Becoming Aware of a Hyperactive Mind, its Pull on our Attention, its Physical/Emotional Effects, and How to Stay Centered Through it All.
What is a mind-storm?
When the mind is very active, we notice that all of our attention gets sucked into thoughts.
We may even feel stuck and trapped by the tormenting, and perhaps abusive, mental narrative playing in our heads. We may also feel an accompanying tension and discomfort in our hearts and body. Think of this hyperactive mental activity and its accompanying physical/emotional sensations as a mind-storm. In this analogy we will compare this mind-storm to a weather storm; a tornado.
Witnessing it
Weather happens. No matter how we feel about it, tornadoes sometimes take place - that is a normal part of nature. It is the same for mind-storms. They happen!
We are not concerned with trying to prevent natural events from happening; we are concerned with staying present and centered no matter what is taking place in our experience of life.
Imagine for a moment that you have never encountered severe weather of any kind and all you have ever known are blue skies. Then one day a tornado starts heading towards your house. One would be absolutely confused, terrified, anxious, scared, and wouldn’t know what to do. One would probably panic. So the first step towards handling the situation is having the knowledge of what is taking place when it arises. “Ah, that’s a tornado, it’s a weather event that happens - it appears to be happening now.” Similarly, when the mind starts to run rampant and the body starts to react we can say, “Ah, this is a mind-storm, it’s a mental/physical pattern that happens - it appears to be happening now.”
This first step of recognizing is absolutely crucial. We can say, “A mind-storm has arisen in my field of awareness.” You have noticed that it has arisen and labeled it. Littler storms may come and go too. It is crucial to still know that they have arisen. “Ah, a little storm, slight overcast and rain. No problem.” We see them arise, label them, and watch them go. Big storms may come in so hard and fast that they totally take us over. WHAM!!!! Suddenly we're spinning, swirling, whirling…the winds beating hard, we're being tossed this way and that, oh my god!!! This is the end, how do we get out of this, just run left, run right, keep fighting, my god!!!, my…..STOP. First become aware: “I know what this is. This is a mind-storm. There is a mind-storm happening, this appears to be a big one.”
Staying Present Throughout
The bigger the storm the stronger the pull.
Once we have become aware of the mind-storm, if we find that we keep getting sucked back into it - aka getting lost in the thoughts and feelings - we can use a meditation technique as a tether to presence.
During a tornado, we go deeply into a basement or cellar where there is stillness, calm, and safety from the storm above. During a mind-storm, we go deeply into awareness/presence within where there is stillness, calm, and safety from the storm in the mind and body.
How? We can tether ourselves to this deep presence by implementing a meditation practice such as following the breath, feeling the sensations of the body, focusing on sounds, sights, smells, or using a mantra for example. These are tethers to the present moment. To awareness.
So if we find that even once we are aware of the mind-storm taking place, we are still getting pulled into it - we can use one of these practices as a tether to keep us grounded to presence until the storm passes.
Which tether to use?
Different tethers have different strengths for different people.
I personally find a mantra to be a very strong tether during a mind-storm, as opposed to following the breath for example. You might have to experiment with different tethers to see which ones work best for you. If you want to practice using a mantra, some common ones you could try are:
"Om"
"Let go, surrender"
"I am loving awareness"
"Be here now"
So again, first we become aware of what is taking place in the mind and body. Then if we notice we keep getting pulled into thoughts (into the storm), we can use a meditation technique as a tether to ground us to presence. And the storm will still thrash around yet for a while - in the heart and body if no longer in the mind - until it burns itself out. But it passes. Like all storms pass.
What NOT to do
We don't try to stop the storm.
What do we mean? Don't fight what is. Don't do anything to try to stop what is happening from taking place. Don't resist with the mind or body. That is as useful as running out of the cellar to try and stop a tornado. It's not going to work and you are going to get sucked up. Fighting what is takes the form of thoughts, it also takes the form of physical resistance: closing the heart and tensing the body.
Instead simply recognize what's taking place, accept it, and stay present throughout. Relax the body. Use a tether to stay grounded if getting pulled into thoughts. Stay in the cellar, allowing it to be and allowing it to pass. It will!
Summary
The crucial first task is noticing.
These mental storms may sneak up on us and ramp up to severity without our recognition or acknowledgment that it is indeed a mind-storm taking place. For many, the act of recognition alone may be sufficient to instantly calm the mind, even with large storms. But there are instances when we must spend some time in deep awareness letting the storm die down. That then becomes a practice for intense presence. We find a tether which brings us deeply into presence and we stay with it, allowing the storm to run its course and allowing us peace even in the face of chaos. Remember, our deepest nature is the peaceful awareness in which all things transpire (from blue skies to storms).
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