Clear your mind of thoughts. Clearing the Mind of Negative Emotions

The answer that comes to mind first is no. If you think about the wording of this question, it is easy to imagine the mind as a bag in which things are put in or taken out. Or as a hard drive to which content is written or overwritten. But in reality, this is not entirely true. The mind is constantly busy with various tasks. It is a fluid process, only a part of which is realized. Only what a person is focused on, what he thinks about in currently, has special qualities of brightness and liveliness, thanks to the mental function of attention. Attention has a number of properties, including switchability. To stop thinking about something, you need to switch your attention to another actual content of consciousness. Trying not to think about something still keeps on this thought. If you don't want to think about an upcoming difficult conversation, think about other conversations that happened in the past. Recall successful conversations that have borne fruit. What arguments did you use? How did the interlocutor react?

To make the most effective use of attention switching, it is important to know that attention varies. And the switching methods, respectively, can be used different.

The most simple form attention, which dominates in young children, is involuntary. It is called so because the person does not choose what to direct attention to, and is often captured by the object. A loud sudden sound outside the window - and now we have already switched to what is happening there. Involuntary attention is drawn to intense stimuli, new stimuli, or stimuli related to our current needs. To manage involuntary attention, you need to organize the environment accordingly. It should be either intense and bright stimuli, or interesting and new, or both. It can be a disco, going to the cinema, table or computer game, your favorite hobby or something to do with delayed desires.

If in this moment intense exciting stimuli are not available to you, you can try a change of scenery. If you are indoors, go outside, preferably in a park. Try to notice as many details as possible around. At the same time, it is good to pay attention to what is unusual for you. If you study nature more often during walks, try to remember the people you meet. If, as a rule, you pay more attention to people, explore the surrounding space, road surface, vegetation, sky, architectural features. Try to remember as many details as possible, as if you were going to write a story about your walk.

If walking is not available to you, a reliable source of new and unusual sensations is the body. Close your eyes and inspect the entire body with your inner gaze. Focus on bright sensations, giving yourself time to feel them well. Although here I already use techniques to stimulate voluntary attention.

Arbitrary attention is directed where a person considers it necessary to direct it. Switching and holding voluntary attention requires effort. The ability to apply willpower has to be trained. Arbitrary attention develops in a person as he grows up and is included in society. It is to this form of attention that I suggested you turn when asking questions about other conversations. There are many ways to train voluntary attention and switch it. For example, ball games, especially team games. Since childhood, many have known the fun "Yes and no, don't say, don't take black and white." It allows you to train switchability, distribution and concentration. Some time ago there was a wonderful board game"Preved, Medved", which not only develops attention, but can set a cheerful tone for a friendly party. Also, recent studies claim that meditation contributes to the development of voluntary attention and its switchability (Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Lutz A, Schaefer HS, Levinson DB, Davidson RJ. Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2007;104:11483–11488).

There is in Russian a large number of meditation guides. I like the approach implemented on the Real Mindfulness website realmindfulness.ru

The consequence of the efforts applied to realize voluntary attention is its exhaustibility. The method of paradoxical intention is partly based on this. If you can’t distract yourself from thinking about the upcoming conversation, concentrate on it as meticulously as possible. Remember all the interlocutors. What do they look like, what color are their hair and eyes, what kind of voice do they have, how do they smell? What do you know about their personality traits? If you have a conversation plan with the expected responses of opponents, give yourself the task of playing the development of events in your head 50 times in a row, without any distractions.

When a thought occupies us for too long and returns attention to itself, it means that it serves some of the important needs or goals and is therefore included in the personality of a person. This is how postvoluntary attention works. It is this that allows composers to work for hours on their work without being distracted by anything. This form of attention develops when the once arbitrary action becomes personal significant, acquires additional meaning. Even this attention can be switched. To do this, you have to admit that the thought that you think is not useless. And find the most honest answer to what this thought is about for you? Why do you need her? And focus on other ways to achieve this why. The answer is not always obvious. Often, clinging thoughts allow us to avoid solving problems in the outcome of which we are not sure. Then it is important to answer the question: why do I consider these thoughts “unnecessary”? What do I need to think about now? For what? And why shouldn't I really contact them?

Finding the answer can be difficult on your own. A psychologist will help you figure out the reason for your next thoughts. Analytical psychologists, Gestalt therapists, and client-centered psychologists work particularly well in this area. And choose the most effective method switching attention and turning it into a habit will help a cognitive-behavioral psychologist or psychotherapist.

