How to Pull the Mental Emergency Brake on an Overactive Mind
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by James Rick
Slowing the mind down is essential to having a heightened sense of awareness / aliveness. The longer you have let your mind run without the intention of slowing it down – the more likely it is to be running at a speed not conducive to awareness. Practice the art of extreme focus as method for pulling the emergency brake on an overactive mind.
WHEN THE WATER IS ALWAYS MUDDY – YOU CANNOT CONSTRAST IT WITH CLARITY
In the average person’s life, the mind has one opportunity to slow down and recharge and that is through sleep. If a person were to maintain their focus on breath shortly after waking – the residual effects of a quieter mind after sleep would persist. That means sleep is an aid for centeredness – if you can just keep your mind fixed upon your breath and have a very clear intention to maintain centeredness. However if shortly after waking you muddy the water again with thoughts of all the things you must do – a cloudy mind is what you grow used to. When a cloudy mind becomes the norm you cannot contrast it with the peace of a more placid awareness and therefore cannot experience peace directly, but only imagine it will come after some achievement. When this happens peace exists as a mental fantasy or concept instead of a real place you can visit now.
“I’M NOT THE KIND OF PERSON THAT CAN SIT STILL VERY LONG”
All an overactive mind takes is a little effort to slow the mind down. Setup reminders throughout the day to focus on breath for one or two breaths and give yourself an opportunity in the morning or evening to close your eyes and simply breathe, focusing on your breath with no agenda. If your mind has been running at full speed prior to your intention to quiet it – your mind will wander quite often, like a candle flickering in the wind.
“WHAT IF MY MIND WANDERS?”
Even if your mind wanders for a few minutes – it will eventually return to your intention. That’s why it’s very important you clarify your intention to focus.
WHAT IS EXTREME FOCUS?
Then notice what it feels like to half-intend something and then concentrate even more. It can be compared to half committing to pick up a heavy weight versus lifting it with all your might with so much energy that it goes sailing into the air. When you intend to quiet the mind don’t just sit down and go through the motions. Imagine in your mind what it feels like to be intensely here now. Not just sitting down and saying “Okay I’m here now.” But putting all your heart and soul into one breath with such energy that you can only maintain the intensity for a few seconds before you get mentally tired. Then try to maintain this focus for even a few seconds more. The act of this extreme focus is like applying the brakes to an overactive mind. When you’re speeding down the highway you can’t just apply the brakes a little – one good pull on the emergency brake can slow a heavy object with lots of momentum almost immediately. Extreme focus can be a useful tool in the beginning of your meditation.
“HOW WILL I KNOW IF I AM DOING IT RIGHT?”
Here are few signs that will help you know that you’re doing extreme focus right:
1) During intense spurts of concentration you’ll feel the need to ‘relax’ your mind from focusing so hard even after just a few seconds at a time.
2) You might actually feel energy causing chills up and down your body for the few seconds while initiating extreme focus.
3) After you finish even a short meditation you’ll notice the brain has slowed down and your mental space seems much clearer.
DO EXTREME FOCUS NOW
Do a few minutes of extreme focus now (and post your questions or comments here.) Remember – a great place to start is just with your breath. When you breathe in, don’t just focus on breathing in but REALLY focus on breathing in with all your heart and soul. And don’t just focus on breathing out, REALLY focus on breathing out. Maintain this intensity as long as you can – which if you’re just starting should only be for a few seconds. You should notice a major difference in the experience of wanting to focus and REALLY focusing with all your might. It’s the difference between bending down to pick up a weight, and REALLY bending down to pick up a weight with so much energy it flies over your head.
14 Responses to “How to Pull the Mental Emergency Brake on an Overactive Mind”
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April 20th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
This was of great help. My mind is very active and have tried practicing breathing meditation before. This is very similiar to the act of smoking except there are chemicals involved there. I have schizo, but notice all my symptoms seem to go away, at least until I have an overly active mind again. This is a great cure-all for stress, fatigue, and being over anxious. Very well written article! Would like to see more.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Hi Tim,
I’m glad you found this article helpful. The fact that calming the mind would make Schizo symptoms disappear (or subsequently reappear when the mind speeds up again) makes sense. Schizo is a ‘condition’ of your mind – but with focus your awareness rises above your mental condition. You are not your condition. You are not your hardware.
Please keep me updated on your progress as you apply this exercise, I’m very curious if you commit yourself to exercises like this if it could put a permanent hold on Schizo conditions.
Warm Regards,
James
April 20th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
It’s actually not a permanent fix. Schizo is a chemical imbalance in my head. Only I am the one who can really tell what it’s doing at any given moment of time or day. It’s a good quick fix for clearing my head and being able to focus, but if used soley to fix the problem. It would be like chain smoking. I see where you are going with this though. Even though the old adage is too much anything, even a good thing, can be bad. That’s just how it goes.
