You probably woke up this morning and your thoughts started spinning.
Thoughts about your past and thoughts about your future.
Thoughts about your self and thoughts about the world
Thoughts about your fears and thoughts about your dreams
Very rarely is there that quality of silence.
Very rarely is the mind quiet, not chasing after some thought, some impulse or reacting to a stimulus
Very rarely are we at peace
The mind needs to be quiet in under to function. If it is constantly reacting and trying to solve daily problems, pondering over life’s travails, confronted with war and crime and greed it gradually but surely wears out. It might even stop functioning properly or even break down.
The longer it is within this circle of conflict the more difficult it becomes to break out of it. And the longer it goes on, the more normal all of this seems. After all, everyone seems to be stuck in all of this mess.
Often I see people who have become completely dependent on this stream of thought. After they wake up, they turn on the radio or turn on the music. Sometimes they have just barely gotten out of bed and are already starting to watch one of their favorite TV shows or series.
There is no break in the that stream of thought. From the moment they close their eyes to the moment they open them again, there is that noise, that constant chatter. Even in the sleep this goes on and manifests itself as dreams. Dreams are also that stream of thought, although they may also be more.
Only very rarely does that stream of thought stop. It may be in an extraordinary moment of beauty when the mind becomes briefly quiet. The chatter stops and there is only that otherness. That which cannot be described. When there is beauty we may feel overwhelmed with something that feels completely new, completely fresh and unspoiled. The chatter stops for that moment and the mind becomes quiet.
In such a moment the mind starts to rejuvenate. It recovers from the constant tear and wear of that stream of thought. That constant battle with itself and the world.
I almost always wake and begin recording my dreams because I feel these are wisdom for me, from me.
Aside from that, I have a FB friend who asked his friends/followers what they'd looked at first upon waking and that he'd bet most picked up their phones. I can't remember his exact words, but he challenged others to look at SKY before SCREEN and that has stuck with me and is something I do most days.
So, I guess what I'm attempting to say here is that our actions have a lot to do with our corresponding thoughts, and for me, it's easier to control the outside actions. Would be interesting to know how others experience their incessant thinking.
thanks for your input @kimberlylane :)
That sounds like a good idea, looking at sky before screen! I have lived most of my life without a smartphone, and only recently have I noticed that I sometimes look at my phone now as the first thing that I do after I wake up. So I'll stop doing this again as it really isn't a good way of standing up.
But yeah, it is important to realize that the constant chatter is not very helpful. Ever since I have noticed that it has become less as well-- and sometimes it even stops ;)
Not sure I've ever been able to stop my thoughts entirely--close though, and I know how nice that feels. Gave you an upvote, but I'm afraid it gives no $.
Like you, I was late to getting a phone. A friend of mine bought my flip a few years back because she wanted to be able to get a hold of me. I still like to leave it home when I go out into nature. I do have a smart one now, as I had to use it in the classroom for tech because school funding is so low.
thanks, I gave you a follow :)