Do people stop their thoughts?
I think so? I especially wish I could do it at night, it's so hard to fall asleep when your brain refuses to turn off. I am so envious of people who can just shut their eyes and have no thoughts and fall asleep in a couple of minutes.
I've noticed that when I can fall asleep, the mind keeps working on its' own but I slowly stop paying attention to it, like it's talking in the background and I'm zoning out. I start by gently focusing on my exhales.
Then suddenly the mind will take me on a trip, without me even realizing it. I'm asleep.
Some nights, I do "count sheep", but with lists, like:
"Five world capitals that start with the letter B", or
"Twenty movies with Robert De Niro"What helps me is leaving on a show I've seen before. Something you enjoy but not something that surprises you. X-Files, Classic Twilight Zone, House works for me.
I think a lot of people can chill naturally instead or chilling briefly and through immense focus. Must be nice.
Sometimes I can if I do breathing exercises. It loses efficacy if I do it too much though.
Sleep. Pretty much the only time for me.
I lay down, put on a narration, and at some point my memory cuts out and it's the next day. Nothing happens so far as I recall between losing consciousness and waking up.
This is why I love weed. It shuts the electrical jello in my skull the fuck up.
🤣
I have the opposite problem actually. I feel like I'm not thinking much at all (probably from a continuous shutdown) During these moments, constantly thinking and feeling seems like an improvement.
Mindfulness and meditation? As far as I understand it, it's about controlling your thoughts and what to think (and feel). I know it exists, can't say if it actually helps - it looks promising but requires training and persistence. Ahem... :)
Mindfulness meditation is not about controlling your thoughts, it's supposed to let you "ignore" them and let them pass by.
chemicals.
Sometimes I take an evening walk so it won't be too bad when I try to sleep.
I'm sure this is only a me thing, but for me I found it easier to concentrate on specific sounds... Like the ringing in my ears.
As a kid, I've always had ear ringing, but it doesn't bother me too much in day to day life. I do have to ask people to repeat themselves if I'm not focused directly on them or cant read their lips, but at night or quiet moments, the ringing is a soft and gentle sound, like someone running a moist finger over the rim of some crystal ware. Very nice in winter on a soft moonlit night
I focus on that ringing in a nice quiet and dark room, let it sing in my ears, and then close my eyes.
I then focus on the funny golden geometrical sparkles, triangles, and if I relax, a small black circle with a white border starts to show up. It seems like a 2D object, constantly rotating quickly on a 3D plane, but slowly grows bigger.
For some reason, I find these oddities comforting. The visuals remind me a bit of the pressure halo's in your vision when you get a migraine, but without the pain, and covering the field of vision with your eyes closed only.
Once when I was 4, I let that black circle engulf the entirety of my vision as I lay in bed, and the black faded into a creamy golden background with rainbow confetti falling. Obviously it's not really, just some other strange visuals.
Ahem. In either case, I use these to focus and relax at night to tell my brain to shut up.
