Thoughts on Incessant Thinking

This is a re-blog of an earlier post. I dedicate it to all of us who are getting tangled up in our thinking today.

oo0O0oo

In the highs and lows of life do you find yourself stuck in over analyzing and incessant thinking? When the mind gets tangled up?  This quote from Eckhart Tolle catch my attention and got me thinking …

“It is when we are trapped in incessant streams of compulsive thinking that the universe really disintegrates for us, and we lose the ability to sense the interconnectedness of all that exists.”

~ Eckhart Tolle

I believe our brains are build for analysis, but when we keep analyzing something that doesn’t have a clear and logical answer, then we end up with “incessant streams of compulsive thinking”.

Imagine Spock or Data  from Star Trek trying to work out if we will find our soul mate, or if our children will be happy at one college or an other, or whether we should have married Chris from Middle School instead, or what a co-worker really thinks about us, or whether the stock market will bounce back next week ……

Whenever there are factors that are out of control and we are emotionally attached to the situation, we are likely to get stuck in incessant circular thinking.

When we allow our brain to go into overdrive trying to solve insolvable problems, we not only lose our ability to feel connected, we become self absorbed and withdrawn. Our “problem” takes on a life of its own and we lose our sense of balance and place in the world.

I hope you can relate to this, and it isn’t just me who lies awake at night trying to solve problems that don’t have the answers yet ……

What can we do about it?

1. The first step is to recognize when it is happening. Over analyzing  can become so common that we think it is normal and there is no alternative. Not true. Research is showing that being mindful of the present moment is the antidote to incessant streams of compulsive thinking.

2. Get out of your head and let go of what is not solvable right now.

I like to think of it like cooking a meal. Put some things on the back burner to simmer and let them do their thing.

Let your unconscious and inner intuition work on this in the background. Stop stirring for now. Yes – STOP stirring it!

Your mind wants to keep stirring because that’s what it wants to do …. but you have a choice.

3. Let it be and come to your senses. Here are some suggestions to find balance once more from an earlier post.

Coming to your breathe and moving your body are essential elements here. In my own experience, yoga and meditation can make a huge difference. You may want to explore different avenues for yourself. One client of mine knows taking a shower will help them. Not so easy at work, but helpful at home!

Its often surprising when the answer shows up for you. In my experience, its usually when I wake up in the morning or when I am in the shower, of after Savasana in a yoga class.

Let your mind have a different focus and then rest it so you can access your own inner wisdom. Your mind may tell you its a waste of time, because it wants to keep stirring…. Let your inner wisdom guide you instead.

p.s. the photo is of porridge being stirred by a traditional spurtle. The spurtle is made for stirring , and like our mind with practice, we can stop it when we want to!