June 13th, 2009 at 6:17 am
Keep up the great work on this blog
, Great writing! P.S. I just love your theme, where did you get it.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I have been playing an electronic organ for over 30 years and still can’t play one tune without music,I can remember lots of other things so I don’t think it is a matter of poor memory but lack of consentration.
I would like to find out the problem, I thimk is because I have an overactive mind
August 9th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I have been playing an electronic organ for over 30 years and still can’t play one tune without music,I can remember lots of other things so I don’t think it is a matter of poor memory but lack of consentration.
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:49 am
why would i want to slow my mind down? i consider it a gift that i’m able to solve complex problems quickly and incisively
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 am
Colin, I think your missing the point on this slightly. There is a big difference between a problem solving mind over activeness and a free roaming detrimental over active mind. If yo dont have issues caused by over tinking why are you on this site?
December 6th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
My mind is overactive to the point of obsessive. I have been trying breathing exercises for a while now. Sometimes it works but most times I don’t feel strong enough. Is it just a matter of mental strength? I abused caffeine for quite a while as well. I haven’t had any in about 7 weeks. But I feel that I altered my mind a bit, maybe sped it up. Any thoughts?
December 6th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Hi Ian,
Without knowing your full history or your current habits its hard to say if your mind has been altered or give you the perfect solution for your overactive mind – but I can give you some general rules to follow that might help your situation:
1) Take inventory of what you’re thinking about. The brain is always trying to serve you in some way- usually out of fear or motivation. If your mind is running on overdrive it might be worried or concerned about something you’re not addressing – you can’t just force it to stop if its something you seriously need to address. So take stock of what’s on your mind and take some steps to resolve it.
2) Write down your worries or concerns and if you can’t do anything about them in that moment – honor your brain by writing it down and then letting it know that you’ll take care of it at an appropriate time. Then tell yourself relax.
3) Lay down on a bed with arms to your side. Commit to staying awake while the rest of your body goes to sleep. Lay there and DO NOT MOVE A MUSCLE. Breathe and count each breath, telling yourself to relax more deeply. Start with each muscle beginning in your toes and working your way up to the head. Each time your mind strays, return to your focus and relax. Feel yourself relaxing more deeply. Eventually your mind will begin to calm down. Even if you fall asleep you will have a better rest. But try to stay conscious while letting the rest of you relax and go to sleep. When you can maintain this state for a while let me know and I can give you some other exercises to do.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:55 am
I am not good at many things, but I will confess that I was born with an unimaginably rare talent for playing music. I know it sounds arrogant, but it’s all I like to credit myself with. I have an overactive mind to the point that it even ruins my playing 99 percent of the time, I can’t get on with people, and my entire life slips through the drains because every time I have the tiniest notion of doing anything, my mind tenses up and sabotages what would be a walk in the park if only I could let go and just do it. This has left me with anxiety and OCD from the age of about 3 and I have learned all these visualisation techniques, relaxation, vedic meditation and hypnosis. But I cannot make and of them work most of the time because my mind won’t let me. how do I tackle this evil, destructive problem if the simple notion of addressing it is all that takes to stop me controlling it effectively??????? I don’t quite know anyone else with my problem. it seems so stupid and vein, but if I could help it and be “normal”, I would. My teachers are qorld class artists and they are baffled by my problem, and don’t grasp why I would be so upset and tense most of the time. In the one or two merciful moments when this problem has temporarily relieved itself, the change is miraculous; because of this I know I’m not just imagining things. I would welcome all comments and advice. Thanks. David
December 14th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Hi David,
It sounds like the logical part of your being is created unwanted interference with your emotional / creative self. You are upset because if the emotional part of you could flow freely and uninterrupted you would be more effective at creating music.
I can almost hear the desperation in your writing. It sounds like you do a great deal of “repressing” this logical part of your being – considering it to be more of an interruption of your gifts than anything else.
What I suggest you do is re-frame how you perceive it. Put on a new “lens” so to speak and look at it in a kinder, more gentler light. Begin by assuming that your logical brain is trying to help you. And the more you try to ignore it, the more it cries out with urgency. So Step 1 is to HONOR your brain by LISTENING to what it’s trying to tell you.
You may do this by sitting quietly with a pad of paper and saying to yourself, okay brain – what are you trying to tell me? How are you trying to serve me? And let the thoughts flow. Don’t set a time limit for this exercise – just listen and write. And for everything you write if it’s not clear – ask your brain – how does this serve me?
You may observe at the end of this exercise that not only will you have some interesting ideas that you may not have been aware of before, but also your brain may have calmed down. Continue to breathe deeply and calmly and promise your brain that you won’t ignore it anymore, that you’ll give it an OUTLET such as this on a regular basis. And honor that promise by doing this listening on a regular basis – ESPECIALLY before an important musical performance.
