Instead of over-thinking : Be over with thinking!

By accepting the present, we are.

 Over-thinking happens a lot in the minds of most Humans, whether it be panicking about a deadline, processing events or procrastinating on an issue.

 When our mind is truly present and in ‘flow-state’, we are not thinking but rather being – just as an accomplished musician would affirm that their best performances are played with little to no thought – mistakes and transgressions are formed when inner-voice is present. 

Have you ever noticed the difference between throwing a ball when you are fully focused, compared to throwing a ball when distracted by an inner dialogue? Or when you have repeated a phrase so many times in your head that it no longer makes sense? These are examples of how our mind overcomplicates reality by trying to decipher what is already decrypted. 

Inner voice has a tendency to judge, plan and re-iterate, tendencies that not only slow down our being and distract from living in the present but also create unnecessary detours.

Have you ever wondered how young children seem so unencumbered and free – mostly oblivious to any issues and problems that we as adults sense and think about? As babies, we are born without the restraints that cage our minds in thoughts – babies observe and sense, rather than think and process – relying on the physical sensations that cause them to cry out when hungry or tired and bring them to smile and giggle when nurtured. The form of ‘brainwashing’ that most succumb to, emerges as we begin to understand language  and learn that our perception is individual – we begin realising that our reality is far more complicated than it first seemed and that to exist, we not only have to navigate our own minds but also everyone else’s. Accurately, this is less ‘brainwashing’ and more ‘brain-confusing’, in fact when we are without the thoughts, we become closer to nature, one with time and space, rather than victims of separated perception; we become beings in the present, flowing and fluid with reality. By accepting the present, we are.

Another name for this essence is Loving.

Kindness is a strength so pure and close with Loving, that it prevails throughout nature time and time again, just as there are exceptions for each rule, so too are there shows in nature of where kindness is suppressed. In the case of the Human species, obvious examples of kindness can be found in the actions of young children, charity or when someone we love is in need. And just as an animal may play curiously or cruelly with the being it is about to eat, so do we as humans have an instinct that diverts from kindness – this instinct is to listen and take action by the voice or voices in our head. 

How many times have we as individuals listened and taken heed of our inner dialogue and Ego, rather than our innate state of being? 

How often have we flashed back to personal memories that ended up defining how we behaved in that present moment?

How many times have we listened to the very same voice that dared us to drop our keys down a road drain or tried tempting us to hurt ourselves or someone else, either emotionally or physically?

How many times has that ‘little voice in our head’ attempted to persuade us to slack off or take the easy or lazy action rather than the right action?

Have you ever heard the ‘little voice’ tell you or tempt you to do something that if you had taken action with, you would have broken the law or been locked away for your own or others’ safety?

How many people are ‘intentionally’ starving their minds, bodies and souls to the whim of an inner dialogue posing as an eating-disorder or victim to onslaughts of visions and voices labelled trauma, PTSD and schizophrenia?

How many of us have ever pressed snooze on our alarm and been late for something because we let our inner narrator dictate our bodies actions?

How many times have we ourselves or someone we have known not had enough confidence or had anxiety or felt any emotional turmoil at all because of something their mind was saying?

The voice in our head may seem innocent, at least at times, yet any mental health ward or prison is filled with people who know that letting inner-voice take control is a sure way to not only losing control of the mind but also a sure way of having the control of our bodies taken from us as well, whether it be by medications or restraints, locked doors or bars.

How many of us use drugs, alcohol or other distractions to escape the emotions and commotions of our minds?

How many people have had thoughts considering self-harming or suicide? 

Inner voice has a tendency to judge, plan and re-iterate, tendencies that not only slow down our being and distract from living in the present but also create unnecessary detours that separate us from consciousness into a detached state – worse still, our inner-voice tries to predict others intentions and thoughts – leading to paranoia, confusion and many times illness, misunderstanding and separation.

How many people who have considered or attempted suicide have felt this way? – Isolated by some unseen separation, misunderstood by some confusing pattern of thought or behaviour? Oppressed by feelings or thoughts that have overwhelmed them?

It would be accurate to say that all mental illnesses, in some-way at least, stems from Ego, inner-voice and personal history.

Our species has developed a magnificent brain that can multitask, converse, calculate and solve. 

Over generations we have created charities that aid, hospitals that save, businesses, cultures and communities that thrive, yet the majority of us are still host to a presence that, if given control, has the power to destroy, cause chaos, havoc, negativity, illness, war and death.

 If we want a metaphor to visualise our progress as a race, in many ways we are winning at the game of life – we are actively trying to Free our family, feed our hungry, hydrate our thirsty, help our needy, heal our hurting, share our shelter and mend our minds – yet at every metaphorical move, we are being thwarted by our Egotistical self that tells us to destroy our progress as it is created. 

How sooner would we have been in global peace, how sooner would we have wiped out homelessness and bigotry in every form from race, colour of skin, gender, ability, sexuality and identity? The answer is drastic – for if we were without Ego, personal history and inner-voice, none of these atrocities would ever have existed. 

Focusing on our past without learning from our mistakes only creates more mistakes and wastes time. We need not see Ego as a mistake but rather a learning curve from which we can excel. 

We now, in the present, must choose to no longer be the victims of our-selves and instead unite as the self-less saviours of our species. 

By accepting the present we are.

The first step is to stop being led by Ego, personal history and Inner-voice.

So stop over-thinking and instead be over with thinking.