Sometimes obsessive thoughts, such that do not seem to fit into the general train of thought, occur at illogical moments, and also torment a person with the inability to stop them, can be a symptom of mental illness. Therefore, it will be useful to consult a psychiatrist or a psychotherapist.

Imagine that you have to write a report, analyze a work, prepare a presentation, brainstorm, or something similar.
What is needed for this? Naturally necessary: ​​desire, knowledge of the topic and a clear head without unnecessary and unnecessary thoughts.
How to clear the mind and free the brain from deposits of garbage? will help you

General head cleaning

Meditation is to get rid of mental garbage, obsession with unnecessary and unproductive thoughts, from fragments of images that only litter the area of ​​​​thinking and do not allow you to think freely, clearly, clearly, outside the box, do not allow you to think effectively.
Meditation is quite simple to perform and can be used in any setting where there is a need to clear the mind and direct it into a more productive direction.

So let's start.
Imagine that your brain is a room. Do you want to see what it is filled with? Good wish! Open the door and take a look.
Are you surprised? Are you dumbfounded? Are you uncomfortable? Yes, this is your brain lab.

You open the door and in the dusk you see piles of garbage, scattered things, piles of boxes. different size, some things stick out from each, books, disks, papers. Unfinished leaves, colored stickers, crumpled notebooks, pencils, pens are lying on the floor, on the table, in the chair. The room is filled with some boxes so that it is even difficult to squeeze between them. In the corner, some objects were thrown in disorder. This chaos presses on you, does not allow you to breathe freely and easily.

Do you feel how hard all this is affecting you? How difficult is it to think, feel, create something new? Yes!

We proceed to the next stage - we call the angels. Imagine how they descend into your room with a light rustle of silvery wings, filling it with the sounds of quiet gentle voices. Our heavenly helpers with pleasure and love will take up cleaning and clean the room, make the room clean, bright, light.

A few moments pass, the angels quickly coped with the task and ... all space is free! The room seemed to expand, become larger - it is completely empty.

In conclusion, imagine how golden sunlight pours into it, fills it with warmth, radiance, energy.

The mind is purified and can work for the joy of you and others. I wish you success!

3 940

- Why did I do it?

- You're not good enough.

- I can't keep up with the times.

- It was a bad decision.

Have you read this and thought it sounds so familiar to you? That such thoughts are firmly planted in your head and do not let you sleep at night.

Are you feeling hopeless, stuck and, frankly, sad? The way you talk to yourself has a profound effect on how you live your life.

It is debilitating and diminishes our full potential for greatness.

We all have thoughts from time to time about “this is not going to work”. If you want to clear your mind of negative thoughts and see how it will change your life, then here is what you can do when you feel stressed and overwhelmed by your thoughts:

1. Breathe

Not only is this good for survival since we need oxygen, but it's good for tricking your body into a more relaxed state of being and slowing down your thoughts.

Take 5 deep breaths with your eyes closed and focus on the pulse. During this time, try to clear your mind of all thoughts.

2. Create your own vision, your own mantra

Come up with a vision and repeat it to yourself over and over again until you find comfort. For example:

“I am strong, I am capable, I am unique. I am not defined by negative thoughts, I am defined by my actions. I am honest, I am swift, I am a leader, I am a positive light in this world. I am strong, capable and unique.”

This will help overcome the negative downward spiral of thoughts.

3. Move more

You can go for a walk or go hiking. Immerse yourself in the beauty of nature, with fresh air and sunlight Treat these three things (nature, fresh air, sunlight) as vitamins, they are good for your soul and help bring a new sense of light and love into your body.

4. Surround yourself with positive vibrations

Feed your body, mind and soul only with the positive influences of people, books, songs and activities.

5. Make a Priority List

Create a list of your top 5 priorities, put them on your calendar and don't cancel them - you'll feel more empowered when you reach your personal goals and take time for yourself.

If you are drowning in unpleasant thoughts and cannot get rid of it, you urgently need to change it. For example, here are 7 ways to get rid of unnecessary negativity from your head.

When negative thoughts start up in the head, people often try to get rid of it so as not to worry in vain. But the more you try not to think about the negative, the more you tend to it. In order to really stop focusing on the bad, it takes more than trying not to think. To your attention 7 tips on how to get out of the abyss of negativity and not bother yourself.