This might sound silly but if you “make a deal” with your brain that you will give it an outlet and listen to it so long as it doesn’t interrupt your musical performances – this might be all you have to do to solve your problem.
Why does this work? Because usually the thoughts we cannot seem to control stem from repressed thoughts from our past. The recurrent thoughts or dreams (that can sometimes manifest into a disease) are actually trying to wake us up to some truth important to our growth. This is a blessing not a curse. When you give this message an outlet it ceases to dominate your life or control your mind space, letting your gifts realize their full potential.
On a side note, I would like to hear some of your music if you can send me a link I would appreciate it.
December 28th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I there. These past two days have sort of been a living hell in my head. I am a student, and this past semester in particular as been very stressful. A lot of my classes are on line, so I haven’t been getting much social interaction in the past 5 months or so. I quit smoking cigarrettes in october, but had replaced it with a nightly habit of smoking weed, which I’ve tried to kick this past week. I’m trying to better myself by trying to get into a habit of exercise and not letting bad chemicals into my body.
The night before yesterday, I went out drinking with a friend of mind, and when I woke up the next day, I had a slight hangover. Depression began to overwhelm me a bit yesterday, and I thought that maybe it was due to the hangover. My mind started to race around, and I haven’t been able to control the speed of my thoughts. I was up until 6 am, because I couldn’t control the noise in my head. It’s like, I don’t just have one interior monologue, but two or three, along with a song stuck in my head. I feel like the extreme stresses of both school and work last semester, along with the nightly chemical intakes, and the isolation from social situations is really taking its toll. Am I losing it? What is going on with me? It is pretty frightening. My first thoughts were maybe schizophrenia, but I’m not having any hallucinations or anything like that, just an over active mind. Do you have any advice as to what I can do, or if this is something that can be diagnosed? I did some breating exercises last night just to help me go to sleep, but it would be comforting to know that maybe this is just my mind trying to adjust after putting it through a lot these past couple of months…
December 28th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Hi Mark —
It sounds like your primary concern is the speed of your thoughts – with multiple conversations going on. Is this correct?
It’s hard to diagnose what’s going on – but you’ve certainly come up with a good list of potential causes. It sounds like you are looking for a cure of your concerns right now and not so much of an explanation so lets dive in:
I’m going to tell you to do things you already know you need to do:
1) Eliminate (not just reduce) your chemical intake. What can’t help can only hurt.
2) Determine what your stressing yourself out for.. what is the goal of stacking on school and work? Instead of focusing on the school and work focus on the end game. If you’re not sure exactly why you’re doing it – cut back hours or reduce workload totally in one or the other. You didn’t state what kind of work you’re doing – that may also be an issue you’ll want to look at. If you are sure what you’re doing it all for – perhaps you can focus on the end game instead of the workload in between. Remember that overwhelm is simply a thought, not a reality. For example you don’t actually have work stacked on your shoulders – the stress is in your head trying to juggle it all. Remember that “emotions follow thoughts, just as surely as baby ducks follow their mother” – if you can become aware of the root thought that’s causing the emotion you can change the emotion.
You’ll notice the first part of my instruction is to reduce or eliminate the potential causes. That’s because what I’m about to tell you next will help you return to your most natural state – and it’s hard to return to clear water if you keep kicking up mud.
3) Sit down somewhere quietly, close your eyes and tell your over-active analytical mind to LET GO. That’s right – give up control. Just let go and imagine if everything went to hell – what does it matter in the end anyway? Whether the universe is consumed by fire or goes out in a silent whimper who are you? What makes your life so important? Why should you force yourself to carry around this burden that’s not helping anything. Let go and return to your most perfect state – a state of peace, love, energy and resourcefulness. Return to a state of free flow – simply be. Watch – other thoughts will fill the space. Have faith that if you let go and stop generating the thoughts new thoughts will replace them.
4) Monitor how you feel about the new thoughts. You’ll notice that this exercise is interrupting perhaps a very old habit — a thought track that has been running for years. An overactive mind is really just what appears to be an uncontrollable looping process of the same thoughts. It can seem like you are stuck on the wall of a wheel that keeps spinning faster. To slow the wheel down you must purposely return to your center .. watch the wheel spin but don’t get stuck against its wall. That’s what you’re doing when you observe the thoughts and emotions without suffering with them. This is a time for curiosity of what’s going on in your mind without judgment.
5) Begin to introduce new thoughts or ideas that are more empowering, well thought out and add value to your life. When you awake from your meditation you’ll want to continue to introduce new empowering ideas whether they come from your self or in the form of good reading. This serves two purposes – it will continue to interrupt the old patters of looping thought and instead will inject new positive ideas that will become at some point, a sanctuary in the mind that your awareness gets to live in and take with you everywhere you go. In elevating your thoughts you create your heaven or your hell.
Good luck Mark.