Which is the best way to meditate to calm down an emotionally turbulent mind.?

Question

Sometimes I have jealous feelings. My temper too is making me unhappy at times and could get me into trouble.

Answer 1

I find contemplative prayer the best.

Contemplative prayer is a "close sharing between friends, taking time frequently to be alone with him whom we know loves us" (St. Teresa of Jesus).

In contemplation, we seek Jesus in a pure faith and live in him. Although still meditating, we fix our gaze on the Lord.

By meditation the believer seeks to understand so he can respond to the Lord. Attentiveness is often difficult and we can be helped by books (Bible, Gospel, spiritual books, the book of creation, and the today book of history).

As meditation confronts us, we discover the movements in our hearts. We then ask, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

Christians have a duty to meditate regularly so they will be good soil for God's Word. Meditation mobilizes our inner faculties and deepens our faith to bring about conversion. Believers must meditate on the mysteries of Christ (as in the rosary), and then go further to a union with Jesus.

Peace and blessings!

Answer 2

Things that help me are: From a Christian & general Perspective
1. Daily (reading-Bible) or self help devotional reading"-Find something and reads it deliberately.
2. Then daily reflection on a what was read.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to activate the life-giving Word of God into your life.
4. In your day find anything worthy (or good ) to praise, dwell on these things.
5. "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, think of these things.
6. Fill your mind daily with good thoughts.

Note: Our thoughts determine our behavior and so what we think about is very important. That is why we want to think or meditate on something positive. This will calm down your emotionally turbulent mind.

Christian meditation is rooted in the Bible. In fact, the Bible commands us to meditate.

In Joshua 1:8, God says to meditate on His word day and night so we will obey it. The psalmist says "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2). Actually, the Bible mentions meditate or meditation 20 times.

Meditation refocuses us from ourselves and an escape from the world, reflect on good Words, natural beauty, your abilities, and your good works.

Let peace be the first thing to fill your mind. Then use the meditation of old religious orders are Lectio divina means "sacred reading" mentioned above it has four stages:
1.Reading, meditation
2. Discursive meditation,
3. Affective prayer, and Contemplation on it.
4. Heed the words of your religious scripture.

Remember to Dwell on Words, Diligently consider it, and live the life of positive scripture. A quieted heart is our best preparation for all good work. And a defense against anger.
Remember anger is an emotion that everyone feels to some extent. It's normal for you to feel frustrated and angry sometimes. It may start out with a sense of frustration or disappointment. Anger can quickly get out of control. But, we believe that the emotion of anger is an energy which can be transformed into something good. People can learn to direct anger into faith, assertiveness, problem-solving, empathy and forgiveness. Christians can learn to express a godly and righteous anger when triggered by frustrating events and people.

In any angry situation where you no longer are thinking straight and feel the need to express the rage built up inside of you, it is important to have a strategy prior to triggering events in order to prevent an angry outburst..Set boundaries
if someone won't respect your request, leave the situation, if you can.

Some tips:
1. Talk-Out Your Anger!
2. Learn some no-guilt techniques to assertively express your anger.
3. Get your needs met without squashing others.
4. Apply cognitive (Thinking) restructuring,
5. Learn conflict management.
6. Enhances your ability to manage and motivate self control.
7. Perceiving the world as a general Positive place.

Note:Then practically coping with anger and turning anger into applied faith, assertiveness, problem-solving and forgiveness!

Answer 3

Go OUT of the city, away from ALL signs of life. Do this at night and go to a place where even the lights of the city don't "wash out the sky". Find a grassy area, on a moonless and completely clear night. Lay back and just quiet your mind and look at the stars. It'lll take a while for you to be able to clear your mind but keep on trying anyway. When your mind is quiet, THEN slowly allow your thoughts to "drift" and allow only ONE thought at a time to flow through your mind. Enjoy the beauty of the night sky as you do this. Let your imagination run free and just go with the peacefulness of the surroundings and of the night sky. At first, try not to focus on any single pint of light in the sky, just take it ALL in as a whole. After a while, when your mind starts to qujiet down on it;'s own then begin to focus on things of interest in the sky, constellations, planets, meteors, whatever attracts your attention. GO with the serenity of the view. Contemplate YOUR role in this entire universe and slowly come to understand that YOU are NOT the center of it all. You are ONLY an infinitesimal PART of that whole thing. And you TOO are just as beautiful as ALL of that which you see. Ignore thoughts that arouse your turbulent emotions and just go with the peacefullness of the moment.

