Are you aware of the restlessness of your thoughts? If you watch your mind, you will see that it jumps from one subject to another, never standing still. The mind is always busy, too often with trivialities. One moment you might be thinking one thing, and the next moment thinking about something else. This is a deeply embedded habit that constantly distracts the mind and prevents it from focusing on one thing at a time.

If you wish to succeed in anything, you need to be able to overcome the restlessness of your thoughts. The key to every job well done and to every success is concentration - the ability to focus the mind on one thing.

When there are no restless thoughts - There is inner peace.

In my book, Peace of Mind in Daily life, I have written a short story, illustrating the similarity between the behavior of fish and the behavior of thoughts. It is about a young man who asked a spiritual teacher to help him gain peace of mind. To his amazement, the teacher sent him to the river, to watch the fish swimming in the water.

Here is an excerpt from this story:

After sitting by the river for some time, a revelation suddenly flashed through his mind and he shouted excitedly: “My mind and my thoughts are restless too, exactly like the flock of fish. This is probably what the teacher wanted me to understand.”

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Nobody desires problems, difficulties or obstacles, but yet, though it might seem strange, people prefer them to inner peace. There is desire for peace and freedom from everyday problems, yet, there is fear that inner peace might take away the feeling of being alive and active, and make you an indifferent person with boring life. Most people prefer to stick with the familiar, even though they know it is not in their best interest. How strange it is!

The ego, which is composed of one’s mind, thoughts and habits, is afraid of inner peace and inner silence, because it fears it might cease to exist in such a condition. If there is inner peace and silence, it means there are no thoughts, so where will the ego be? If the mind is silent there is no ego, and the ego objects this state of affairs.

Inner peace and silence often cause the ego to cease existing temporarily or permanently. Does this mean that you cease to exist? Are you the ego, or something higher than the ego, which is your tool of communication with the external world?

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Meditation is a technique for calming down the restlessness of the mind and awakening the spiritual consciousness. Regular practice brings inner peace, happiness and freedom from restless thinking. Meditation also relaxes the body and nerves, relieves stress and frees the mind from anxiety and worry.

In meditation you focus the attention on a certain thought, idea, sound or prayer for a certain amount of time. It usually involves turning the attention inwards, away from the external world, and when the mind wanders away, bringing it back to the meditation.

In it higher forms, meditation aims to free the mind from the subconscious compulsion to think incessantly, develop inner detachment and awaken the awareness of the Spirit within. Its regular practice awakens a new sort of consciousness, peaceful and blissful.

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It is rather weird that though everyone has his or her due share of worries, anxieties and never ending thoughts, few do something to remedy this condition and gain inner peace. It is only when the situation becomes unbearable that one starts wondering, whether there is a solution, and if it is possible at all to gain some degree of inner peace.

Worries, anxieties and restless thinking are regarded as a natural part of life. It is only when they become exaggerated, or under special circumstances that one becomes acutely aware of this state of inner restlessness and lack of peace. At such time, one realizes how unruly the mind is, and how difficult it is to calm it down.

The inability to stop the racing thoughts becomes especially obvious at times, when you need to do some boring job that requires close attention, study something that requires concentration or do anything that requires a focused mind. The mind just keeps wandering away, and you have to bring it back again and again.

This lack of ability to control the mind and make it quiet is the reason that it is always occupied with thoughts, worries, fears and anxieties. Such thoughts bring unhappiness, suffering and lack of peace.

Though most people desire inner peace, yet they do the opposite. They cannot enjoy being alone or in silence. They always seek something to occupy their minds, as if afraid of inner peace and silence. They read the newspaper while traveling, walk with earphones, while listening to music, talk a lot on phone for hours, exercise with background music or drive their cars while listening to the radio. They all keep their minds busy, never at rest.

The mind is busy even when just resting or not doing anything. At such times, if pay attention to your mind, you will see how busy it is with unimportant thoughts, musing on past events, worrying or just racing from one thought to another. Even when going to sleep at night the mind does not let you be, but accompanies you to bed with all kinds of thoughts, until you finally you fall asleep.

You can bring more peace into your life. You can learn to focus your mind when you need to. You can go to bed and fall asleep immediately, without buzzing thoughts or worries.

When the mind is relieved from its restlessness there is more focus, peace and happiness. Worries and anxieties keep away, and the quality of your life improves.
 
There are various ways to gain inner peace. Some just bring temporary peace, some help you gain more inner balance in certain situations, and other techniques are aimed toward overall and permanent state of inner harmony, balance, peace and freedom from restless thinking. There is no quick way to success. The ability to overcome worries, anxieties and restless, futile thinking is not easily won. The mind has to undergo complete change, and this does not happen in one day. Yet, this inner work is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.

Don’t be discouraged and feel it is an impossible task, because it is possible. Many have learned to pacify their minds, and so can you.

Inner peace articles - Inner Peace.

Read Peace of Mind in Daily Life - A book with instructions, exercises and advice for gaining inner peace, happiness and freedom from restless and uncontrolled thinking. You can also read a free chapter at the above link.