Resting the mind for someone like me, with a specific neurological disorder, involves lowering brain electrical activity and excitability by actively reducing stress and prioritizing high-quality sleep. I get very tired when my mind simply did not get enough rest.
Sleep doesn’t come easy; I have to break the chain of thought–the cognitive processing pathway- which often takes me to another world. This process needs to get cut before getting a good night’s sleep.
My mind has often got stuck in the loop of thoughts and memories, which is very hard to reset and break the chain with good and soothing mind work. When the bad memories and assumptions are once picked up in the loop, it is tiring and exhaustive in nature.
If it is disruptive, then it denotes abnormal electrical activity in the brain, which leads to unwanted outcomes. I have wrote a little about my broken brain in one of my book titled Intractable – going by the name of clinic I have often visited. If you knew it, you knew it by now.
There were times when the interference of this thinking process is so vast that all the previous vivid memories get tangled with the current scenario, thereby causing unhappiness and not appreciating the people around.
I have often struggled hard to cut down this interference to get peace of mind. When I can slowly trim down this process, it slowly puts my mind to rest, but never completely.
High stress levels release hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which can overstimulate neurons and act as a primary trigger to the disorder. Then, I tried all the therapeutic practices advised by the practitioners and rendered my heart more into the Psalms of King David.
Finding Rest:
Whatever is the case, I always try to find rest in the word of God, taking refuge and reflecting on the Psalms of David and the dark times faced by Jeremiah, which conspired to his Lamentations.
I am not an adorable person; my wife understands me a lot since she is a medical professional. Yet it made me feel bad to be in this condition. My hard work to remain normal wasn’t up to the mark many times. Yet I don’t want to feel bad, as it was never a choice for me.
The theological course that I enrolled in to process my thoughts rather in the word of God than in suppositions and finding fault in the stars of ourselves and our history makes me find rest in Jesus. “I will give you rest,’ says Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30
The more I invest my time and thought process in theology, I find more rest, which transforms into comfort.
Breaking the chain of thought:
Stopping the thought process, putting away the current story, mind game, and thought process before bed has always been a struggle for me for the past two decades until now.
Sometimes the biological and psychological process by which the brain transforms fragile, temporary short-term memories into stable, long-lasting long-term memories. It is my temporal lobe that is affected.
Another time, the repeated firing of neurons strengthens the connections between brain cells, making the pathways stronger, enabling the chain of thought to be harder to break.
Thus, it is good for me to put it into words so that it can get straightened out at its finest.
However, it also causes gaps in autobiographical or factual recall, which is sometimes the downside of becoming a good writer, although I have published several works and books, all written and formatted from start to finish.
A resting place:
The resting place, in the Bible, is often referred to as Zion, the temple, or the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. It is the place where God dwelt among his people. 1 Chron. 28:2
For the Israelites secured a physical resting place from their enemies after years of wandering to the Promised Land.
As for me, I am still a sojourner and a wanderer; my resting place is thinking of all the good things God is doing within that I cannot see, but in his providence, his purpose will be revealed.
This is not a mere déjà vu, this time around, but a realization that God is my resting place and my strong tower.
In the midst of the pilgrimage, it provides spiritual peace in God. Passages like Psalm 23:2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, and Psalms 37:7 describe an inner calm and trust, where a believer’s soul finds quietness away from fear and stress
The offer of Rest:
Irrespective of what we have been through, Jesus offers peace and relief for your mind and spirit.
We often feel tired from hard work and stress because of life problems, thereby making us weary and burdened. Jesus uses the metaphor of a yoke to mean a way of living. His way brings peace instead of heavy pressure. Matt. 11
Even when Jesus rested in his hectic ministry, he still cares for us. His presence is more than enough to save us from dying and/drowning as mentioned in Mark 4:38-41
Managing to get rest:
The goal-directed attention, planning, and keeping thoughts to be back on track, for someone like me, is unbearable at times. The ability to manage daydreaming, mind-wandering, and internal self-reflection has to be put off for the day.
Filtering out background noise and flagging what is important rather than the intrusive abnormal thought causing derailment in focus has to be trimmed. I understand it seems like a small matter to someone who never experiences all these, but it has been a daily battle for someone like me.
God gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly. Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:29-31
So, I would like to take a moment to thank you for your support and consistent prayer that we find peace in God in our walk of life. I felt blessed to underwent all the good and difficult path of life’s journey; I do not know what lies ahead, but I know for sure that God personally care for me!