I've come up with a 15-minute journaling process that you can use to halt overthinking for a while.
You do some automatic writing and release some of the angst you may be feeling over a challenge or personal struggle.
I'll provide guidance on how to do some stream of consciousness journaling for 15 minutes to reduce rumination and overthinking.
I'd like you to listen to this meditative guided instruction and then put this method into practice with a journaling session.
Feel the freedom of diving into your subconscious mind without judgment and with a presence of mind that feels restful and at peace.
Let's take a break from our overthinking and worry.
First,
I want you to find a comfortable space.
After a period of angst and rumination,
Your mind and body need to settle down a bit so you are looking for a space that feels restful and restorative.
Perhaps a quiet corner of a living room or a rocking chair on your balcony or porch or a table at your local coffee shop.
Somewhere where you won't be bothered and you can unplug from your phone and your to-do list.
Put that aside and come into this inviting tranquil space.
You can find 15 minutes for yourself so let's make the most of it with a beautiful comforting space.
Get your journal,
Your favorite pen or your computer or just get a cup of coffee if you've decided to reflect on your thinking rather than to write it out.
I encourage you to write it out though since it will give you a valuable record to reflect back on and we will touch on how to reflect on your writing at the end.
Once you are in your space,
Let's take a few deep breaths.
I think of these as cleansing breaths as they make me think about starting with a fresh clean slate.
I leave my worries behind and devote some time to transitioning from my ruminating overthinking mind to one that is more focused on this physical task of breathing.
This breathing which anchors my mindfulness and writing without too much chatter or participation from the conscious mind.
So let's take a three-breath journey together as meditation teacher Gil Fronsdale calls it.
This three-breath journey.
I like to inhale air down into the belly and feel my belly extend outward a bit.
But you might also feel it at the nose or in the chest.
It's hard to do this wrong so turn judgment off and get in touch with your unique breath.
It's been with you since birth so you and your body know the way forward.
Take in that slightly lighter air.
Take in that slightly longer inhalation than you normally do but don't exaggerate it too much and then let it all out.
Perhaps with a slightly longer exhalation.
And it's on the exhalation that I feel the release and the relaxation start to kick in.
Here's one of my long breaths.
Here's one of my long breaths.
Let's do three of those breaths.
Now I want to discuss this technique of stream of consciousness writing.
It's also been called automatic writing.
It's your subconscious mind communicating with you and it's really very extraordinary.
All the thoughts and emotions and stories that you've told yourself are tucked away into this subconscious mind of yours and now we are opening up the hidden contents of the mind and sharing its thoughts with ourselves.
No one will read what you are going to write and I find that very comforting.
This is completely private and it's an interior form of communication that helps make us feel complete and whole and limitless.
You are going to write for 15 minutes.
Just write.
You aren't going to ask yourself questions unless questions spill out of your mind onto the page and then you'll just document them.
You aren't going to give yourself a goal or a structure.
You've left the world of rules and shoulds and must do's and are now in the land of possibility.
What you are going to do is write whatever comes to mind.
This is automatic writing where you gain a glimpse into your subconscious.
What has it been thinking the last couple of days?
Your writing may start stiff and full of extreme thoughts and emotions.
It may sound like you are ruminating at first.
But a new wave of thoughts and words will come.
Let those flow out of you and onto the page.
The page can take it and you need to release these thoughts perhaps.
Let those ideas and words just come and be present with them.
They can't hurt you because they are simply words right now.
You don't have to take any action or do anything special about them.
Ignore spelling and grammar and just let words come out of you.
I want you to be in a state of flow during this 15-minute writing session.
So don't stop to categorize thoughts or ideas.
Don't worry if you veer off topic or ramble on about something.
Your subconscious is talking and all you need to do now is to be a conduit for it and let words flow from you.
You may lose track of time while you do this.
After letting your conscious mind run the show for so long,
It's nice to let it take a back seat,
To shut down the overthinking and let new words and ideas flow.
While in this state of flow,
You may have lost track of time or felt like you were lost in the moment.
While in this state of flow,
You may have lost track of time or felt intrigue and interest well up as you discovered what your interior thoughts wanted to say.
This might be news to you and it should certainly feel more expansive and freeing than the ongoing narratives that have been playing over and over again like old tapes.
For 15 minutes,
You've moved through those ruminating thoughts to a new place,
One where sometimes exciting or at least novel thoughts rise up and make themselves known.
And after the 15 minutes are up,
You can look over the writing if you like,
Have a little review.
Does it read like a sea of gibberish without a common thread or sense of narrative to be found?
Perhaps you needed to speak to yourself in a foreign tongue,
To give yourself a playful break from the rigidity of reality and structured practical thought.
Your gibberish is like chalk and ink,
Practical thought.
Your gibberish is like child's play.
Enjoy that revelation.
Did your writing reveal new insights or questions,
Aha moments or new pathways that you hadn't considered?
You can choose to pursue those or not.
Perhaps more will come in your next Stream of Consciousness journal session.
Did you doodle or write repetitive sentences?
Perhaps there are symbols and patterns to detect in those sections.
We are more creative than we give ourselves credit for.
Maybe what you wrote means something and maybe it doesn't,
But you spent 15 minutes in mindful flow and away from the worries of the day.
Relish that time away and hopefully enjoy a feeling of rejuvenation.
And as you wrap up the review of your writing and get in touch with the emotions or thoughts that were present,
Realize how amazing your mind is.
The things you come up with,
The way you the things you come up with,
The way you problem solve without even knowing it,
And the unique combinations of thoughts and pictures,
Symbols and ideas that come from your mind.
They are miraculous.
I always feel a profound sense of gratitude that I can just write whenever I want to and find out how my mind is doing.
Let's take a moment to express gratitude to ourselves for ourselves.
We are incredible beings and we are so much more than our everyday challenges,
Worries,
To-do lists and escapades show us.
Let us be thankful for this small insight into the portal of what's beyond our everyday thoughts.
We can return to this place whenever we like through this journal practice.
And as we learn how to weather each new challenge that comes into our lives,
We can rely on tools like our journal practice to help us find a bit of comfort and relief from the storm clouds.
Our minds are always working on our behalf and we can let creative flow be the portal to exploring the protection and security that it brings.
May you find that these 15 minutes bring you closer to a relaxed,
Calm inner state,
One that has developed new strength to meet life's challenges and can transition to the next step in your life's journey.
