching
TV, or doing any number of things that don’t require much effort.
Meditation does require
some effort, or personal discipline, and it takes up the most precious commodity
in our lives — time. Yet, to derive all of the benefits takes practice. So why
go to all the trouble of learning to meditate? Isn’t it all too hard? The short
answer is that learning to meditate will invariably help your well-being. One of
the best answers is that you will feel the benefits almost immediately, which is
definitely one of the greatest aspects of meditation. I like to think of
meditation as an insurance policy to protect your most precious asset — your
mind.
The core benefit of
meditation is that it’s a proven way to truly rest and clear your mind. We know
how important it is to rest our body. We could not keep going for days on end
without resting. We do not work most machines continuously without giving them a
rest, for fear they might heat up and explode. But somehow, when it comes to
resting our minds, we imagine the same laws don’t apply.
Most people consider sleep
to be the best way to rest and rejuvenate their minds. But a growing problem in
today’s world is that sleep does not equal rest for many people. And the lack of
mental rest is not merely caused by lack of sleep, because when we sleep, we
keep processing information from the day or other issues that needed but did not
get our attention. In essence, we still use our minds during sleep. It is not
easy to give the mind the real rest it craves.
We also have the notion
that we can rest our minds when we go on vacation or just take time away from
our normal life. How many times have you been on vacation, sitting on a lovely
beach or walking in the green hills somewhere, when suddenly — pop! — up comes
some worry or concern? How often has the stress of day-to-day life reemerged in
your head the minute your relaxing vacation was over?
What is happening is that
— despite attempts to relax, distract, and slow down — the mind still processes
problems in your conscious and unconscious spheres. To truly stop the clutter
and “traffic,” we need to control our flow of thoughts and our brain waves.
Meditation is a way to do just that. Through meditation we develop the skills
and power to relax and clear our minds, and through this comes rest and a great
many more benefits.
Many of us are paid to use
our minds to add value to the organizations and communities we work in. To do
this, we must have the clarity to make better decisions and the ability to focus
our minds to the task at hand, so that we use more of our mental capacities. By
actively training these two areas by meditating, we can enhance our careers and
offer more value.
It is in moments of
decision making when we add or destroy value to ourselves and the people around
us. The decisions may be large or small, but theoretically, for each of them, we
gather as much information as we can, analyze that information, weigh our
options, and make a decision. Some decisions may involve spending vast sums of
money that carry huge consequences for the lives and livelihoods of many people.
Other decisions might concern how to better serve a client’s needs.
If you work in the medical
profession or in law enforcement, your decisions sometimes involve life and
death. And, astonishingly, these decisions often need to be made rapidly,
sometimes in a matter of minutes or seconds.
The most important factor
in effective and sound decision making is clarity of mind. If your mind is full
of mental noise or distracting thoughts, then it will have to work harder, and
take longer, to process information and make decisions. Additionally, if we have
unconstructive emotions bubbling up inside us, our minds will likely feel
fatigued, and our decisions won’t necessarily be congruent with our internal
values. Instead, our decisions will be based on the mental clutter whirring
around in our minds.
Mental Resilience Training
can help reduce your mental chatter. And, without the chaos that such noise
brings with it, you will be better able to make more insightful and effective
decisions.
Once you establish a
sustained meditation practice, you become aware of the mental chatter and more
adept at clearing it. You have the tools to develop some space to perceive a
situation with greater clarity before you make any crucial decisions. The time
needed to create this mental space is not hours or days; it is, literally, a few
moments.
* * *
*Kamal Sarma
is the author of
Mental Resilience: The Power of Clarity – How to Develop the Focus of a Warrior
and the Peace of a Monk. For over ten years, he has guided corporate
executives on maintaining clarity and peace while balancing intense work
demands, work, and relationships.
* * *
Excerpted
with permission from the book
Mental Resilience: The Power of Clarity – How to Develop the Focus of a Warrior
and the Peace of a Monk.
© 2008 by Kamal Sarma. Printed with permission of New World Library,
Novato, CA.
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