A large part of being Present is being able to sit with yourself at all times. Meditation helps with this, but most people still go through phases throughout the day of different moods or thought patterns, often without their knowledge. Thoughts are often difficult to deal with, so learning how to clear your mind consciously helps prevent unconscious thoughts from growing rampant into fear, worries, or chronic stress. Learning to be comfortable with your thoughts is a multiple-step process. The first step is being able to look at every thought that passes through your mind and give it your full attention without judgment.
Real Steps to Clear Your Mind
Go through your thoughts slowly. Practice watching your thoughts as you drive or you’re in the shower. While you’re doing any daily activity, bring yourself into the present moment, and watch everything attentively. You can use any daily activity as a grounding tool to help you practice this. For example, every time you wash the dishes, use that as a reminder to become fully present in the act of washing the dishes, and watch for your thoughts. Wonder which thought will come next. Thoughts will arise and your only job while you’re washing dishes is to watch them without judgment. Be curious where the thought will go.
This will allow you to see patterns in your mind over time, and negative thoughts will begin to lose their power. You’re clearing your mind. You’re taking power away from your thoughts and transmuting it into your raw conscious awareness. Thinking is a tool for your conscious awareness. Many people have repetitive thoughts that play negative narratives in their head, and they unconsciously try to ignore them. It creates a system of avoidance and doesn’t allow you to be truly present in the moment, because no one wants to worry about bad thoughts or feel stress.
Unfortunately, whether you’re avoiding the thought or not, it’s still there. We’re often not aware of these thoughts, but we’ll have an urge to check our phone, get up and do something else, or you’ll sit up and take a deep breath. This is the body reacting to thoughts you’re not watching to try to re-regulate itself. So, the attention must be turned inward. You have to turn directly towards the thought and give it your full attention.
If you practice this enough, with enough thoughts, you start to realize that most of your perspectives towards the world are narratives that you made up yourself. They can be fears from childhood, something you saw on the news this morning, or a small irritation from last week that’s raising your blood pressure. The important thing is that by watching them without judgment, you begin to clear out your mind. There aren’t any locked doors in your mind that you didn’t even realize you were avoiding anymore.
The key is to not identify with any of the thoughts you see. A few of these thoughts are things you can do something about, but most aren’t. If it’s a thought you actually care about, you’ll work to fix it at that very moment or accept it until you can fix it. If it’s useless, once you see the same negative or worrisome thought arise five times, as long as you don’t identify with it, you’ll start to get bored of it. You may even laugh at it. You’ll realize how much time it was taking up without your awareness. You’ll realize how distracted you’ve been by something that has no value. It’s just repeating itself on a cycle, but if you’re watching it, you don’t have to give it any reaction. You can choose to let thoughts go. Your mind becomes free to decorate as you’d like.
Open every door in your mind, and when you’ve thoroughly searched the room, take the door off the hinges and post a sign in front of the open gap that says, “No Monsters Be Here.”
Allow yourself to be free to wander anywhere in your mind, and your mind will allow you clarity and peace. Accept any and every thought. Watch it come and choose if you like it enough to keep it. You can’t allow your mind to become a place where you avoid anything. There is nothing to hide from in there. It’s only you.
There’s no reason to ever want a distraction – a distraction from what? Life is happening as it is right now. A distraction is an attempt to deny what already is. Look directly at anything you feel, turn on the lights, and pay direct attention to it – no matter what it is it will become a benefit to your mind, and your imagination won’t be allowed to make it into something it’s not. It’s all an opportunity to be your best self.
By paying attention to your thoughts, you become fully present. By being present you’re able to have control over your reactions, words, and decisions. Nothing is done without your permission. You’re able to choose who you want to be, and align your real identity, in that moment, with the best version of yourself.
It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. I don’t like using “good” or “bad” as they’re judgements. Every moment is what it already is, and life is a beautiful gift at all times to learn and grow, but it helps simplify this next part: If it’s good, you can enjoy it and be present in that joy. If it’s bad, there’s a version of you that responds in the best way possible to that situation – your ideal self. By being fully present and non-reactive, by watching your thoughts and not creating narratives, you can choose to be that person. You can make the best decision available, and actualize your best self into existence at this very moment. You just became the best version of yourself.
It is all something you can overcome. Learning how to clear your mind allows you to be your best self. It is the first step to having no hidden parts of yourself from yourself. It’s a crucial step towards true authenticity because every nook and cranny of your mind is open and available. There are no dark corners. You’re not afraid or avoiding a single piece of yourself. That allows you to discard what isn’t useful, and utilize what is beneficial. This all leads to a more present life – one you don’t want to escape from. You can accept everything that already is and become grateful for each moment. So, grab your broom, open a door in your mind, walk in, turn on the light, and start sweeping.