I have so many thoughts that I'm not in control of.

[Foggy]

I didn't realize this until I started practicing meditation, but I don't even notice half my thoughts. I am constantly thinking, without even meaning too, and most of the time my thoughts are redundant, unfocused, and completely irrelevant to what I'm doing. For example, today I went to pick blue berries with my brother and he picked about 3 times as many as I did. I was paying careful attention to my thoughts, and noticed that when I directed my focus to picking I picked way more, but after a short while I would return to a state of absent minded picking. My thoughts weren't even important; I have a bad habit of "chasing my tail" with thoughts where my internal dialogue never leads me to any conclusion and often I just think the same thing over and over.

I want to know how people here organize there thoughts. Disorganized thinking leads to disorganization in other areas of your life. Do you always think directly about what you're doing? How do you make sure you don't get lost in your thoughts? When you are thinking about something, how do you organize your thoughts so that they lead you to a conclusion instead of in circles?

[Tim Brownson]

You haven't got any thoughts you're not in control of, it just seems that way, but you create them all.

Everybody pretty much has the same issues as you do when they start meditating and it's a case or practicing just like anything else you want to become skilled at.

[Dreamline]

Yeah, don't be too hard on yourself. Mindfulness takes some people, whose only job is practicing mindfulness, a lifetime. Monks and the like.

Some people just aren't cut out for that NOW way of thinking. You almost have to already be fairly calm and centered to master it. The zingy, type A, hyper-scattered person can probably still benefit from attempts, though.

I'm curious as to what you intend to gain from this way of being?

If I think about how I think, I'm pretty sure that I have more gaps in my thinking than scattered thoughts. In essense, I can have out-of-control thoughts but mostly if I am not focused on a task, my mind naturally defaults to a blank state or "wait" mode, like a computer that isn't being tasked. It's obviously still working on things on some level, but not bouncing all over, randomly. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. But it's certainly not annoying, I can vouch.



Jennifer

[jamesbiz]

Originally Posted by Dreamline

I'm curious as to what you intend to gain from this way of being?



Jennifer

doesn't thinking about gaining something take you right out of the NOW way of thinking?

[Dharma]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I want to know how people here organize there thoughts. Disorganized thinking leads to disorganization in other areas of your life.

Ummmm, I'd say disorganized thinking is a signpost that shows you the disorganization... it doesn't lead to being disorganized. The 'disorganized' is already there, the thoughts show it to you mentally.

(side note: if you think being disorganized is 'wrong', you've got something else to work on too )

Originally Posted by Foggy

Do you always think directly about what you're doing?

If my mind wants to put something forth, I steer it to here and now. Yes, I think 'I'm doing the dishes', while I'm doing the dishes instead of... 'I haven't heard from my girlfriend in a while, wonder what's up with that?'.

Originally Posted by Foggy

How do you make sure you don't get lost in your thoughts?

Practice. I used to set the countdown timer on my watch to go off every minute to remind me to check on my thoughts and be in the moment. After doing that for a while the mental check happens automatically now. If I go off on a tangent, it is usually a few moments before I reset back to here and now.

Originally Posted by Foggy

When you are thinking about something, how do you organize your thoughts so that they lead you to a conclusion instead of in circles?

I don't believe my thoughts. Not one bit unless I'm using them to tell me if I'm walking into KMart vs. Walmart. I'm a fan of Byron Katie's 'The Work' and use it to keep myself clear when my thinking gets foggy.

[Dreamline]

Sounds like a lot of work.

Maybe it comes naturally to me. I can't say my mind doesn't drift doing meaningless, rote tasks that can you do without thinking. I consider those moments gifts. You can get nice planning done, say mantras, prayers, affirmations. Practice conjuring joy. Admire your garden out the window. How big the neighbor's kids are getting.

I think being in the moment, every moment is overrated, personally. But I mostly am.

But I do focus on the dishes when I am doing them, to some degree. I mostly feel a strange gratitude. I love my dishes. I am happy I chose these forks, spoons, knives. I'm pleased that I don't feel the need to keep a mishmash of kitchen stuff like my family back home. My simplicity pleases me. I like that everything has a place in my kitchen and that I don't own things I don't use. I'm pleased at how fast I can clear a mess.

