Quieting the Mind

I am an advocate of meditation. Having practiced it, I find it most beneficial for me in solving problems, and in helping me see things from the eyes of love and gratitude. As a Muslim, prayer is also a form of meditation, in fact, it is in my opinion, meditation in its most complete form, if done properly, that is. However, sitting in silence, focusing on my breath as I watch my thoughts bubble up, is really something I love to indulge in. It is the best, and the only way to make a shift towards positive thinking. Sometimes, focusing on the breath alone is sufficient to shift our thoughts from resentment about things that don't go our way towards a feeling of gratitude..grateful that we are still alive, because we would realise that it is this breathing that is the gift that keeps us alive..this seemingly mechanical involuntary act of breathing is the greatest gift that we cannot buy with all the material wealth in the world..what a wonder..what a gift..what a blessing

This is something I received in my email about quieting the mind. It is from Susan Gregg, a Toltec guru.

Our mind certainly does seem to like to talk a lot. Problems arise
when we believe what it says. One way to think about quieting the
mind is to think about installing a screen saver. When I am not
using my computer it sits quietly on my desk and if I don't use it
for a while it shuts off.

A great way to quiet our mind is by simply focusing our attention
on our breath. Instead of thinking about it actually focus on
feeling your breath as it goes in and out of your body. If we
practice quieting our mind often enough eventually it will shut off.

She's also done a really nice video to help you meditate here