How Do We Purify the Mind?
Energy Flow's Impact on the Mind
Research suggests that our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health directly impacts our energy systems and vice versa. For example, not drinking enough water can cause tension in the sacral energy center. This center is associated with the water element and fluidity of the gross physical body. Essentially, tension in the sacral energy center can limit vyana (water) life force energy (prana) from circulating throughout our energy systems. Blockages like this can impact our bladders, other organs, and our overall systemic balance — leading to the psychological manifestation of thirst and the physical manifestation of dehydration.
Let’s not forget about mental trauma. Mental trauma is often defined by the intense emotional and physiological energy it generates, like fear, shock, and anger. If mental trauma is not fully processed — transformed into an object of love and understanding — it can become stuck or frozen in the energy centers and nadis (Law of One, 46:8-14). This can also create blockages that stop the natural flow of life force energy, leading to physical symptoms like muscle tension and anxiety disorders. Negative emotions can also act like a spiritual vacuum. They can attract misaligned, lower-vibrational energy which can be leveraged by those with not so good intentions to gain influence and power.
We mention all of this to suggest that our state of mind is intimately linked to our life force energy flow. Ergo, when the mind is clear, calm, and focused it can direct the energy system (energy centers, nadis, energy fields, etc.) so that life force energy will flow optimally through nadis and energy centers. And as our energy centers and nadis become clearer and function more optimally, our minds can become more purified. This creates an optimal energy cycle that puts us in a more conducive state for spiritual evolution.
Perhaps this is why it’s suggested that we become more mindful about how our energy systems function and their influences. There are even methodical approaches devoted to this like astrology, Human Design, and fixed energy constitution codes. And once we better understand our energy systems, it’s to infinity and beyond! Well, maybe not quite. But it can put us in a more optimal position to purify our minds. So how does one purify the mind? Let’s consider the mental practices and methods we can use which can impact the mind more directly. This includes meditation and mindfulness, both of which have become experiential practices for us.
Meditation to Purify the Mind
Meditation Defined
What exactly is meditation? Meditation is a scientifically proven, ancient practice that helps us focus and/or quiet the mind. Or as Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Guru, Yogi & Humanitarian) explains, meditation is a journey from sound to silence, movement to stillness, and limited identity to unlimited space. Aside from purifying the mind, we’ve also practiced meditation to achieve inner peace, mental clarity, increased energy, spiritual connectedness, better sleep, and decreased anxiety. We won’t delve into the plethora of meditation techniques and types out there, but there are two types that resonate with us.
Controversial associations aside, one type could be considered transcendental meditation (TM) or sahaj samadhi meditation. These types of scientifically-proven techniques focus on a more natural, effortless expansion of awareness using personalized mantras or charged sounds. According to both Tony Nader (MD, PhD) and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, these types of techniques allow our active thinking minds to naturally settle down to quieter levels of thought until we experience greater inner peace and calm. Specifically, TM is said to produce an elevated state of consciousness or a state of restful alertness that’s different from waking, sleeping, and dreaming states.
The second type of meditation that resonates with us focuses more on fixating our attention or concentration (focused attention), like with shamatha (calm abiding) meditation or Qigong. This type of meditation is more inline with the Bhagavad Gita (6:10-15) which devotes an entire chapter to meditation. The gist is that we should focus the mind in meditation with single-pointed concentration on an object, like the breath — controlling all thoughts and activities. This is said to cultivate a mind that is stable, clear, and undisturbed by distractions.
Meditation Practice to Anchor the Mind
- Choose a single object of focus – This could include the breath, mantras, visualized images, or even Source.
- Situate oneself in a seated position – This could include the easy yoga pose (sukhasana), lotus yoga pose (padmasana), or simply sitting upright holding the body, neck, and head firmly in a straight line.
- Focus attention – Place attention solely on the object. If the object is breath, one could even note inhalation (in) and exhalation (out).
- Sustain and return – When our mind wanders, return our attention to the object without judgement. This repetition strengthens our concentration.
Mindfulness to Increase Awareness
Mindfulness Defined
What is mindfulness (open monitoring)? We hear this word a lot. The most basic definition of mindfulness is being fully present in the moment. It’s also been described as paying attention to the things we experience, leaving the past in the past, and choosing peacefulness in every action, thought, feeling, and response. Baba Ram Dass (Guru, Yogi, Psychologist, 1931- 2019) explains that mindfulness is one of the practices for slowing down our lives. It helps us find a way inside and concentrate on awareness. Easier said than done, right?
