At breakfast in a hotel dining room, one man complained of
a sleepless night. He had tossed and turned and was about as
exhausted as when he retired. "Guess I'd better stop listening
to the news before going to bed," he observed. "I tuned in
last night and got an ear full of trouble."
Another man spoke up, "I had a grand night. Of course, I
used my go-to-sleep plan which never fails to work."
I prodded him for his plan, which he explained as follows:
"When I was a boy, my father, a farmer, had the habit
of gathering the family in the parlor at bedtime and he read
to us out of the Bible. After prayers I would go up to my
room and sleep like a top. But when I left home I got away
from the Bible reading and prayer habit.
"For years practically the only time I ever prayed was
when I got into a jam. But some months ago my wife and I,
having difficult problems, decided we would try it again. We
found it a helpful practice, so now every night before going
to bed she and I together read the Bible and pray. I don't
know what there is about it, but I have been sleeping better
and things have improved. In fact, even on the road, as I am
now, I still read the Bible and pray. Last night I read the
Twenty-third Psalm out loud."
He turned to the other man and said, "I didn't go to bed
with an ear full of trouble. I went to sleep with a mind full of
peace."
Well, there are two cryptic phrases for you-"an ear full of
trouble" and "a mind full of peace." Which do you choose?
The essence of the secret lies in a change of mental attitude.
One must learn to live on a different thought basis, and
even though thought change requires effort, it is much easier
than to continue living as you are. The life of strain is difficult.
The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without
stress, is the easiest type of existence. The chief struggle
then in gaining mental peace is the effort of revamping your
thinking to the relaxed attitude of acceptance of God's gift of
peace.
As a physician said, "Many of my patients have nothing
wrong with them except their thoughts. So I have a favorite
prescription I write for some. It is a verse from the Bible,
'Romans 12:2.' I do not write out that verse for my patients. I
make them look it up and it reads: ' ...be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind. ...' To be happier and healthier
they need a renewing of their minds, that is, a change in their
thoughts. When they 'take' this prescription, they actually
achieve a mind full of peace. That helps to produce health
and well-being."
A primary method for gaining a mind full of peace is to
practice emptying the mind. At least twice a day, empty your
mind of fears, hates, insecurities, regrets, and guilt feelings.
To prevent unhappy thoughts from sneaking in again, immediately
fill your mind with creative and healthy thoughts. At
intervals during the day practice thinking a carefully selected
series of peaceful thoughts. Let mental pictures of the most
peaceful scenes you have ever witnessed pass across your
mind, as, for example, the silvery light of the moon falling
upon rippling waters, or the sea washing gently upon soft
shores of sand. Such peaceful thought images will work
upon your mind as a healing medicine.
Repeat audibly some peaceful words. Words have profound
suggestive power, and there is healing in the very
saying of them. Use a word such as "serenity." Picture serenity
as you say it. Repeat it slowly and in the mood of
which the word is a symbol.
It is also helpful to use lines from poetry or passages
from the Scriptures. A man of my acquaintance who
achieved a remarkable peace of mind has the habit of writing
on cards unusual quotations expressing peacefulness. He
carries one of the cards in his wallet at all times, referring to
it frequently until each quotation is committed to memory.
He says that each such idea dropped into the subconscious
"lubricates" his mind with peace. One of the quotations he
used is from a sixteenth-century mystic, "Let nothing disturb
you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes away except
God. God alone is sufficient."
There are other practical ways by which you can develop
serenity and quiet attitudes. One way is through your conversation.
In a group when the conversation takes a trend
that is upsetting, try injecting peaceful ideas into the talk. To
have peace of mind, fill your personal and group conversations
with positive, happy, optimistic, satisfying expressions.
Another effective technique in developing a peaceful
mind is the daily practice of silence. Insist upon not less than
a quarter of an hour of absolute quiet every twenty-four
hours. Go alone into the quietest place available to you and
sit or lie down for fifteen minutes and practice the art of silence.
Do not write or read. Think as little as possible.
Throw your mind into neutral. Conceive of your mind as the
surface of a body of water and see how nearly quiet you can
make it, so that there is not a ripple. When you have attained
a quiescent state, listen for the deeper sounds of harmony
and beauty and of God that are to be found in the essence of
silence.
