advice on slowing down the mind needed

[prplchknz]

SO I can't get stuff done, because my minds goes so fast and when i'm about to start the task at hand my mind is 5 tasks ahead and than i get distracted by something, and I can't slow my thoughts down, I have a mantra "relax" and sometimes that works but not always. I thought about learning how to meditate but right now i don't think i can. I get nothing done to very little and i need to be productive but i can't slow my mind down enough right now.so any advice would be good.or if it's not racing its obsessing over something preventing me from moving forward. i get stuck or go to fast there's no inbetween. there's no idle speed for me.

 

[cafe]

For stuff I don't have to think about like household chores, audiobooks help me a lot. They keep my mind occupied while my body is on autopilot and I don't get a bright idea about something else I want or need to do.

I don't have any good solutions for stuff you actually have to think about, though, like filling out paperwork, making phone calls, etc.

 

[prplchknz]

For stuff I don't have to think about like household chores, audiobooks help me a lot. They keep my mind occupied while my body is on autopilot and I don't get a bright idea about something else I want or need to do.

I don't have any good solutions for stuff you actually have to think about, though, like filling out paperwork, making phone calls, etc.

thanks I'll try that.

 

[Mole]

The Walking Meditation

As you probably realise, the mind can't slow down the mind. So we need to trick it into slowing down.

The mind wants to go somewhere so we start walking. But with rat cunning we don't go anywhere: we just walk up and down, up and down, for about twenty minutes.

On the one hand the mind feels it is going somewhere but in fact we are walking in the same spot.

Surprisingly the mind is fooled by this and starts to relax, and then enters a reverie. We don't notice the time passing, and before long, we find we are relaxed and refreshed.

 

[Rail Tracer]

[MENTION=360]prplchknz[/MENTION] have you tried listening to some slow music? Maybe classical or ambient noises. Basically, instead of going on a tangent with many things, you slow down your thinking, which would be as fast as the music you are listening goes. The slower the music, the slower your mind will go.

I find that my mind slows down a bit for me to concentrate when I listen to something slow.

Something like this helps me concentrate more than something like this.

 

[prplchknz]

[MENTION=360]prplchknz[/MENTION] have you tried listening to some slow music? Maybe classical or ambient noises. Basically, instead of going on a tangent with many things, you slow down your thinking, which would be as fast as the music you are listening goes. The slower the music, the slower your mind will go.

I find that my mind slows down a bit for me to concentrate when I listen to something slow.

Something like this helps me concentrate more than something like this.

i can try but it races when its silent

 

[Rail Tracer]

i can try but it races when its silent

Yeah, I should of waited to correct my post first.

What I was going to say is that, not having any music while concentrating on something like reading a book is just as disruptive as having energetic music (for me.)

There are sounds that you can focus a little on, but it isn't enough to be disruptive to what you are concentrating on. So it might work for you, just need to find the appropriate music for you.

I've been doing it with my Bose headphones for some time now.

 

[prplchknz]

Yeah, I should of waited to correct my post first.

What I was going to say is that, not having any music while concentrating on something like reading a book is just as disruptive as having energetic music (for me.)

There are sounds that you can focus a little on, but it isn't enough to be disruptive to what you are concentrating on. So it might work for you, just need to find the appropriate music for you.

I've been doing it with my Bose headphones for some time now.

i will experiment

 

[ygolo]

SO I can't get stuff done, because my minds goes so fast and when i'm about to start the task at hand my mind is 5 tasks ahead and than i get distracted by something, and I can't slow my thoughts down, I have a mantra "relax" and sometimes that works but not always. I thought about learning how to meditate but right now i don't think i can. I get nothing done to very little and i need to be productive but i can't slow my mind down enough right now.so any advice would be good.or if it's not racing its obsessing over something preventing me from moving forward. i get stuck or go to fast there's no inbetween. there's no idle speed for me.

Breathe.

Count how long it takes to inhale, and how long it takes to exhale.

Hold your breath between inhalation and exhalation.

Count how long the pause.
Keep doing this process counting the total number of cycles you've gone through in addition to time of your breaths.

Extend time of your inhalation and exhalation cycles by three seconds.

Go through 100 long cycles.

That works for me. It distracts, then focuses my mind, while relaxing my body.

 

[the state i am in]

when focusing on the breath, don't try to control it, just notice it. pay special attention to the exhale, which is where you really release your thoughts and open up to whatever arises. doing a body scan is really helpful to bring you back into your body (victor is right in saying that the mind can not slow down the mind, and so reconnecting with the body is really the best thing you can do). you might check out binaural beats as well. it's kind of like a brain massage. i personally meditate, and i find that to be one of the most helpful practices that a person can pursue. there's also something called 10 breath qigong which is a little more proprioceptively active, immersive breathing/movement exercise that is great for racing mind, insomnia, etc. some yoga poses are really good too (a yoga practice is probably the best long-term thing, along with meditation, that you can use to prevent racing mind from spiraling out of control).

cutting through racing thoughts to feel your feelings more directly is really the best goal. if you have too much energy, you might need to release some of it by doing something physically active first, because you might not have the fine-grained awareness to connect with your body at all until some of the noise passes.

 

[WALMART]

Have you been following the advice about cutting back on caffeine?

 

[Lexicon]

SO I can't get stuff done, because my minds goes so fast and when i'm about to start the task at hand my mind is 5 tasks ahead and than i get distracted by something, and I can't slow my thoughts down, I have a mantra "relax" and sometimes that works but not always. I thought about learning how to meditate but right now i don't think i can. I get nothing done to very little and i need to be productive but i can't slow my mind down enough right now.so any advice would be good.or if it's not racing its obsessing over something preventing me from moving forward. i get stuck or go to fast there's no inbetween. there's no idle speed for me.

Chickens,

..yer cut off.

 

[prplchknz]

Chickens,

..yer cut off.

I wasn't even drinking coffee when i made this thread

 

[Lexicon]

I wasn't even drinking coffee when i made this thread

Yeah, I was just poking.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Run or lift weights before. It calms down your body, which will calm down your mind.

You can also try studying in a place with a lot of stimulation like a coffee shop.

Both work for me.

 

[prplchknz]

You can also try studying in a place with a lot of stimulation like a coffee shop.

I end up eavesdropping on other people's conversations and even if there were no conversations something else would grab my attention. I'm not very good at just sitting and focusing when there's background noise.

 

[Mole]

I end up eavesdropping on other people's conversations and even if there were no conversations something else would grab my attention. I'm not very good at just sitting and focusing when there's background noise.

It's hard for Westerners to sit still so try walking meditation.

 

[prplchknz]

It's hard for Westerners to sit still so try walking meditation.

oh i'm good at sitting, just not focusing

 

[Thalassa]

oh i'm good at sitting, just not focusing

Try guided meditations on yogaglo or myyogaonliine. They have entire sections that are meditation only, all different kinds.

I remember that you hate yoga, though. I swear there are just meditation videos in the meditation sections.

 

[Mole]

oh i'm good at sitting, just not focusing

OK, you can focus the mind with any repetition.

I prefer to think of something I like or want and repeat it over and over.

So say the word over and over for twenty minutes. Your mind will get tired and start to go to sleep and you are meditating.