is there anyone who can actually do this? i'm aware of the importance of it but damn if i can stop my wandering brain. anyone have suggestions, book recommendations, etc?
I haven't tried any of the ideas, but the book How To Raise an Indigo Child has helpful ideas, as well as Witch In The Bedroom. I'm going to work on that.
Not all the time and not easily like breathing, but yes, I can do this. Don't know how helpful the rest will be for you, but in the simplest form it comes down to lessening multitasking and focusing on what you are doing right here right now. Yes, the highly praised multitasking has to go because when you do it you don't pay full attention to any one task (unless you are naturally born Gaius Julius Caesar of course). If you feel that two different activities are competing for your attention, acknowledge the distraction and drop/stop whatever is less important right now. Same applies to doing one thing while thinking about something else, especially when you are engaged with people who matter to you.
If it's just a wild train of thoughts in your head that takes you for the ride against your will irregardless of how much you have on your plate, it's a whole different problem that's harder to solve (not that the first one was actually simple). In this case you subconsciously identify yourself with your mind that processes thoughts, with your consciousness that possesses you and pretends to be the whole you. Remember how Descartes said "I think therefore I am?" It's a very obtrusive mirage, but you can shatter it if you remember that many things that really matter (peace of mind, love, creativity, appreciation of beauty) come from your unconscious. None of that is defined by thoughts. But the logical part of the brain can't accept that, it struggles to control everything and fails miserably at that on a daily basis. The racing thoughts that drive us crazy are signs of that failure.
You may find a lot of good and very practical advice that addresses this problem in the books of Alan Watts and the Zen Master D.T. Suzuki, but I can't point to any specific book that would have all the information in one place. So I will tell you what helps me, it comes both from practice and reading and it won't necessarily make much sense since it's not easy to put these things into words. When my brain starts to wonder too much, I remind myself that all this thinking isn't me, it does not define me, I can break away from it. From this point, it's easier to let the thoughts flow on their own without being entangled in them. So they do their own thing, and I can get to the task at hand or at least actually see what's in front of me. It's like stepping out of the rat race realizing that I don't have to be a part of it if I don't want to. Wondering thoughts don't actually stop, they just become less of a distraction. Someone somewhere wrote about watching the thoughts and the thinker in you that processes those thoughts. You are not those thoughts, and you are not the thinker, you don't have to equate your existence to thinking, you are more than that. If all this is clear as mud, let me know. I will try to explain better.
~~~~~~~ CoffeeOwl
I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. ~ Author unknown ~
Posts: 4828 | Location: Outskirts of Silicon Valley, California | Registered: April 05, 2006
i knew our dear owl would have some wonderful words of wisdom! thank you for taking the time to post dear lady! thank you, too, lisa, for the book suggestions.
some quotes i'd written in my beloved book of quotes i made; "even when you are walking along a path leading into a village, you can practice being fully awake... if you are awake, you will experience the path, the path leading into the village. you practice this by keeping this one thought alive - 'i am walking along the path leading into the village.'" ~thich nnat hanh, vietnamese buddisht monk from "being peace" 1987
"bringing the mind home" ~ buddhism's term for being fully present during even the most mundane of tasks, mindfulness.
i struggle with this because i have such a chaotic life with a husband on shift work, a 6 year old in first grade with a lot of friends who like to come over, 9 month old twins, 4 dogs and 2 cats and i do it alone, for the most part, since lucifer's schedule is so insane. someone ALWAYS needs or wants something from me and there's precious little time to just be. but those needing and wanting my attention are the most important things in my life so i don't mean to dimish them either. i think i'm seeking some balance for myself. this latest nasty cold w/an ear infection that forced me to see the doc (and actually ask lucifer to stay home from work to help me) is a sign it's taking its toll on me yet i don't have a way to step off this crazy carousel.
Originally posted by CoffeeOwl: Remember how Descartes said "I think therefore I am?"
Y'know, when Descartes went to a restaurant, the waiter asked him if he'd like dessert. He said, "I think not." And *POOF* he vanished!
Sorry...couldn't resist the old joke...
I dunno if this is any help, but at one time, my mother was ordered (by her doctor) to actually lay down in bed and try to relax completely for at least an hour a day. She was always upset and uptight about everything - mole-hills became mountains, to her. (Case in point: I'd be 5 minutes late, and it wasn't because I stopped and BS'd with someone, or stopped to pick up some milk on the way home, or maybe there was extra traffic - she'd have herself absolutely convinced that I was laying dead in a ditch somewhere! No other explanation was possible!) She'd lay down in bed, but her mind would still be going a million miles a minute! Doctor gave her a suggestion: when she'd lay down, concentrate on the number "One". Literally, envision the number, mentally say the number breathing in, and then again breathing out. Just focus completely on the number one.
When I find myself in bed and unable to sleep (cuz the brain's racing), I either do that ("one" - and am asleep quickly!), or I call the Wonderkitty up (she always joins me in bed, anyway!), and put the TV on a "snowy" channel (white noise is a good distractor, too!), and focus on petting the cat. Feel/hear her purring, noting her tail movement...very relaxing.
Don't know if that's of any help...
Posts: 1092 | Location: middle of nowhere, NY | Registered: April 05, 2006
