5 Simple Ways to Clear Your Mind

We all know that we should avoid stress, but life can definitely get in the way and make things complicated! The key is to recognize when you're experiencing stress or mental overload and do something uplifting to balance your mind. The 5 tips below take just a few minutes and will instantly lift your spirit.

1. Say a Prayer. Prayer is not a mysterious practice reserved only for clergy and the religiously devout. Prayer is simply communicating—listening and talking to the Creator. Research shows that prayer can be helpful in facilitating forgiveness and letting go of rumination and negative emotions. Prayer carries many other benefits to it as well, so it’s definitely worth trying.

2. Meditate. One simple way to meditate is to find a place where you can sit and relax. Then simply "observe" your thoughts without becoming attached to them. Once you’ve noticed them, let them go and bring your focus back to the present moment. Meditation has great rewards when practiced routinely consistently according to Joshua 1:8. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful." Meditating on the scriptures aids in achieving a level wellness that provides spiritual nourishment to your mind, body and soul.

3. Practice Being Mindful. Mindfulness is a way of becoming fully engaged in one particular activity, rather than focusing on your thoughts or other activities. For example, instead of eating your lunch on the go, at least once this week, set a goal to sit down and mindfully eat a healthy lunch in a peaceful atmosphere such as a park or quite area. All too often, food is eaten in a stressed and hurried manner, usually while driving, watching television, working on the computer, walking down the street or multi-tasking. Whenever the bible speaks of food, it speaks of people sitting down and breaking bread together. For example, during an evening meal, while Jesus was siting down at a table relaxing with His disciples, He took bread, praised God, gave thanks, broke it, blessed it and gave it to His disciples (Matthew 26:20-30).

4. Write About Your Feelings. I’ve been journaling for as long as I can remember…wow…that’s a long time! If your mind is filled with negative or stressful thoughts, by writing you can delve deeper into the topics that plague your mind so that you can fully examine your emotions and explore various ways to heal those areas in your life.

5. Change Your Focus. One of the best things you can do to clear your mind is to change your focus. Get out and exercise with a friend. Get involved with a fun project or hobby. Take a few moments to get lost in a good book. You can find more great tips on managing stress in my book, "Rock Your World Naturally: 7 Divine Keys to Unlock Extraordinary Health."

References

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Joshua 1:8 in all English translations

Matthew 26:20-30 in all English translations