MENTAL CHATTER

Date: 20 May 2008

self enlightenment exercise no.6

Pay attention to your thoughts, but imagine that they are voices inside your head.

Are they calm or impatient?
Are they supportive or disapproving?
Are they loving or angry?
Do they encourage or criticize you?
How do they make you feel?
Who are they speaking to?

NOTES
You are not your thoughts, but the observer of them.
By simply observing your thoughts in this way, you can calm their mental chatter.

Please post a comment or question below about how you got on with this exercise. I will gladly post a reply.

To become completely free of mental chatter and enjoy a relaxing break, experience this audio meditation called Inner Peace.:
http://www.meditainment.com/inner-peace/

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my thoughts are frustrated. usually irritated with some situation over which i have NO control. or at least feel like i have no control. a damned if ya do and damned if ya don't kinda thing. ugggh!!

# By Cathy Schultz | 09/07/08 05:13

Cathy - You may not have control over a situation(s) but you do have a level of control over the choice you make to react it. By being aware of how you choose to react, you will find you have some of the control you are missing at the moment.

# By Mark | 14/07/08 11:50

Cathy, I read your comments and know exactly how you feel...same situation...Mark, I read your reply and felt a great sense of peace and encouragement...you are so right..how wonderful to get someone outside your situation to just speak those "words in season" that are helpful and encouraging...thank you

# By Trish | 14/07/08 21:45

My thoughts tend to ramble, almost sprial out of control. Making it hard to rein them in. Any suggestions?

# By ken | 21/07/08 14:03

Hi Ken,
Thanks for your interesting question.
OK, the fact that you are able to describe your thoughts in the way you do, shows that you have taken the first step to observing them fully. Here are a couple of suggestions.
1. Do not try and control your thoughts in any way, just observe them, without any judgement.
2. Try and lower your expectations of what you might achieve with this exercise, as this will take some of the energy out of the mental chatter.
I hope these help, Richard

# By Richard Latham | 21/07/08 15:03

What I have learned to do over mental chatter is to acknowledge the thoughts when they come up and visualize them as leaves falling off a tree floating down into a river and the river carries them away.

# By Terry | 04/08/08 17:15

ahhhh, so many thoughts. i have learned much this year - must be the "gathering" year. first, it is JUDGING the thoughts that leads one astray . . . those thoughts are just fine, just ducky-dandy. sometimes, i think, we NEED to replay the day, maybe work it out using a different scenario - go ahead, play it out. in some circles, it is role-playing. it is healthy, it is good. don't shut it down (at least for me). your meditation just has to wait till it's done. THEN, when it has been played out, when all is right with the world, you have expressed yourself in a way that is more in keeping with your belief system, you validate yourself through your chatter ("you" "your" is defined as "me" and "my" - it may not be this way for others) . . . THEN you can calm yourself into a most lovely meditative state. you have to be right with you. because we live with the constraints, restraints and all the other 'taints in this life - and we must live with them if we're just workin slobs; it is part of socialization and living peacefully with others - but you do not have to EVER give up that piece known as YOU (or, in this case, ME). my peace comes from the ACCEPTANCE of "chatter". i NEED my chatter. i let it work itself out now. the only judgment in it is that i love what my chatter does for me.

# By Cathy Schultz | 05/08/08 04:52

Cathy,
You are half way there, this is good! As for your meditation, don't put it off. When you do meditate observe the voices as if they were just another part, neither good nor bad, just there. No threat - no energy exchange, no loss for you in your meditation. I faced with this when I first started, and sometimes still do, but not to worry as stated in the movie "Zen Nuir", its all relative. You are right you do need your chatter it is what helps you solve the problems of everyday life, yet there is no need to hold your meditation because of it.
In Peace,
D.Thomas

# By D.Thomas Ramey | 07/08/08 00:55

mind keeps chattering all the time and the minds horses goes faster than the winds but the key to harness them or control them lies somewhere in our individual situation.The less social you are the more calm you feel because most of the time we are feeding ourselves with the outside trash which keeps churning in your mind long after you have gone back to sleep.One thing more meditate but also work physically hard to make your body rest and then the mind also rests.

# By namrata | 25/08/08 13:04

I think it would benefit everyone greatly to remember the many virtues and benefits of inwardly chanting a holy mantra -- any mantra will actually work to keep unwanted thoughts at bay; you could even repeat the number "one" over and over to yourself. But the tried and true ancient mantras are not only keyed vibrationally to their function but usually call in the aid of one or more celestial beings as well. You can recite mantras, as the ancient masters severally assured us, while going through any activity which does not claim your entire conscious mind's concentration -- and how many of those do we have! Washing dishes, waiting in line, sitting at stoplights, picking up Junior...

There are many of these, easy to find and simple to remember. Making use of them can instantly banish all evil or unaffirmative thoughts.

# By Analee | 02/09/08 21:15

Thoughts. Immediately after a conversation with someone, filling in their thoughts about me - he probably thinks this me, she probably thinks that about me. And it is always critical. Very tiring and taking lots of negative energy

# By Kevin | 08/09/08 21:54

I know for myself by getting caught up in these thoughts i make life harder for myself. I am my worst critic. I become bogged down and lose control of my drivers seat. I make the concious decision to change my thoughts.
I have been sorting out these toxic thoughts that have kept me captivated most of my life. I found by unwinding the big messy ball of thoughts, that takes lots of love and patience, There is a real sense of peace and Tranquility. I practice this quite a lot. By quieting my mind and deleting my negative thoughts I started hearing who i really am, what it is that i truely want and need from life, most importantly why i am here. These answers don't happen over night but they really do happen. They change as i grow and expand in my lessons.This is what am learning. Hang in there have faith and you will achieve and enjoy getting to know who you really are. You are unique!

# By Rhonda | 18/09/08 10:04

I guess I am lucky. As soon as I think about my thoughts they shut up! My mind instantly stills. I have been meditating for 36 years, but I think I have always had this reaction. It did make this exercise difficult for though because I was unable to observe if my thoughts are positive so will try it again through the day under normal circumstances.

Thanks for sharing. Dot xx

# By Dot | 24/09/08 10:15

Hi Dot,
Sounds like you are living proof of the benefits of meditation. If you are curious to hear the mental chatter again, then I suggest you do this exercise when you are feeling especially stressed.
(Which even seasoned meditators experience sometimes) Thanks for your commment and letting us know about your 'Problem of Success'
Richard

# By Richard Latham | 24/09/08 11:20

i just love this exercise .. :)
thank you.. :)

# By Sue | 13/10/08 22:16

mental chatter is the main obstacle in achieving inner peace and wisdom.The more negative your thoughts about others and more disturb will be your mind.So first of all the great task is to cleanse our thoughts and sterilize them.For that positive thinking is a must.Mantra chanting like OM,Om namah shivay,Om gung ganpataye namah,Om shreem, etc keeps the naughty disobedient thoughts into check and stabilize your mind.Being a witness helps to flush out negativity.But it needs practice in the begignig then it becomes a cleansing habit.

# By namrata | 15/10/08 21:30

My thoughts are running at 100 mile an hour, all over the place and all very demanding. Sometimes I like this and it works for me other times it exhausts and stresses me out.

My struggle is to slow down the thoughts and concentrate on one thing at a time..... I know I can do it, my challenge is to do this at will.

It can be done and I work towards this.

Margo

# By Margo M | 02/12/08 16:42

Meditation Blogger

seeking self enlightenment

MENTAL CHATTER

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