But what if you did dishes for a living, ten hours a day, five days a week? Would you still think it was a good idea to be "in the moment?" I'd probably last an hour before I found a better use for the most complicated computer known to the universe: my brain. I'm pretty sure I'd be pondering more than where I left the sponge.

Jennifer

[Foggy]

You haven't got any thoughts you're not in control of, it just seems that way, but you create them all.

Yes, I am capable of controlling them but at this point I feel it's such a habit that I create them subconsciously.

Originally Posted by Dreamline

I'm curious as to what you intend to gain from this way of being?

If I think about how I think, I'm pretty sure that I have more gaps in my thinking than scattered thoughts. In essense, I can have out-of-control thoughts but mostly if I am not focused on a task, my mind naturally defaults to a blank state or "wait" mode, like a computer that isn't being tasked. It's obviously still working on things on some level, but not bouncing all over, randomly. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. But it's certainly not annoying, I can vouch.



Jennifer

My mind never returns to that blank stage... it's always running some degree of thought clutter through it. I am hoping to accomplish more efficiency because I am frustrated by how long it takes me too complete tasks.

Ummmm, I'd say disorganized thinking is a signpost that shows you the disorganization... it doesn't lead to being disorganized. The 'disorganized' is already there, the thoughts show it to you mentally.

(side note: if you think being disorganized is 'wrong', you've got something else to work on too )

Thank you for all your advice. I like your idea of having a countdown timer - sounds like something that would be worth a try. There is nothing inherently wrong with being disorganized but at this point in my life if I don't become more organized and more present I am going to drop out of school which is not something that I want.

[Inspirations]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I didn't realize this until I started practicing meditation, but I don't even notice half my thoughts. I am constantly thinking, without even meaning too, and most of the time my thoughts are redundant, unfocused, and completely irrelevant to what I'm doing. For example, today I went to pick blue berries with my brother and he picked about 3 times as many as I did. I was paying careful attention to my thoughts, and noticed that when I directed my focus to picking I picked way more, but after a short while I would return to a state of absent minded picking. My thoughts weren't even important; I have a bad habit of "chasing my tail" with thoughts where my internal dialogue never leads me to any conclusion and often I just think the same thing over and over.

I want to know how people here organize there thoughts. Disorganized thinking leads to disorganization in other areas of your life. Do you always think directly about what you're doing? How do you make sure you don't get lost in your thoughts? When you are thinking about something, how do you organize your thoughts so that they lead you to a conclusion instead of in circles?

Hi Foggy,

Your thoughts are very special, as they are part of you!

They are not disorganized or wrong - they come from a part of yourself that is trying to share something with you...

Your spontaneous thoughts that activities trigger, give a glimpse of your inner beliefs that lay beyond your everyday conscious awareness. They are instrumental in showing the path to heal and resolve your life obstacles.

For instance; Say you heard yourself worrying about the weather or what other's would think if you didn't pick as many berries as your brother. You can follow these thoughts to their cause in your unconscious mind - a memory of being caught out in a bad storm, or being laughed at because you couldn't do things as good as your older brother might be scenarios that are discovered when you replay the hidden movies. You can then resolve the issue (cause of your mind chatter) and voila, silence. Then you would pick berries and hear yourself dreaming up fantastic recipes for these delicious berries.

If you consciously pay attention to your spontaneous thoughts, like you mention, of course they will lead you in circles (and increase the drama and emotion of situations too). It is impossible to reach conclusions or find answers when consciously thinking about thoughts that originated in your unconscious mind.

But that is viewed as the purpose of our minds - to analyze and think about our problems. But hey, all this does is drive people crazy!

Another purpose of our wonderful mind chatter is due to our internal protection method.