The more often you repeat this the easier that it'll get. When it gets easy enough to put your mind at peace in the outdoors. Try doing this in a quiet place in your house or someplace that is quiet that you can find nearby. Keep doiing it in times of darkness for a while. Times where there are peacefull images that you can view. As you get better doing it in THOSE settings then go BACk out to your spot in the wild during the day and do it while looking at peaceful things in nature, clouds, birds, trees, grass and small plants. As you are able to do that then move back to town and do it in your quiet spot there, still focussing on the peaceful images that you can find there. Eventually you'll find that you are able to do it EVEN in a LARGE crowd, with ALL sorts of activity going on around you. At that point you have reached your goal BUT, continue to do this whenever you find your emotions taking over again.

Remeber, little steps is the key, do NOT try to skip steps or you'll have to begin all over again.

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 4

hello,, try this grasshopper,,,take ten to fifteen deep and long but fast breaths,then as you exhale on the last breath hold it and imagine sitting on the edge of a large lake slowly inhale thinking all the time about this special place your at. all thoughts are causing ripples on the water do this for about ten to fifteen minutes thinking of calming the ripples and when the waters are silk smooth, revelation will come to you and your life will have new purpose and meaning. and then think about what you really need in this life.

Answer 5

This song helped me a lot.
Don't do anything rash when you are caught in emotion, especially anger. Find a quiet place...be alone. and focus on Christ. Just think of Him.

~Still~
Hillsong United
words and music by Reuben Morgan

Hide me now, under Your wings
Cover me within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God

Find rest, my soul
In Christ alone
Know his pow'r
In quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, and know You are God
I will be still, and know You are God
I will be still... and know You are God.

Answer 6

Hi Alec. I have jealous feelings and temper too, but I agree with the answerer that you need to focus on your breathing to relax and clear your mind. Since I am a muslim, I tend to recite the Quran and focus at the transliterations too, and that helps me, it is something like I am singing a soothing song to myself, it helps with the relaxation of my mind too. I say breathe, and breathe properly. Good luck!

Answer 7

Read Psalm 91 over and over........commit it to memory. It will hold you in good stead all the days of your life. Another thing.........singing praise songs to the Lord is an immense help. Blessings to you.

Answer 8

Meditation is learning to live in the moment, when nothing distracts you and when you are not tied to the past or anxious about the future. In meditation you become peacefully aware of your real self. The more you use it, the more aware you become. When you learn to live life for each moment, to enjoy and appreciate life to the fullest at that moment, you suddenly become impervious to the myraid of doubts and fears that you've lived with all your life.

While there are many folks that seem to believe their particular mantra has "magical power", it really is the mindfulness that matters. The mantra is just one of the vehicles you can use to get there.

I developed a simple nonsectarian practice, but my background is in Buddhism - specifically Jodo Shinshu (aka Shin) Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism, and the nonsectarian teachings of the Bright Dawn Institute (aka Kubose Dharma Legacy).

Here is the simple, yet potent, meditation technique that I use with some recommended resources as well. Specific posture does not matter. If you are uncomfortable sitting on the floor, you can sit on a chair with feet flat on the floor.

Since I have medical issues, I do a simple form of secular mindfulness meditation to relieve stress and anxiety. This helps to reduce high blood pressure and the frequency of headaches. It is a practice recommended by my primary licensed physician and is not encumbered by any superstitious nonsense.

