Some of us think in words, others pictures, some both.
I'll circle back to this question: "When you go to bed, turn out the lights, roll over and get comfy....what goes through your head?" but I'll change the context.
Now I'm not asking how but exactly what.
Christa said she analyses her day. Tracey's voice just keeps on chatting. Mine does too. My inner voice chats about the future or gets stuck on one thing and beats that to a pulp.
But WHAT IF YOU DON'T WANT THOSE VOICES OR IMAGES? What do you think of to push them away? Do you have control over them enough to think of other things?
My solutions are many and my current solution is like counting sheep...only sort of worse. In the wake of grief, and a number of thoughts I'd rather not have in the dark of night, I have taught myself to think the alphabet...backward!!
If I can focus enough to do that, I can't think of anything else. A few dozen times and I'll fall asleep doing it. It is getting boring though.
I also have the ability to fantasize. I suppose we all do.
If I'm lucky, I can mentally project myself into a sort of self-made movie. Usually with someone I'm attracted to...usually with someone I've never met or will never meet. Movie stars or musicians for instance.
Let's call that a hold-over from teenagedom. (back when posters of Shaun Cassidy were on my walls)
I can put myself in imaginary instances and sort of write a story around it. This is nothing more than distraction and is rarely (really rarely) ever about anything but companionship. I suspect men do this with pretty women.(those that think at all before konking out) If they don't, they're really missing out. :D
Regardless, quieting my mind is not something I can even imagine. And that's another post in itself.
So, "When you go to bed, turn out the lights, roll over and get comfy....what goes through your head?"
Do you ever direct your thoughts away from what comes naturally? If so, how?
2 comments:
Sometimes I do redirect them, but I can't push them away with other thoughts...that just won't work at all.
Usually I'll focus on my breathing and end up counting breathes.
It is how you learn how to mediate and a very simple form of it, but with a bit of practise anyone can do it. Just count to 5 and then start over again. Or 3 will do too.
The thoughts will still be there but I don't get hooked on just one of them. Instead they'll just float by and in the end I'll fall asleep.
Maybe I have the advantage of more than 10 years of deep meditation in my backpack that makes this easier, but as I said, anyone can learn howto. The trick is to focus on anything but what's in that mind.
It's very effective :)
Good morning hon. (morning here anyway..and late as usual)
I've never been good at meditation. That stinking voice is pushy. hah
I did try counting breaths but that didn't work. I can, unfortunatley, focus on many things at the same time. Too many years of my previous business. I can type a conversation and talk an entirely different one at the same time.
So the breathing thing doesn't work for me, but the backward alphabet does because I have to really focus to make it happen. I'm looking for other things like that. :)
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