Buddhist teachings explain that mindfulness is being aware of what’s present. Like feeling the sensations of our feet touching the ground while walking. It explains that with mindfulness, we can create space between a stimulus and our response. And in that space, we have the freedom to choose a wiser, more compassionate response rather than a response driven by old habits and auto-pilot reactions. Mindfulness is consistent with certain meditation practices where one observes sensations and mental phenomena without judgment (detached awareness), like vipassana meditation (insight meditation) explained in Buddhist teachings.
Vipassana is translated as clear seeing and it means to see things as they really are — seeing through illusion experientially, not intellectually. It’s the practice of investigating the true, temporary nature of material experience, specifically the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering, and non-self. Essentially, one would establish mindfulness, observe the three marks of existence, and cultivate equanimity in every experience.
Mindfulness Foundations
Buddhist Learning For All explains that there are four foundations of mindfulness:
- Mindfulness of the Body – grounding our attention in the direct, physical experience of the body so that the body acts as a stable anchor to the present moment
- Mindfulness of Feelings – recognizing and observing the pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral feeling of every moment of experience before the mind or intellect categories it to trigger our behavior
- Mindfulness of the Mind – observing the temporary state or quality of our awareness without becoming or being defined by it, such as saying there is confusion or the mind is confused rather than I am confused
- Mindfulness of Mental Objects – using the five hindrances, five aggregates, six sense spheres, seven factors of awakening, and four noble truths as frameworks to examine our present moments — moving mindfulness from simple awareness to insight
Mindfulness Practice to See Clearly
Buddhist Learning For All provides great examples for how to put mindfulness into practice. For example…
SCENARIO
Let’s say we are working in our office and a loud noise occurs. After hearing the noise we feel a jolt of tension in our shoulders. What could we do to practice mindfulness?
HINDRANCE INVESTIGATION
- Investigate the unpleasant feeling that we heard to understand what and why it’s happening.
- Label the feeling as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral which slowly deconditions our automatic, reactive judgments. In this case, the feeling would be considered unpleasant.
- Realize that the mind is becoming startled and irritated rather than “I” am becoming startled and irritated.
- Identify the specific hinderance toward the noise-maker. A hindrance is a mental state that obstructs our ability to see clearly. In this case it could be ill will — our mind’s aversion to or irritation towards unpleasant experiences. Ill will creates a sense of separation, like me against them or wanting something to be different.
- Recognize at least one awakening factor that is absent. Awakening factors are interrelated mental qualities that help us realize inner peace and insight. In this case the awakening factor could be tranquility.
CONSCIOUS RESPONSE
- Take a deep breath to ground the body. This cultivates mindfulness of the body.
- Accept the unpleasant feeling as temporary and fading…it too shall pass. This cultivates mindfulness of feelings and wisdom towards the nature of impermanence.
- Release the irritated state of mind. This cultivates mindfulness of the mind and wisdom towards the nature of suffering.
- Relax to cultivate tranquility, mindfulness of mental objects, and wisdom towards the nature of the self.
Not too bad, right?
Integrated Meditation & Mindfulness Approach
Buddhist teachings suggest that a mind that is calm but not insightful is like trying to perform delicate surgery with a steady hand but dull instrument. Whereas a mind that is insightful but not calm is like trying to perform delicate surgery with a shaky hand but sharp instrument. Neither one of those options would be ideal, right?
Could the key lie in an integrated approach to purify the mind? Perhaps first we calm or stabilize the mind — through meditative practices like shamatha — so that we can become more aware of the impermanent nature of our sensations, feelings, and thoughts — through mindfulness practices like vipassana. This integrated approach is said to lead to fearlessness and the realization of liberation. Afterall, a scattered mind can not see things clearly.
Regardless of which approach one takes, one thing all of these practices seem to have in common is that the more we perform them, the more our gaze will become faultless, as explained in Autobiography of a Yogi (36:297). Check out our Zen Den for a few of our favorite meditations and techniques.
Conscious Thinking to Purify the Mind
Respond Rather Than React
Another way to purify the mind which resonates with us is to consistently have the right thoughts. BK Shivani (Spiritual Teacher) is one of our go-to resources for practical advice on conscious thinking. Essentially, she suggests that we train the mind to respond with positivity rather than react with negativity. This is corroborated in the Bhagavad Gita (17:16) which encourages us to cultivate the mind with rich and noble thoughts, while weeding out the negative and debilitating thoughts. Weeding out negative thoughts also serves another purpose. It helps to ensure that those with not so great intentions don’t gain power from the negative energy generated by our distress.
