Reset Your Mind with Meditation

Starting a new year brings excitement and anxiety. 

There’s possibilities for new beginnings and adventures. But there’s also endings. There’s the high expectations we set for ourselves. And the fear of not accomplishing our new year’s goals.

All our fears, desires, and worries cloud our perspective on the year ahead. While setting goals is important, being too attached to outcomes leaves little room for the unexpected.

But when we make time to quiet our mind, we see the world in a new way. One that’s not tainted with biases from past experience. We see opportunities we never noticed before. We learn to become comfortable with not knowing exactly what will happen next.

Reset your Mind

Meditation is like pressing a reset button for your mind. It quiets all the noise in your head. Including the fears, worries, and judgements, and painful emotions tied to them. 

Much like a computer, our minds need a break too. When we stop and just breathe, we clear out the ‘cookies’ of our past.

In Zen Buddhism, this is called ‘beginner’s mind.’ Leo Babauta, founder of Zenhabits.net, describes it as “It’s dropping our expectations and preconceived ideas about something, and seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, just like a beginner.”

He advises, “Empty yourself so you can see what’s actually in front of you.”

Read Related: How to Mindfully Embrace Fear & Anxiety

Take in 2022 with Fresh Eyes

Start the new year with a set of fresh eyes. Be a blank slate. Forget about the failures of the past. Forget even about your triumphs. Why? Because we get attached to the good times too and then expect life to unfold exactly the same way again. This sets us up for disappointment.

Instead, allow yourself to try new things and make mistakes. Dive in with the enthusiasm of a child. Perceive with curiosity, rather than judgment. Reset your mind to look for opportunities instead of setbacks.

Make Space for the New

Osho was an Indian spiritual teacher and mystic. I love the way he described the ‘new’ as not something we can create, but that which happens spontaneously if we don’t resist it.

“You cannot bring the new into your life; the new comes. You can either accept it or reject it. If you reject it you remain a stone, closed and dead. If you receive it you become a flower, you start opening… and in that opening is celebration” (Osho, Courage).

He taught that life is always offering new opportunities. They’re constantly flowing to us at every moment. When we have a beginner’s mind we leave room for the unexpected.

“But to do nothing is not to cease to act; it is to act without will or direction or impulse from your past. The search for the new cannot be an ordinary search, because it is for the new – how can you search for it? You don’t know it, you have never met it… One has to start in a state of not knowing, and one has to move innocently like a child, thrilled with the possibilities – and infinite are the possibilities.” (Osho, Courage)

Read Related: 10 Calming Mindfulness Quotes to Relieve Stress

How to Practice

It’s important to set aside time every day to clear and reset your mind. Even several minutes of practice can have significant benefits. You’ll feel calmer and be able to release toxic emotions.

Here are some simple ways to practice:

1. Start with a simple meditation practice of 10-15 minutes every morning. Do this before starting your day. Find a quiet place free of distractions and sit comfortably. Focus on taking deep breaths while closing your eyes. Move your attention into your body and observe your breathing.
2. Spend quiet time in nature. This can be sitting on a park bench or going for a walk. Focus your attention on the beauty you see around you. Listen for relaxing sounds such as birds or flowing water. Even doing this for 5 minutes before a busy day will help to calm and center you.
3. Breathe and repeat a mantra. If you’re in a rush, this is a quick way to renew your mind. Take 3 deep breaths inhaling with your nose and exhaling out your mouth. Then repeat a mantra to yourself with the exhale of your next 3 breaths. My favorite mantra is ‘Let it go.’ Instead of words you could also hum a soothing sound or vibration.
4. A visualization: Sit or stand somewhere comfortably with your eyes closed. Imagine a soothing waterfall flowing over you and washing away all your stress, worry, negative feelings and thoughts. It moves from your head to toes cleansing your mind and body. Release pent up emotions and any tightness in your body.

So as we begin the new year, remember to let go of expectations and rigid thinking. Let go of the hurt and trauma of the past. The ideals of how you think your life should be.

Instead, reset your mind through stillness. It will create space to be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected. 

With consistent practice, we learn to embrace the new. We’re able to feel in awe again of the magic and mystery that is life.

Read Next: 10 Powerful Ways Mindfulness Changed My Life