5 Techniques to Restore Calmness and Maintain Mental Presence

Seeking a happier life is a universal desire, and the encouraging news is that you can elevate your life by mastering the art of maintaining tranquillity, fostering mental presence, and immersing yourself completely in the present.

This article outlines five techniques to help you cultivate a sense of calm and mental presence and live in the moment. With persistence and patience, you can learn and master these techniques effectively. However, before diving into these strategies, let's explore some fundamental aspects related to the mind and thoughts.

A General Outlook On The Mind

The mind is the repository for all the information you've acquired and the experiences you've undergone. It encompasses your abilities, performance, and ideas. However, it does not represent you. This notion might initially seem paradoxical and perplexing, especially when contemplating the intertwining of personal knowledge and experiences within the mind. For this, one might question, "Considering that every piece of information and every experience passes through my mind, how can I and my mind be perceived as distinct entities?"

Your brain doesn't necessarily represent you; your thoughts only define you if you transform them into actions. However, this is a separate matter. Here, we aim to explore how to restore calmness and control your mind instead of allowing it to control you; the techniques outlined in this article are crafted to empower you to navigate through your thoughts, feelings, and emotions effectively.

The primary purpose of the mind is to shape thoughts and attain logical conclusions. This process entails the integration of thoughts, feelings, emotions, and reasoning, giving rise to perceptions, acquiring mental skills and virtues, contemplating instances of truth, celebrating moments of joy, and navigating through challenges.

Harnessing the mind for these specific purposes while maintaining full awareness of them showcases your adeptness in mastering your mental faculties. In its default state, it doesn't become consumed and overwhelmed when the mind isn't actively involved in cultivating these qualities and participating in purposeful activities but rather occupied with superficial and sporadic thoughts. Instead, it tends to exert dominance.

We find ourselves trapped by the simplest and most sluggish thinking patterns, those the mind effortlessly engages with. This underscores the imperative to reintroduce serenity to the mind across its various dimensions, encompassing thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Ideas, Emotions, and Sentiments

As our minds engage with the thoughts, feelings, and emotions they fabricate, they foster the illusion that these constitute our true reality. Yet, this perception is not entirely accurate. Our minds deceive us with their boundless capacity to craft myriad thoughts, doing so swiftly and seamlessly.

Hence, practices aimed at calming the mind and cultivating mindfulness help us recognise that our thoughts, feelings, and emotions may not necessarily define our ultimate reality.

Our minds are extraordinary instruments, adept at comprehending the world's complexities, encompassing both the positive and negative aspects. They elevate life into a splendid and valuable experience across all dimensions. Likewise, our thoughts, feelings, and emotions guide us toward this overarching purpose.

By employing the techniques discussed in this article, you can better understand your emotions and feelings. It goes beyond merely restoring mental calmness,  allowing you to cultivate emotional intelligence as well.

Initially, you might sense a feeling of bliss and emptiness, but the ultimate goal is to reclaim serenity in the mind and fully engage in the present moments.

Using The Senses As Tools

These techniques incorporate the five senses, closely collaborating with your emotions and feelings. They are crafted to guide the mind in focusing on each sense individually, demonstrating its capacity to reclaim calmness.

Engaging in these techniques will empower you to grasp the essence of your actions—the present moments—by consciously cultivating a relationship with your emotions. Through practice and acquiring insights, you'll become acquainted with your emotions. This can positively influence how you interact with your senses, adding value to your daily navigation through challenging life situations.

Key Note: Strive to refrain from direct interference with your emotions. Instead, let them naturally restore tranquillity to your mind and prepare you for engaging with the present moments. By trusting the experiences you encounter with your feelings, you can navigate, confront, uncover their mysteries, and ultimately exert control over them.

5 Techniques to Restore Calmness and Maintain Mental Presence

These 5 techniques aid in restoring tranquillity to the mind and living a better life.

1. Visualization Technique

Insight is born with closed eyes, hence,

• Close your eyes and vividly imagine something you truly cherish. It might be the face of a loved one or a particular element in nature that holds special meaning for you.
• Take a calm and deep breath while gazing at the image. Try not to overlay memories or create additional imaginations within that still picture. Instead, immerse yourself in it. Life is the lens through which you perceive the things within you.
• Utilize the emotions evoked by this "visualisation process" and observe how tranquillity swiftly returns to your mind. Witness the improvement in your ability to concentrate on the present moments you are living.

Let your feelings flow with each deep breath you take, and relish the beauty of your vision.

2. Listening Technique

Silence is the inner voice that addresses you, thus:

• Close your ears and sense the sound gently coursing within your mind. Concentrate on the flow of that sound, whether your eyes are closed or open.
• Focus on your breath, distinguishing between the two sounds (inhale and exhale), and try to deepen your connection with them.
• Utilize the emotions stirred by this listening session and observe how tranquillity seamlessly returns to your mind. Witness the enhancement in your ability to cultivate mindfulness from the present moments you are experiencing.

Allow life to resonate within your emotions, and savour the harmonious rhythms unfolding within you.

3. Smelling Technique

Pleasant scents can amaze you, so:

• Bring a scent you truly love, one that touches you from within. Inhale it gently and deeply, focusing on the emotions it evokes.
• It doesn't need to evoke memories or spark any imagination; simply focus on recognising the emotions stirred by this scent.
• Engage your emotions and witness how calmness seamlessly returns to your mind. Experience the improved ability to focus on the present moments unfolding in your life.

Invite life back into your emotions and relish the magic of the scent.

4. Tasting Technique

Taste is shaped by personal preferences, thus:

• Choose a natural flavour you genuinely love, such as dark chocolate, jasmine tea, coffee, or any other flavour. Taste it and let your tongue fully savour the experience.
• Delve deeply into that flavour, observe the emotions it evokes, and recognise that this entire experience unfolds in the present moment.

Allow life to gently return to your emotions and relish the sweetness of the flavour you are tasting.

5. Touching Technique

Human hands have the power to heal, therefore,

• Begin gently rubbing one hand with the other, and observe the warmth generated from the friction.
• Gently rest your hands on your eyes or any other part of your head, and sense the warmth as it gradually spreads within.
• Experience the serenity within your mind through your hands, approaching this as an extended moment of mindful presence.

Allow life to gently return to your emotions and relish the energy bestowed upon you by those tender touches.

Meditation And Breathing Are Two Fundamental Techniques

All the mentioned exercises above are mindfulness practices linked to specific sensory awareness states. Breathing is a fundamental element, supporting the continuous meditation process and enhancing focus on sensory experiences throughout the practice.

Engaging in these meditation techniques can yield numerous benefits, guiding you through the following four stages:

1. Focusing attention on sensory perception.
2. Directing attention to the emotions stirred by sensory perception.
3. Restoring mental calmness through feelings.
4. Cultivating a connection with present moments during the process.

In Conclusion

You won't just learn how to restore calmness to your mind and focus on the present moments using this method. Instead, you will effectively grasp how feelings transform into emotions.

People frequently underestimate the importance of living in the present moment when it comes to understanding emotions and feelings. This oversight can result in a feeling of emotional imbalance. Yet, when emotionally connected to the current moment, you can effectively learn how to navigate any emotion or sensation that might disrupt the present moments you are experiencing.

With dedicated and persistent effort, you can achieve a heightened state of balance, nurturing both your insight and inner growth. This empowerment allows you to become the master of your emotions. By consistently employing these techniques, you will always possess the capability to restore tranquillity to your mind and centre your attention on the present, appreciating its every detail.