Thinkology

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” ~Albert Einstein

The brain is a very complex and intriguing thing. For the most part, we’d all have to agree that it still is one of the most misunderstood parts of the human body.

How humbling and fascinating the brain can be, when we realize just how much we use or don’t use it.

Medical science still has a very long way to go to actually grasp what all the brain can do. Although I think that it is pretty safe to say that we DO know tons more about now than we did say; one hundred years ago?

The subject that comes to mind here is the brain’s power and the usage of thinking. How long do we think? How do we think? Do we ever stop thinking?

From the research that I’ve read and collected, as far as the question of “Do we ever stop thinking?”, the answer is no. At least not while we are conscious. I’ve not yet fully grasped whether or not the brain ceases to think when a person is unconscious. But that is not the focus for this post.

So then, what are we to do when we believe that our minds are thinking TOO MUCH??

The perfect example would have been myself about twenty minutes before I began to write this. Thus the spur of the moment late night blog post.

In a span of sixty seconds or less, I literally was asking myself these questions:

• How hard is it supposed to rain tomorrow?
• Would it be okay to ask a neighbor to take me to the grocery store in rain come tomorrow?
• Will my friend call me at some point tomorrow?
• Do I have the right to ask for a definition every single time that I feel confused about what someone has said to me, in order to understand what they are meaning or feeling?
• Will I have time tomorrow to get some laundry done?
• How do I know when someone is being sincere if I cannot hear their words with their own voices?
• Is there a way that I can determine if someone is being sincere without inflection?
• Will it stop raining long enough tomorrow for me to actually do some laundry in the laundry room?
• Is someone thinking of me tonight?

Congitive Distortion rodeo, anyone?

I  just about had to say to myself outloud: STOP THINKING!!

So then, how do I do that? Because if I had continued to ponder these questions in my head then I probably would drive myself crazy. Mainly because I will not be able to get any answers for these questions UNTIL tomorrow!! And you know what they say, “tomorrow never comes”. But for sure the answers to these questions are not going to come until after a period of several hours of slumber.

There had to be a trick in order to stop myself from “stinkin’ thinkin’ “. That trick obviously had to be me saying “STOP THINKING!”. But only then, did I come up with the question: Does the brain ever stop thinking?

That question right there, caused enough distraction and re-focus to stop me from worrying and pondering about the previous set of questions that was going on in my head.

If we are worrying ourselves into an early grave because of questions we don’t have the answers for and drive faster towards that grave by dwelling on it, then we must find a way to shift the focus of our thinking. Since the brain never stops.

The best way to do that, is to some how or in some way distract ourselves from the original point of thinking, and concentrate on something ELSE.

If we are unable to do that, then I suspect that we’ll all be having appointments to talk to strangers while laying down flat on a red leather couch once or twice a week for the rest of our lives. Or if we know how to change our ways of thinking and just let it run free, then in time we could possibly expect to have our wardrobes cut down tremendously to where we are only wearing white jackets that zip and buckle in the back.

If you find yourself frustrated because you cannot stop thinking about something, look away at something else. Focus on that particular thing or object that your eyes just glanced at.

Another thing that you could do is to concentrate on a sound. Perhaps the soft sounds of your own breathing. Concentrate on maybe on a soft noise that is happening outside through a window or something going on in the other room. Concentrate heavily on that sound and go through everything in your head about what it is you hear. Begin to think about the different things that you are hearing.

Most of my own personal problems in thinking happen a lot at night. And I kind of believe that is a majority of my insomnia problems when they arise. If I can lay in bed and shift the focus on something else, then I shouldn’t have too much trouble with whatever it was that was causing the issue. But I am sure that for many, it’s easier said than done. It will take practice.

I know that I get totally frustrated when I am laying down and supposed to be sleeping and my mind will begin to think about certain blog topics that I feel that I would want to write about. The frustration comes in because I have to battle with myself about whether or not I really want to get up out of bed, turn on the lights, turn on my computer and then set everything up just to get that particular thing off my mind? I don’t a lot of the time because it will cut into the time that I could be sleeping. And so often times I will believe that I will save that for the following day. But a majority of the time after I have awoke, the desire to write about what I was stirring about in bed the night before is gone or I have completely forgot about exactly what it is that I wanted to write about in the first place!!

But this particular blog post caught me as I was getting ready for sleep tonight. So I thought that I would write about it now, rather than lay in bed thinking about writing it and then losing the desire to go ahead and try it in the morning. And I probably should go to bed now that I have written what I wanted, before my best friend reads this and gives me hell for being up so late.

So the key I think is distraction and the shift of focus whenever we begin to feel tense because of the fact that we feel that our brain just won’t stop thinking about certain things that drive us up the walls.

Training the mind to do that, will eventually release us from our temporary state of insanity.