I have actually studied a wide variety of religions and paths. Being more musically inclined, I was initially attracted to the practices of Jodo Shinshu (aka Shin Buddhism) and Nichiren Buddhism - with the combination of chanting a rhythmic phrase (Nembutsu or Odaimoku) and/or sutra recitation to a visual object (a scroll of Amida or a Gohonzon). This is a more active form of meditation as compared to the silent form (see below for that). So I decided to create a nonsectarian alternative in that vein. One practice that I find helpful in the vein of the Way of Oneness (the realization of interdependence) is to chant “Be One, Be Peace” in a position of gassho (palms together in front of chest with fingers pointing upward - a traditional gesture of respect) to an object such as a Dharma Wheel or a drawing of enso (a circle) as used in Zen. Five minutes of this every morning before work does wonders for my blood pressure and stress level.

You are more than welcome to use the chant if you think you may find it possibly useful.

I use two forms: “Be One. Be Peace.” for those who prefer a four syllable “mantra” like “Namandabu.” Or “Be One. Be Love. Be Peace.” for those who prefer the pace of a six syllable “mantra” like “Nam(u) Myo-ho Ren-Ge Kyo” or “Na-Mu A-Mi-da Butsu.” People who like (or are drawn) to chant are attracted to the rhythm.

For me, the purpose of any practice is to encourage self-reflection, internalizing this awareness , and wonder/gratitude/awareness of the interdependent forces of the Universe (Dharmakaya - in Shin this is symbolized as Amida Buddha which allows practitioners to perceive these forces as “compassionate” and “caring” thus allowing us to relate to them easier, or as the Gohonzon in Nichiren Buddhism which is a calligraphic representation of the “Ceremony in the Air” from the Lotus Sutra which is also a representation of the interdependent forces of the Universe).

There are a couple of simple techniques for silent meditation as well. You do not have to sit on the floor. You can sit with erect back on a chair. Many people say try for 15 minutes twice a day. I say start with a simpler goal - 5 minutes twice per day. The benefits include stress management and relaxation benefits which help the body, increased mindfulness and focus, and increased energy. The mindfulness can be a benefit to your spiritual life, but meditation also has "non-spiritual" benefits. Here are two easy techniques:

Breathing meditation - 1) Check posture. 2) Close your eyes and relax. 3) Focus on your breath entering and leaving your body. 4) Count breaths mentally one to four. Repeat. 5) Don't fight a wandering mind, but calmly direct it back to task. 6) Sit for a minute afterwards.

"Mantra" technique (choose a personal "calm" word or phrase that you will repeat in your meditation - it can be from your religion or something as simple as "one" or "calm" – I use the nonsectarian “Be One. Be Peace” or “Be One. Be Love. Be Peace.”) - 1) and 2) as above in the Breathing meditation. 3) Listen to your breathing and let it relax you with each breath. 4) Once you are relaxed, mentally "hear" your "calm" word or phrase in your mind. Let it repeat in your mind. 5) Don't fight a wandering mind, but calmly direct it back to task. 6) Sit for a minute afterwards.

That is all there is to these very simple but beneficial meditation techniques. Many people think that something "mystical" should happen during meditation. Most often "nothing" happens and "nothing" should be expected.

Oh yes, and it didn't cost me anything to learn nor were there any "initiations" involved.

Some good resources on "secular" meditation are "The Calm Technique" by Paul Wilson as well as "The Relaxation Response" by Herbert Benson. If you need more formal "assistance" or "training" then I would look into Natural Stress Relief which was founded by former Transcendental Meditation instructors upset at the rising cost and ongoing superstition associated with TM. They charge $47 for their training compared with the $2,500 that TM would charge you.

http://www.naturalstressreliefusa.org/

Also look at these websites on Buddhism on the nonsectarian Bright Dawn teachings which have a heritage of Shin and Zen Buddhism:

http://www.brightdawn.org/

http://www.heartlandsangha.org

Answer 9

Read the Bible and pray. Fill your mind and heart with God's perspective on things.

Answer 10

relax & focus on your breathing