I’m happiest and most spiritually fulfilled when I dedicate a little time to quiet and solitude each day. It’s a rewarding break from my demanding job and life’s responsibilities. Simple, seemingly mindless activities help me:
- connect with divine energy and guidance,
- live more in the present,
- grow more comfortable with myself and
- feel one with nature and humanity.
Whether it’s washing the dishes, strolling in the hills or yanking weeds, I can give my mind a mini-vacation, allowing it to go free-range and escape the confines of what it should dwell on.
Photo credit: Ken M. Johns
What’s free-range thinking?
It’s what happens when you immerse yourself in a physical task, one that’s done so frequently it becomes automatic. But for free-range thinking to work, it requires silence. No music. Nobody talking. Just you and your environment. By focusing on the rhythm of your footfalls along a desert path, the warm water drizzling over your hands as you clean a plate or the aroma of sautéing onions, we release the structured mental conversations we have much of the day and give the mind permission to wander.
This fosters a type of meditation, if you will, one that just allows the brain to be. To go wherever it wants without emotion, without judgment. You are giving it permission to transcend our realm and connect us with the divine.
Be a spectator of your thoughts
Pay attention, but don’t put weight on the thoughts that float into and out of your mind. However, do note anything that strikes you as extraordinary or important in your life. These can be messages meant to help you through your day or solve a problem you’ve been struggling with.
Allow the silence to envelop you, and, in doing so, be aware how sound is always present. The finch chirping outside your window. Children’s laughter wafting in from a playground three blocks away.
Just be in the moment. For it’s at these times when we’re most likely to have a spiritual experience. When we’re most likely to be free of worry and open our mind and heart to what can be. Whether it’s a profound thought that pops into your consciousness or a suddenly sensation of energy, peace or love from the heavenly realm, free-range thinking heals.
In this state, when I sense another energy or connect with the divine, I feel I’m an integral part of the universe and appreciate my worth. I realize the Great I Am is always present in our lives, looking for an opportunity to reveal unconditional love and enduring patience. I become less self-critical and more at peace with who I am and the journey I’ve taken in life.
Once I return to the realities of life, I’m able to think more clearly without distraction and find that daily annoyances don’t drive me as crazy.