Mental chatter. Don’t you just love it? Yakkety-yak, goes the mind, all day long from the minute you wake up to the minute you fall asleep. The only time it isn’t chattering on is when you’re intently focused on something (usually something you really enjoy).
The problem with this mental noise is that most of it is negative. Out of the approximately 60,000 thoughts you have every single day, over half is negative - mostly centered on what is wrong in your life, what you don’t have, what you’re not experiencing, etc. etc.
So what happens when your mind is too noisy and negative? Your behaviors become reactive. You react to these potential threats with the standard stress response - fight, flight or freeze.
Here’s an example: let’s say you’re in the hole financially and constantly wondering how you’re going to make ends meet.
Instead of thinking creatively, you go into reactive mode:
You constantly do the mental math of income vs. expenses and stress yourself out worrying about how you’re going to solve that issue (although, when you focus your mental energies on the problem, ALL you can see is the problem, and not the solution). This is the fight mode - you are constantly fighting “what is” and wishing it away.
You go into denial mode (hiding/freezing) and avoid paying your bills.
You run away from the problem: exercise, drugs, alcohol, shopping (yes), TV, sex...
When you silence the mental chatter, you literally give yourself an opportunity to think PROactively instead of reactively.
Here are easy ways to silence the mental chatter during meditation. Do this every day in meditation and you’ll see how easy it really is to have blissful mental silence!
1. “Shhh” - just say “shhh” either audibly or silently, whenever a thought enters your awareness
2. Focus on your breath - the EXPERIENCE of the breath: how it sounds, feels, etc. When your mind wanders, acknowledge the thought and return your focus to the breath.
3. Turn your eyes upward and inward slightly, to your third eye. This has a remarkable way of silencing the chatter and activating a relaxed meditative state. It also helps to synchronize the 2 brain hemispheres.
4. Use a mantra - a spoken word or sound, to focus on. Every time your mind wanders, just gently bring your attention back. Examples are "Peace", "Love" or the classic "Ommm."
5. Actively listen to sounds in your environment. With your eyes closed, try to pick out as many sounds around you as you can.
6. Try to hear your heartbeat. Sometimes you’ll be able to; other times, you’ll just become attuned to the feeling of the heart beating, but you can imagine the sound it makes. Very soothing!
You can use these methods any time your mind is racing with worry or anxiety, too! It’s a practice best developed in meditation but it will help you anytime you feel stressed!
These are methods to a simpler more fulfilling life from Steven Johnson, Founder of Brain Research Institute.