7 Techniques for Improving Your State of Mind

This post was initially published on my primary website: sundaynewsletter.com

I’ve been employing these techniques for several years now, and they seem to have led to a marked increase in the quality of my state of mind. Of course, it’s can be tough figure out whether a relationship is correlative or causal, especially when it comes to one’s internal experience, and I’m sure that the introduction and elimination of other habits also contributed to my emotional elevation.

That said, these seven techniques are, to me, backed up by a lot of solid evidence. This evidence includes that derived from personal experience, from the anecdotes of others, and in some cases from scientific research. If you end up giving any of them a try, and feel so inclined, let me know how well they worked for you.

Note: When performing any of the following exercises, I recommend playing close attention to any sensations you experience within your body.

Active Forgiveness

This one can be tough, but it also feels great. To perform it, sit down, close you eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Then, think of a person against whom you still hold a bit of a grudge. Someone who you feel has wronged you. They might have laughed at your expense, turned you down, excluded you, not paid you back, broken up with you, etc. Simply picture their face, or mentally say their name, and then think to yourself, “I forgive you.” It can take some effort, and some shelving of pride, but whenever I do it, it makes me feel lighter.

Gratitude Journaling

It seems as though everyone and their mother has started doing this one. If you type “gratitude journaling” into the search bar, you’ll probably see countless sets of instructions for how to do it.

This is my technique:

Write three very simple and tangible things for which you are grateful, shortly after waking up. Here are some examples from past entries in my morning journal Evernote page:

• I’m grateful for the fact that I have access to clean water
• I’m grateful for the sky
• I’m grateful for the dream I had last night
• I’m grateful for music
• I’m grateful for my Mom
• I’m grateful for my Dad
• I’m grateful for my mind

Vipasana Meditation

This is another technique that has been enjoying rapidly increasing popularity in recent years. I actually really struggled with this one until the spring of 2019. I then had some very powerful experiences that made it far easier for me to drop into a meditative state. If you’d like to learn more about these experiences, shoot me an email and I’ll fill you in.

There are a seemingly infinite number of takes on how to do meditation, how to think about meditation, and how meditation does what it does. In truth, I don’t think anyone knows exactly why closing your eyes and focusing on your breath can lead to such a massive array of benefits. Neither, these days, do I really care. I just do it.

There are a couple variations on the practice of vipasana. Here are instructions to practice the way I do:

Sit in a chair with you eyes closed. Sit up straight, do not lean back. This will probably be a bit uncomfortable at first. That’s okay. Gently bring your attention to your breath. Some pay attention to the rising and falling of their stomach or chest. I usually pay attention to the feeling of the air as it enters and exits my nose. When you realize that your attention has drifted to something other than your breath, gently bring it back.

I’ve been doing this technique for a while and there are still many sessions in which my attention wanders for about fifty percent of the time (I usually meditate for 20 minutes every morning). Meditation is not about not thinking. In fact, I often have fascinating thoughts and insights during sessions. However, when I realize that I’m thinking, I bring my attention back to my breath. One can think about meditation a bit like a hike; there is nothing wrong with enjoying the view, but it’s important to remember to keep walking forward. In meditation, the view is your thoughts, and you walk forward by paying attention to your breath.

Unpleasant Experience Journaling

This one can also be pretty tough, however, it’s well worth it. The objective is to revisit experiences from your past, and to describe and analyze them. To do this practice, think back to memories that still bother you. Could be a time you were humiliated, failed, were embarrassed, lost someone, etc. First, objectively describe the experience (in a journal or by writing on your computer). Just write down what happened. Then discuss how it made you feel, and if applicable, what it taught you.

The scientifically proven benefits of this practice are borderline miraculous. They include boosted immunity, fewer visits to the hospital, and improved job performance. To learn more about what expressive writing can do, check out this lecture by Dr. James Pennebaker, given at Columbia University.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ1J9mrj9U4

Loving Kindness Meditation

Another great meditation technique, this one can be practiced pretty much anywhere, and can take as little as a minute to perform.

Here’s how to do it the way I do:

Sit down, close your eyes and imagine someone you know or know of. Picture them smiling, with joy in their eyes. Breathe. If you would like to, send them some loving thoughts such as “May you be happy,” “May you be strong,” “May you be healthy.”

Out of all the techniques on this page, Loving Kindness probably seems like the most wu-wu. Funnily enough, it’s also one of the techniques that is best backed by evidence. If you want to learn about the effects it can have, click here.

Emotional Release Technique

I first found this one on the internet, then had it recommended to me by a close family member with a background in the hard sciences. It takes a little more finesse to perform successfully than the journaling exercise, but can also do some pretty amazing things. The first time I did it, I cried for about ten minutes, and felt great afterward. Unfortunately, I often struggle to cry, so this was a pretty big thing for me.

You can read an excellent description of how to do this technique by clicking here. I decided to include this link rather than spell it out, because the description you’ll find by opening it spells out the exact way in which I perform the practice.

One variation is to set your alarm for around 3am, and perform the steps described in the link above at that early hour. It seems as though there is a stronger link between the conscious and the subconscious during that time of day, which can make it easier to access and experience emotions.

The Lie Rectification Exercise

This one is in some ways, the most difficult exercise on this list. To perform it, simply think about the people that you’ve lied to in the past, and who’s views of the reality are still distorted by your lies. Contact them, and tell them the truth.

I had a pretty interesting experience then I first tried this one over the summer.

There was one lie in particular that was really weighing on me. It was pretty innocuous, and had been driven by insecurity as opposed to maliciousness, but was still frequently on my mind. I messaged the person I had told it to, and told him the truth.

Two days later, I decided to take a nap. A few minutes after lying down, I experienced a strange sensation in my throat. It felt as though a massive amount of tension suddenly released. Ever since, I have found it easier to speak. Take from that what you will.