Saturate your thoughts with peaceful experiences, peaceful
words and ideas, and ultimately you will have a storehouse
of peace-producing experiences to which you may
turn for refreshment and renewal of your spirit. It will be a
vast source of power.
a sleepless night. He had tossed and turned and was about as
exhausted as when he retired. "Guess I'd better stop listening
to the news before going to bed," he observed. "I tuned in
last night and got an ear full of trouble."
Another man spoke up, "I had a grand night. Of course, I
used my go-to-sleep plan which never fails to work."
I prodded him for his plan, which he explained as follows:
"When I was a boy, my father, a farmer, had the habit
of gathering the family in the parlor at bedtime and he read
to us out of the Bible. After prayers I would go up to my
room and sleep like a top. But when I left home I got away
from the Bible reading and prayer habit.
"For years practically the only time I ever prayed was
when I got into a jam. But some months ago my wife and I,
having difficult problems, decided we would try it again. We
found it a helpful practice, so now every night before going
to bed she and I together read the Bible and pray. I don't
know what there is about it, but I have been sleeping better
and things have improved. In fact, even on the road, as I am
now, I still read the Bible and pray. Last night I read the
Twenty-third Psalm out loud."
He turned to the other man and said, "I didn't go to bed
with an ear full of trouble. I went to sleep with a mind full of
peace."
Well, there are two cryptic phrases for you-"an ear full of
trouble" and "a mind full of peace." Which do you choose?
The essence of the secret lies in a change of mental attitude.
One must learn to live on a different thought basis, and
even though thought change requires effort, it is much easier
than to continue living as you are. The life of strain is difficult.
The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without
stress, is the easiest type of existence. The chief struggle
then in gaining mental peace is the effort of revamping your
thinking to the relaxed attitude of acceptance of God's gift of
peace.
As a physician said, "Many of my patients have nothing
wrong with them except their thoughts. So I have a favorite
prescription I write for some. It is a verse from the Bible,
'Romans 12:2.' I do not write out that verse for my patients. I
make them look it up and it reads: ' ...be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind. ...' To be happier and healthier
they need a renewing of their minds, that is, a change in their
thoughts. When they 'take' this prescription, they actually
achieve a mind full of peace. That helps to produce health
and well-being."
A primary method for gaining a mind full of peace is to
practice emptying the mind. At least twice a day, empty your
mind of fears, hates, insecurities, regrets, and guilt feelings.
To prevent unhappy thoughts from sneaking in again, immediately
fill your mind with creative and healthy thoughts. At
intervals during the day practice thinking a carefully selected
series of peaceful thoughts. Let mental pictures of the most
peaceful scenes you have ever witnessed pass across your
mind, as, for example, the silvery light of the moon falling
upon rippling waters, or the sea washing gently upon soft
shores of sand. Such peaceful thought images will work
upon your mind as a healing medicine.
Repeat audibly some peaceful words. Words have profound
suggestive power, and there is healing in the very
saying of them. Use a word such as "serenity." Picture serenity
as you say it. Repeat it slowly and in the mood of
which the word is a symbol.
It is also helpful to use lines from poetry or passages
from the Scriptures. A man of my acquaintance who
achieved a remarkable peace of mind has the habit of writing
on cards unusual quotations expressing peacefulness. He
carries one of the cards in his wallet at all times, referring to
it frequently until each quotation is committed to memory.
He says that each such idea dropped into the subconscious
"lubricates" his mind with peace. One of the quotations he
used is from a sixteenth-century mystic, "Let nothing disturb
you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes away except
God. God alone is sufficient."
There are other practical ways by which you can develop
serenity and quiet attitudes. One way is through your conversation.
In a group when the conversation takes a trend
that is upsetting, try injecting peaceful ideas into the talk. To
have peace of mind, fill your personal and group conversations
with positive, happy, optimistic, satisfying expressions.
Another effective technique in developing a peaceful
mind is the daily practice of silence. Insist upon not less than
a quarter of an hour of absolute quiet every twenty-four
hours. Go alone into the quietest place available to you and
sit or lie down for fifteen minutes and practice the art of silence.
Do not write or read. Think as little as possible.
Throw your mind into neutral. Conceive of your mind as the
surface of a body of water and see how nearly quiet you can
make it, so that there is not a ripple. When you have attained
a quiescent state, listen for the deeper sounds of harmony
and beauty and of God that are to be found in the essence of
silence.
Saturate your thoughts with peaceful experiences, peaceful
words and ideas, and ultimately you will have a storehouse
of peace-producing experiences to which you may
turn for refreshment and renewal of your spirit. It will be a
vast source of power.
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