How to stop constant mind chatter?

[Pacman]

Any ideas on how to make my mind stop thinking about future scenarios that may never happen? They aren't even negative mind chatter.

 

I realize this has been going on my whole life and life would be so much better if I can just live in the moment. It's actually getting in the way of my professional life and I need it to stop.

 

'm not anxious nor am I depressed. I am simply coming up with scenarios that may not even happen.

[sam light]

One should keep speculations to a minimum when you don't have enough hard facts to work with.

[SunnyWeather]

look into some mindfulness practices that bring you into present time awareness.

[Buddhist]

You can't basically. Even Zen monks who train for years will tell you this is just what the mind does. I believe the idea isn't to stop the chatter but to prevent yourself from listening to it and zoning out with it. To pay attention to your environment and where you are now. Immerse yourself in that. Mindfulness is about sending your attention outwards instead of inwards. Inwards and we are adrift in the mind, outwards and we are immersed in the now moment.

[thecd]

Here's something different for you.

 

I highly recommend reading Carlos Castaneda's books. He talks about techniques that involve practicing cognitive dissonance and saturating your awareness. Consider it a form of meditation if you will.

 

I'll give you an exercise you can try that is guaranteed to work. Might seem silly but stick with me.

 

So sit in a meditation pose. Just be comfortable, relax your breathing. Make sure that when you breath you take full breaths from your diaphragm. Look straight ahead of you and first try and see everything you can possibly see in your vision at once, notably the extremities to your left and right. Try and see both at the same time, staying calm. It will take some focus and right away you'll notice your internal dialogue go down as you try. This next part might be tricky at first and give you headaches, but just shake it off and try again. We all have the ability to look through each eye independently. What you want to do next is cross your eyes to the point that you see everything double (a perfect double) and then hold that position while at the same time trying to see everything in your vision at once, WHILE breathing slowly and in control. After about 3-4 breaths doing this, you'll notice a difference in your internal dialogue, it should disappear because you are saturating all of your senses. If it doesn't then saturate it further by feeling your skin everywhere on your body, imagining a taste of something, etc...

 

Eventually with practice you can train your mind so that the moment you cross eyes and look this way your internal dialogue shuts off. And with discipline you will learn to disassociate yourself with your thoughts. You are not your thoughts! You are not your brain! This is the biggest misconception of our times. Eventually you can just watch your thoughts pass like clouds, unattached. This is known as the sorcerers gaze and there are multiple uses for it.

 

Alternatively maybe you should just try a super hot yoga session on a weekly basis.

Edited June 30, 2016 by thecd

[bummer]

The above ideas are great.

 

Key is consistency and focus to any mindfulness or meditation technique. Do it daily or more, do it as fully as you can. If you get five minutes twice a day that's progress. if you get interrupted just try later. Guided meditation audio on YouTube is a good start.

[Satu]

Meditation and mindfulness are all you need.

 

There will always be thoughts, but you can learn to be more focussed on the here and now.

 

Look around you, touch things, taste things, smell the flowers.

 

 

Take care.