Prior to the pandemic, stress, mental health, and overall wellbeing may not have been important global health concerns, but they undoubtedly are now.
There has been a significant increase in worry and suffering worldwide as a result of the uncertainty that has crept into every aspect of our lives. Personal, societal, and financial ramifications of not knowing what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month, or even next year, have been profound.
How to accomplish it is a question that I have heard throughout the past 30 years of teaching, coaching, and consulting. Most people struggle to get the desired results while knowing what they should do. This is where martial arts teach through practical experience how to cultivate and employ what I’ll refer to as Martial Mindfulness in the modern world.
Through the teaching of Yin and Yang, No Mind has been well known and practised in Eastern philosophy for hundreds of years. With the rising exposure and use of Traditional Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture, Tai chi, and even Qigong activities, the Yin-Yang sign has gained popularity in the West recently. It is frequently understood to represent a balance between two extremes, such as negative and positive. What is not recognised is that there is a point in philosophical teachings known as Wu Ji, or the still point. a tranquil area of No Mind that offers a feeling of focus and clarity.
In training, fighting, or daily life, mushin is reached when a person’s mind is free of thoughts of rage, fear, or ego. Because judgement and straying thoughts are absent, a person is completely free to react to a circumstance, a person, or an adversary without hesitation or being hindered by such ideas. At this point, a person depends on their trained natural reaction (or instinct) or what they feel intuitively, rather than what they believe should be the next step. When the mind stops somewhere when it is in the condition of “flowing,” the flow is interrupted and this interruption results in unexpected effects for the well-being. The mind may be said to be functioning at a very fast speed.
The idea of having no mind is typically defined as having a mind that is empty of thoughts. This is frequently thought to offer a foundation from which you may unwind and gain insight into matters that might be having an affect on your life.
The mind needs something to focus on, else it behaves like a child who is acting out in order to get attention. By giving your mind only one item to concentrate on, you can discover the actual meaning of No Mind and create a stress-free environment by removing the noise and static that are continually present.
We all experience a lack of time, money, and resources, which constantly stresses the central nervous system of your body and, as was already established, triggers the Threat response from the SNS (Sympathetic Nervous System), which creates the stress hormone cortisol.
This might result in hypervigilance and/or tunnel vision, which can cause you to miss important details or even distort them to suit your desired end.
The PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System) must be activated in order to trigger the “Rest, Relax, and Recharge” response, which lowers blood pressure, pauses breathing, lets blood flow from your limbs back to your brain, and turns off the creation of cortisol. This enables you to think logically and sensibly, to see things for what they are, and to gain clarity.
Humans have a tendency to bring their instinctive, unconscious biases, emotions, and assumptions to the table when dealing with job circumstances and social encounters, which always affect the results before anyone has even spoken.
As everyone of us has discovered, the way the brain processes new information results in our busy minds. Although it has occasional benefits, it more frequently gets in the way of effective listening, communication, and teamwork. The condition of No Mind can be quite helpful in this situation.
You can get clarity, distance from the present, and a bigger picture of what is going on by putting oneself in a state of No Mind.
This promotes rational reasoning and reduces the propensity to let your emotions take control of your thoughts. Emotions are significant, but they have a tendency to distort reality and cause spontaneous, counterproductive responses rather than more thoughtful, measured ones.
No Mind enables you to respond wisely and successfully by using your inner wisdom and intuition by viewing a problem from all angles rather than simply from your point of view. When your mind is clean and unbiased, you are able to be fully present and very attentive in the moment. So that you can make logical and moral decisions with integrity, you may connect with your emotions and act with compassion.