Say you were bitten by a dog when you were just a little child. Your wonderful mind decided that it needed to do something to keep you safe, so you would never have that terrifying experience again. Whenever a situation arises that could involve dogs or risk your safety (according to your over-protective mind), it screams out as loudly as it can. “Don’t go for a walk without a big stick”, “There is a dog ahead, so cross the street”, “Ask Johnny to play at your house because there’s a big dog at his.” Then your mind used the adrenaline of fear to alert you to possible danger, so you not only hear the warnings, but feel them too. This is a true story by the way.

The point is, that your mind chatter, while being totally unrealistic for this particular situation, is your mind’s misguided way of doing all it can to protect you from physical and emotional hurt, because it cares.

While it is impossible to permanently shut down mind chatter (like ignoring a child, they repeat their demand louder and louder) as it does have an important purpose , you can silence it temporarily, because you are going to resolve it's cause when the time is right.

1. When you hear unwanted chatter, listen then thank it for its warning (remembering that it is trying to protect you), tell it that you will take care of this topic when it is the right time, and then firmly tell it to silence.

2. Absolutely refuse to listen to it, and then say the 6 times table back and forth 3 times (1×6=6, 2×6=12, etc), to activate your logical mind (mind chatter can’t operate while you are thinking about logical things).

3. Have 5 activities that involve your logical mind on hand at all times, ready to do as soon as you have silenced the chatter. For example; read an intriguing book, talk to a friend on the telephone, surf for new itouch apps.

Btw, the only reason you hear thoughts is because you are thinking instead of feeling. When you feel activities, you feel the joy of life, then it is impossible to think about other things because you are so engrossed with the experience.

[RN-Calgary]

Thanks Dharma

Practice. I used to set the countdown timer on my watch to go off every minute to remind me to check on my thoughts and be in the moment. After doing that for a while the mental check happens automatically now. If I go off on a tangent, it is usually a few moments before I reset back to here and now.

I read this and wanted to try it out. I have never done this before. Have done the 15 minutes log but it gets so boring. Also you may spend several 15 minutes before you are on track again.

I don't have a watch but I downloaded this software today and it works great.

TimeLeft - Free clock, reminder, countdown, stopwatch, timer, sticker, auction watch and time synchronization utility using Winamp skins to show digits and text. Just need to find a better sound tonight.

[Dharma]

Thanks for that link. I'll check it out.

My practice with my watch (most any Timex Ironman has the countdown timer) happened a lot while driving. Staying present while driving was a major challenge for me. As soon as I started moving my mind was off in its own world. The main thing I noticed from practicing was that the time between the minutes felt longer and longer. Sometimes I had to check my watch to see if it was still working. The perception of 'space' in that one minute got larger and larger.

[kwicherbichen]

Foggy, I know exactly what you mean. This is why I thought I was going insane. I somehow could not organize my thoughts in any shape form and fashion. No matter how clean my room was or how often I looked at my planner. I felt like "WTF??!!!" in my head. It felt like chaos and panic. Nevermind not being able to focus. I didn't even care about that because it really DOESN'T matter as long as you get out of things what you want. I just wanted to ****ing quiet down up there for once.

I decided to buy a really cute little journal thing from Hot Topic. And in there, I write all my ideas down. Ideas that come to me during class or during work or whenever.

I found that a lot of my thoughts were things like "OH! I SHOULD TOTALLY DO ______!!". When I wrote it down, I would remember it and do it. In the past, I would think it and think it and think it and never remember to do it so I'd think it some more.

Its gotten to the point where I have done a lot of things that have been in my head. I think I had recurring thoughts. My head is much quieter than it used to be...

I still have recurring thoughts because I have projects that take longer than a few minutes on google or a phone call to fix. I want to build my dress stand. I want to change my shower head. I want to upload my youtube videos. I want to make a website. Yada, yada. And I want to them at the SAME TIME. Do you get that? You want to do multiple things and just wish so much you can multitask and finish them at the same time?

This is an overwhelming feeling and I end up doing NONE of these things. I am still not doing it because I'm sitting here reading this interesting forum. But I really need to learn to just do things ONE STEP AT A TIME. Really need to learn how to slow down... When I do it one step at a time, I feel so much better.