The Law of One (5:1-2) also offers practical advice for dealing with negative emotions and destructive thoughts like anger. Like BK Shivani, the Law of One stresses the importance of responding with love and understanding versus fear and anger. The Law of One also suggests we should perceive, understand, and accept negative thoughts instead of controlling or repressing them — except when they could result in actions inconsistent with the Law of One (52:7). Buddhist traditions even suggest changing our physical environment immediately after a reaction since our brain can associate emotional states with physical spaces.
Transmuting Negative Energy
What if accepting negativity means transmuting (transforming) it into positivity — or as Buddhist traditions explain, reframing the negative as positive? Whereas, controlling negativity means leveraging it as a means to manipulate others. How would one go about transmuting negative energy? The Kybalion (C15:215) explains that we can transmute undesirable energy by concentrating on the opposite polarity, like transforming fear into courage. But when that doesn’t happen, the next best thing is to process our negative thoughts and emotions.
Christina Lopes (DPT, MPH, Heart Alchemist) also offers great advice on processing, circulating, and transmuting energy. This is essential for lightworkers and energy alchemists. Christina stresses the importance of ensuring energy doesn’t become stagnant, helping others understand how trauma is stored in the nervous system. She suggests transforming negative, lower-vibrational energy into positive, higher-vibrational energy — as opposed to simply eliminating, reflecting, or blocking the negative energy. This ensures we’re never wasting energy.
Not wasting energy or allowing it to become stagnant is consistent with Buddhist teachings which stress that we should develop the discernment and mindfulness to know when to allow energy to pass through us rather than block, return, or retain it — making a distinction between carrying what’s ours versus someone else’s.
Holistic Approaches to Purify the Mind
Ayurveda & Holism
As previously suggested, our energy systems and gross physical bodies can also impact the mind. So maintaining an optimal energy system and gross physical body can also help to purify the mind. This is why holistic approaches resonate with us. Ayurveda is considered one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems and is said to be at least 5,000 years old. It focuses on treating the root causes of imbalances that lead to mental and physical diseases. This is consistent with Edgar Cayce’s (Clairvoyant & Healer, 1877-1945) holism approach. Edgar saw total health as the coordination between the physical, mental, and spiritual components of life.
In terms of holistic practices, Ayurveda and Edgar Cayce both suggest focusing on proper diet, exercise, and sleep. The Bhagavad Gita (18:51-53) offers similar suggestions, including relishing solitude, controlling our bodies, minds, and speech, engaging in daily sadhana (meditation, prayer, or yoga), practicing dispassion, and living a balanced life.
Holistic Programs & Courses
In terms of holistic approaches, there are also specific methods that consists of breathwork (pranayama), body discipline, and mental control through meditation. For example, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Guru, Yogi & Humanitarian) offers the Art of Living SKY, or Sudarshan Kriya™ course. Through 100+ independent studies, this course has been shown to lower stress levels, improve mental clarity, and provide a greater sense of inner peace.
Another breathwork-based method is kriya yoga. According to Autobiography of a Yogi (26:207-210), kriya yoga can help us control life force energy as well as neutralize decay and mutations in the body. Ergo, it can be used as a shortcut for quickening spiritual evolution. Consider this fellow souls. One-half minute of kriya yoga is said to equal one year of natural spiritual progression. Wow, right?
Sadhguru (Guru, Yogi & Mystic) also offers Inner Engineering. Inner Engineering provides an assortment of meditation, chanting, and yoga tools that has helped us experience greater emotional balance, focus, stability, and improved health. It can also help one establish a solid foundation of exuberance and a chemistry of blissfulness within, leading to a more joyful, fulfilling life.
The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) offered the eightfold path (middle way) which focuses on purifying the mind of the ten fetters (unhealthy mental habits) and looking within to stop suffering (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, SN 56:11). The eightfold path has been divided into three groups of practice:
- Morality or Ethical Conduct (shila) – right speech, right action, and right livelihood
- Meditation or Mental Discipline (samadhi) – right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration
- Wisdom or Insight (prajna) – right view and right intention
Other Notable Mentions
Other holistic practices that resonate with us include:
- Experiencing kirtans, devotional chanting, singing, and inspirational music for a greater sense of connection
- Being in nature for grounding, spiritual retreats, and exercise, including hiking and biking
- Smudging with sage, burning incense and oil lamps, and lighting essential oil-based candles to cleanse energy
- Visualizing, affirming, and manifesting our thoughts into reality
- Using crystals (Law of One, 2:3) and Solfeggio frequencies for self-healing
- Participating in sound baths to relieve tension and anxiety
- Expressing gratitude for the good, bad, and in-between
- Sending out positive, high-vibrational energy and blessings to other fellow souls
See what floats your boat!
