The exercise of doing nothing
One day I realised I had become a compulsive thinker. Each waking moment, I was thinking of something to be done, or bought, or needed to be said. If I was not thinking I was planning, or I was worrying. If nothing else, I would catch myself day dreaming about things that I would love to have in my life. And if not day dreaming, I was reading or listening to music. There was no end to it. I was constantly asking my mind to do something, or to process some kind of audio, visual or sensory input. Almost as if I had put my mind on a treadmill that would never stop.
The relentless thought process had a telling effect. At the end of the day, I would feel fatigued and exhausted, even if I had done nothing physically demanding. My physique suffered, consequently my mental image of myself suffered, since I no longer thought of myself as an appealing personality. Pretty soon, I was headed towards a negative complex, where I started believing not many people would find me likeable.
It was not obvious that all these negatives had stemmed from mental fatigue, and yet, that precisely had a large role to play in the decline of my physical and mental health. I had stretched my mental muscles too far, without giving them a chance to relax.
That was when I remembered something about a relaxation technique I had read about in my teens. The technique was simple : you had to try and do nothing and think of nothing for some time each day. Before applying the technique, it was essential to run a test to find out whether you are a compulsive thinker: What would you do if you were asked to wait in an empty room for some time, with nothing else at all to do. Would you be able to just sit, and wait the entire time, or would you start going over something, and try to find something to do just to pass your time? Would you force your mind to think about something? If yes, then you may have just realised that you are driving your mind crazy by compulsively thinking.
There are many reasons people think compulsively. For some its a defense mechanism to prevent negative thoughts from entering their mind. Some do it without realising that they have not given a moment's respite to their brain, because they have so many things to cram into one day. Whatever be the reason, it is damaging to the brain in the long run. And then the mind reacts by reporting fatigue. When you feel fatigued, your mind is telling you it needs to shut off. The body may not experience any exhaustion at all, but your brain cannot take the strain any longer. You may have experienced that when you just fall asleep while watching TV after a busy day.
Meditation is the best way of helping your mind relax, but many people find excuses not to practise it every day, so to get started there is an even simpler exercise: doing nothing. Quite simply, it means just that - doing nothing, and thinking nothing for a few minutes once every few hours each day. You could be travelling in a bus, you could be in a restaurant, waiting for your food to arrive, or you could be at the shopping center. All you have to do, is shut off your mind to any thoughts whatsoever. You may find out that its a hard thing to do, after having spent a lifetime as a compulsive thinker, so initially you may benefit by trying it out in a silent room.
All you have to do is let go of all thoughts. There is no need to even focus on your breathing, In fact, the whole intention is to focus on nothing, because focussing causes the mind to exert itself. Instead, you let your mind go blank, maybe for only a few seconds initially. As time goes by, this will change, and slowly, you should be able to tell your mind to go blank and stop thinking at will. Be it in a doctor's waiting room, or at the mall while you are waiting in line at the cash register. Such self-imposed bouts of mind-blanking lead to mental relaxation, because now your mind gets a chance to reorganize itself, and it can focus better once you start working again.
There is no tried and tested method for relaxation, but I have found this works the best for me. If you know of anything better, do post it here.
The relentless thought process had a telling effect. At the end of the day, I would feel fatigued and exhausted, even if I had done nothing physically demanding. My physique suffered, consequently my mental image of myself suffered, since I no longer thought of myself as an appealing personality. Pretty soon, I was headed towards a negative complex, where I started believing not many people would find me likeable.
It was not obvious that all these negatives had stemmed from mental fatigue, and yet, that precisely had a large role to play in the decline of my physical and mental health. I had stretched my mental muscles too far, without giving them a chance to relax.
That was when I remembered something about a relaxation technique I had read about in my teens. The technique was simple : you had to try and do nothing and think of nothing for some time each day. Before applying the technique, it was essential to run a test to find out whether you are a compulsive thinker: What would you do if you were asked to wait in an empty room for some time, with nothing else at all to do. Would you be able to just sit, and wait the entire time, or would you start going over something, and try to find something to do just to pass your time? Would you force your mind to think about something? If yes, then you may have just realised that you are driving your mind crazy by compulsively thinking.
There are many reasons people think compulsively. For some its a defense mechanism to prevent negative thoughts from entering their mind. Some do it without realising that they have not given a moment's respite to their brain, because they have so many things to cram into one day. Whatever be the reason, it is damaging to the brain in the long run. And then the mind reacts by reporting fatigue. When you feel fatigued, your mind is telling you it needs to shut off. The body may not experience any exhaustion at all, but your brain cannot take the strain any longer. You may have experienced that when you just fall asleep while watching TV after a busy day.
Meditation is the best way of helping your mind relax, but many people find excuses not to practise it every day, so to get started there is an even simpler exercise: doing nothing. Quite simply, it means just that - doing nothing, and thinking nothing for a few minutes once every few hours each day. You could be travelling in a bus, you could be in a restaurant, waiting for your food to arrive, or you could be at the shopping center. All you have to do, is shut off your mind to any thoughts whatsoever. You may find out that its a hard thing to do, after having spent a lifetime as a compulsive thinker, so initially you may benefit by trying it out in a silent room.
All you have to do is let go of all thoughts. There is no need to even focus on your breathing, In fact, the whole intention is to focus on nothing, because focussing causes the mind to exert itself. Instead, you let your mind go blank, maybe for only a few seconds initially. As time goes by, this will change, and slowly, you should be able to tell your mind to go blank and stop thinking at will. Be it in a doctor's waiting room, or at the mall while you are waiting in line at the cash register. Such self-imposed bouts of mind-blanking lead to mental relaxation, because now your mind gets a chance to reorganize itself, and it can focus better once you start working again.
There is no tried and tested method for relaxation, but I have found this works the best for me. If you know of anything better, do post it here.
posted by Dream Runner | 7:22 AM
1 Comments:
Interesting read.
I had realised lately how my mind/brain was acting like a monkey - jumping from 1 thought to another, and in the process tiring itself with absolutely no result. Like I read somewhere - "Worry is like a swing; it keeps moving but takes you nowhere."
Time to try some relaxation techniques...
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