What does “Quiet Time” mean to me?
How does it help an individual to cope with stress?
Initially, I wish to provide a definition of quite time.
Quiet Time is simply having the luxury of peace in solitude. It is being in a state where the person enjoys an environment nil devoid of noise, literally and figuratively, and disturbance. With the help of stimulators, one can indulge emptying his/her mind with cares and matters of the day even briefly, talk to oneself or with a divine being like God, or sing songs that soothe the nerves.
Quiet time is engaging in calming activities that are mostly associated with religious practices like prayer, meditation, yoga, chanting or bible reading and journaling. After going through the quiet time processes, there is a feeling of being relaxed and assured that problems will be taken care of. On one hand, quiet time is like soliciting the presence of a force or an invisible super power anchor that we can count on to. It develops faith for the unknown or the known (God). On the other hand, quiet time is also the best time for planning mundane things whether short term as in the next 24 hours, or long term as in week or months.
Remedy for Stress
I believe that quiet time is an antidote for stress! It is imperative to hold back once depression sets in. Quiet time serves as a solution that will help the spirit and body to become happy and wholesome. Keep in mind that stress can affect the body adversely. Thus, it is necessary to pause for a while and do the following things:
- LOOSEN UP
- MEDITATE OR REFLECT
- PRAY
- THINK
Stress comes from inside. It is important that any individual who is affected by stress must be able to react to such situations. This is why each one of us must FIND TIME TO HAVE AT LEAST 15 MINUTES OF QUIET TIME ON A DAILY BASIS.
If possible choose a quiet place, very comfortable posture, open approach or outlook, and focus on meditating. In this way, you can deal with challenges caused by STRESS.
Other Benefits:
Having a set quiet time should be made an integral part of one’s daily grind, especially these days when we live at a time and place of highly competitive rat race to survive the jungle of existence. We should be determined to spare a short 10 to 15 minutes of ‘me time’ even before we open our eyes. Once we wake up and get up, our minds will start working, to mentally calculate the activities of the day, the people we need to meet, bills to pay, challenges to face.
Quiet time will enable us to condition ourselves mentally and physically. We can breathe in strength enough to sustain us in our waking, working hours until we wrap up the day.
Peace of mind is elusive for people who are stressed. Quiet time is one way of reducing the stress levels that our body absorbs every day.