by Brad Hoback

Created on: April 29, 2008

Two Easy Ways to Find Mental Clarity...In our day-to-day life, chaotic undertones surround our thoughts and clutter our minds. These sounds have so deeply invade our thinking that even the rare moment of peace is ruined.

Pop radio, TV commercial jingles, images from nightly news shows and so on have a habit of filling our inner space. While sometimes exciting, entertaining and potentially important to our world, they combine to create to a way of life that is less than harmonious.

So what can we do? Cloistering our selves away in some monastery or nunnery isn't likely an option; however, removing the clutter and finding mental clarity is possible and actually relatively simple.

Media Fast

It is a known fact that being surrounded by nature helps clean the attic. Fresh air oxygenated by actual trees and the sound of real birds chirping from the branches of a lush green bush invigorates the mind. Communing with nature is necessary and important, but modern life doesn't always afford us the option of taking off and going to the mountains. It remains possible, nevertheless, to strip the pervasive mental chatter by turning the radio and TV off and resisting the urge to watch streaming news feeds or YouTube.

When the theme song to Flash Dance or some Michael Bolton song turned ad jingle is suddenly overtaken by silence, the mind tends not to like it. Being preoccupied with the trivial is a means of ignoring what actually matters and for some reason the mind prefers this for most of us. Sadly the urge to distract our selves from these genuine thoughts is initially strong and almost always immediate. After a while though, when the mind relaxes into a relative silence, the vacant space can become a place for a calming experience.

It doesn't take long for the mind to dump the mental distraction. Even when we are stuck in traffic, cooking diner or exercising, turning off the Ipod or TV and relaxing into the silence can be pay dividends as far as quality of life is concerned.

Media Cleanse

Perhaps more extreme but also important is what I'll call media cleanse. Turning off distracting noises is a quick fix. While useful, the benefits are not long lasting. The goal of the media cleanse, on the other hand, is to completely rid the mind droning sounds that preoccupy and distract. That little ditty that's been playing for days in the back of your brain for days now? It has to go.

Of course there's the obvious analogy here is with diet and colon health, but instead of going there, why not think of house cleaning? It is important to tidy up, clean the dishes and wash the laundry on a frequent if not daily basis. But it's equally important to put some elbow into it and get down to business every now and then to truly get the grime up.

It's not always an option to take a vacation. Money, work and social obligations can get in the way. At the same time something as simple as deciding to have a weekend in complete media silence can be priceless. Work on the yard for a few days. Spend time journaling or meditating. Spend time outside with the family. Put a puzzle together. Knit a scarf. Create your own thoughts rather than accepting the thoughts provided by a world. You'll be happy you did.

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