I don’t know about you but my mind never shuts up. My inner dialog is always going crazy. When I was a kid I would get stuck in these loops of thoughts, of phrases. Repeating the same thing over and over. It seemed worse right before bed. Blah blah blah blah.

Though I’ve learned to stop the looping (somewhat), there are still times when I just can’t stop that inner conversation with myself. What happened during the day. What do I need to do tomorrow. Sometimes it’s philosophical. I normally let that slide, let it spiral out. When it gets bad is when it’s negative thoughts. We all have them, some can just turn them off easier. Bad thoughts can be good in some circumstances. We do learn from our mistakes. Most of the time it’s just trivial crap you could totally live without.

In college I ran across a book in a thrift store. The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. The book opened up a new way of thinking for me. It also pointed me in a direction I am glad I’ve traveled. Alan does a particularly well job of arranging his words to explain eastern philosophies. I’ve read most of his books. Awesome stuff.

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.
– Alan Watts -

From my new way of thinking I learned to slow and sometimes stop the constant chatter of my voiceless voice through a little thing called meditation. At least this is my understanding of what meditation is about. To free the mind of everything. Sometimes to free it of all but one thing. The one thing being a positive thought or for Buddhists a kōan.

Free the mind.

The technique I use to achieve this “blank slate” is to picture myself sitting in what I can only compare to as space. Darkness surrounds me with the exception of a light above me. As thoughts appear I create a visual representation of them. Be it actual words or a physical form. I imagine it floating toward me out from the darkness. I then allow it to keep floating in the direction it was traveling and pass me. Right back into the darkness, into the nothing, from which it came. Sometimes I can get to the point where thoughts no longer appear. My mind is clear, it’s free.

I also use this technique to go to sleep. In this case I try to just imagine pictures or still images. Eventually these images turn into animations and float right into dreams. Try it. You may like what you find.