1. Change your body language

Pay attention to your body language. Are you sad, angry, or maybe slouching? If so, then it is more likely that your head is filled with negative thoughts.
The constrained position of the body and a frowning grimace do not create a very good mood. So, your first step to getting rid of negativity is to change your posture and facial expressions.
And it really helps! As soon as you notice unpleasant thoughts, straighten your back and straighten your shoulders, then try to recognize exactly where tension has accumulated in your body and relax, smile. Almost immediately you will feel that the emotional background is improving.

2. Discuss the problem

There are people who tell everyone around about own problems and even seem to enjoy it. There are others who keep everything in themselves to the last, and then get nervous breakdowns.
If you have any unpleasant emotions that do not disappear in any way, try to tell your loved ones about it.
When you turn your mood into words, emotions take shape and become visible in the right perspective. After the conversation, you yourself will be surprised how ridiculous the experiences were on this or that occasion.

3. Take One Minute to Clear Your Mind of All Thoughts

When thousands of thoughts per minute are going through your head, it is very difficult to decide or control anything. If you're obsessed with negativity, try not thinking about anything at all for just one minute.
By paying attention to what is happening in the mind, and what thoughts dominate there, you can correct the situation by adding a piece of positive.

4. Change the tone of your thoughts

It even becomes scary when you realize that from a slight change in the wording, the emotional connotation of the phrase or thought itself becomes radically different. How often do we oppress ourselves with incorrectly expressed thoughts, but it is possible to make it so that even with the same initial data, the results will be completely different.
For example, instead of thinking, “I am going through a difficult period in my life and have problems,” you can say something like this: “I am in a period of change and I am looking for best solutions”.
As you can see, the situation has not changed, just the problems were called “changes”, but who will say that this is not true? Meanwhile, the very tone of your thoughts is different, and you didn't even have to deceive yourself to cheer yourself up.

5. Get creative

When negative thoughts attack you, you can spend some time getting creative (this works just like talking). You can do anything: write prose or poetry, draw with a pencil or paint, dance in the end.
Splashing emotions into creativity is a kind of art therapy, which will not only become a relaxation, but also improve your mood. Negative thoughts will pass through you, materialize in some form, and stay there, not in your head.

6. Take a walk

It often seems as if one's own head is the only source of negativity. Usually it is, but there are exceptions. If you are surrounded by negative people, for example, in the family they constantly quarrel and blame each other, or at work everyone is very annoyed, half of the negativity can be caused by their mood.
If you are not a guru, it is unlikely that you will be able to get rid of negative thoughts while being in such an environment. So, if possible, move away from him to calm down. Just take a walk or go somewhere: to an exhibition, to your favorite cafe, to the cinema - this will help you find peace of mind.

7. Make a gratitude list

In order not to drown in unpleasant thoughts and emotions, you need to urgently switch - a gratitude list is perfect for this.
Swimming in the negative, we naturally forget all the good things, and it seems that there is simply no way out, because in every aspect of life a big and complete failure awaits us. So take a piece of paper and write down all the good things in your life, doing it from a position of gratitude.
This will help focus your mind on the positive wave, so that after the gratitude list, all unpleasant thoughts will seem less scary.
After all, if you have so many good things, how can this be a problem?

Wake up. Think about what affects your brain. A healthy brain has about 200 billion neurons. Our thinking is decisive only 5% during the day, the subconscious, in turn, has control over our thoughts 95% during the whole time. “Man lives in a dream, and in a dream he dies,” these are the words of Gurdjieff, who encouraged his spiritual disciples to wake up and strive for a higher state of consciousness.

Approach everything consciously. Our thinking influences our actions, thoughts and aspirations. If we do things consciously, we see things as they are, without prejudice. We live in the present, here and now. We understand what we do and what we think. Try practicing the following exercises to learn how to do things mindfully:

• Eat mindfully. Feel every bite you put in your mouth. Feel the smell, texture, taste. Chew slowly, thinking about what you are doing.
• Walk mindfully. Feel your body floating in the air, your feet touching the ground, your arms moving, listen to your breath. Watch yourself. Focus on every move.
• Speak consciously. Speak every word consciously. Pay attention to the emotions that are associated with certain words. Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes and try to understand their point of view. Thanks to this, you will understand how great the power of words is.
• Wash dishes mindfully. Whatever you do, try to do it consciously, paying attention to every detail and doing the job perfectly. Thanks to this, you will strive for excellence even in minor matters.