One of the most common misconceptions about meditation is that it’s about making your mind go blank. I don’t know where this “meme” originated (a “meme” is a virus-like idea which inhabits or even “infects” our minds) but it’s pervasive and long-lasting. I think it may take at least another generation or two of spiritual practice before that notion goes to the scrapheap of ideas that it deserves to rest in.
This mistaken idea is even found in some meditation sites that rank highly in Google, which is a little worrying.
Certainly, we want in meditation to reduce the amount of thinking that goes on. Most of us are plagued with thoughts that arise seemingly without cause. It’s rare to experience more than a few moments without some thought arising. And although this is “normal” (i.e. very common) it’s not healthy. Many of the thoughts that arise in the mind are supportive of emotions of anxiety, ill will, neurotic craving, and self-doubt. So that’s why we want to reduce the amount of thinking we do — to have a rest from this near-relentless onslaught of thoughts.
We can even experience times in meditation when no thoughts arise at all.
Hey, you may be thinking, hasn’t he just contradicted himself? Well, no. Let me explain.
If you think that not thinking is the same as having a blank mind, then you’re making the error of equating “the mind” with “thinking” and specifically with verbal thinking, or inner self-talk. There’s much more to the mind than inner self-talk! There are perceptions of physical sensations, and there are perceptions of feelings and emotions, and of internally-generated images.
When meditation brings us to the point where self-talk ceases, the mind is anything but blank. Instead it’s full — full of an awareness of those sensations, feelings, emotions, and images. I like to think of this as one of the meanings of mindfulness – “mind-full-ness,” or the mind being so full that there’s no need for, and no room for, inner self-talk.
Our inner self-talk, as well as generating or reinforcing unhelpful emotions, also has the effect of keeping us at a relatively superficial level of our experience. We get so wrapped up in what we’re saying to ourselves inside our heads that we often don’t really notice what’s going on in the heart, the body, or even in the outside world.
As we start to pay more attention to the breath, and therefore the body, we find that our thinking naturally starts to quiet down. And this creates an even greater opportunity to notice the body, feelings and emotions, etc.
And we find that interesting things start to happen. Because we’re no longer reinforcing unhelpful emotions, we feel happier. And we’re free to notice that happiness more because we’re less obsessed with our thinking. So we really notice how happy we are becoming.
Interesting things start to happen in the body as well. Because we’re no longer reinforcing unhelpful emotions, the body starts to relax. As it relaxes it feels more enjoyable to have a body and energy starts to be released. And that energy is very pleasurable, and because we’re less obsessed with thinking we’re free to really notice those sensations as well.
And sometimes vivid and symbolic imagery wells up into the mind, and of course we’re free to really pay attention to that. We don’t necessarily think about the imagery, but we allow it to sit within us like a wise presence.
So all this is going on in the mind, and the mind is therefore anything but “blank.” Normal experience seems “blank” in comparison to the fullness of experience that we can develop in meditation. I’m reminded of times I’ve been reading outdoors and have emerged from the lines of text on the page to realize that there’s a world full or life and beauty around me that seems incomparably richer and more beautiful than the book. And I say this as someone who has always loved reading!
Sometimes we decide it is appropriate to think in meditation. And we call this reflection. This kind of thinking is more focused and powerful than normal thought. We don’t have a constant stream of thoughts running through the mind, but instead we take a thought and allow it to be there, not going anywhere but simply sitting in the mind, surrounded by awareness, and we notice what responses it calls forth. It’s like the difference between watching MTV, with its constant jumping from one image to another, and standing in an art museum, spending time in front of one picture and drinking it in. (Although I’ve noticed that people generally spend most of their time reading the labels of the pictures than they spend actually looking at the pictures themselves — a sign, I assume, that they are addicted to inner self-talk and uncomfortable with actual experience.
So, no, it’s not contradictory to say that meditation isn’t about making your mind go blank, but that it can help us to reduce, or even eliminate, inner self-talk for periods of time. Meditation is about developing mindfulness, or “mind-full-ness.”
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Okay I am not trying to contradict myself here but maybe I am just worrying way too much and everything is okay. As you can probably tell I am a worrier before and after meditation that hasn't really changed :) I think by doing meditation I may of just conditioned myself to think less and to be "in side my head" less and it's made me stop over analyzing everything as much. I think when I came to realize I wasn't having thoughts as much I freaked out and wondered if something was wrong and assumed the worst. I guess for some like myself realizing you aren't thinking so much can be scary and abnormal because I am so used to thinking about stuff and being "stuck in my head". I also thought meditation may of made me into some stoic zen monk but before meditation I have always been reserved in emotions anyway, Clint Eastwood kind of reserved hence my name "calm". I have also realized something before meditation I didn't feel that happy, fullfilled, after meditation with less thinking I feel the same way. I have always suffered with poor confidence and self esteem (which is why I took up meditation in the first place) any adive? I am still going to see the doctor just to make sure everything alright.
Thanks again for everyones help and opinions.
Hi Calm,
Just to check -- when you say you have no thoughts are you describing the same thing as FuzzWuzz was talking about -- an absence of verbal thought (i.e. no experience of "talking to yourself" internally)?
FuzzWuzz is talking about an absolute absence of such thinking, where you're talking about "thinking less" or "not thinking so much"-- which is a rather different thing.
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Hi, Calm,
At the risk of wearing out my welcome here on Bodhipaksa's blog...I do have a couple of suggestions for you, since you asked. :)
If I were you, I'd find someone to work with individually who understands meditation and the things that come up as you integrate meditation and the results of meditation into your life.
As far as I can tell, that's not something Bodhipaksa offers. I've looked around the site, and it seems to be focused on meditation CDs and classes and other material along those lines, rather than individual, one-on-one work - if I'm wrong, then this would be one option for you.
I can absolutely recommend my teacher's work, Jon Hansen at TheRememberingRoom.com. Also, Stephan Bodian is someone whose work is recommended by people I know (stephanbodian.org).
Good luck with whatever you decide!
There's little risk of you wearing out your welcome, Grace!
One-on-one coaching on Wildmind is handled at the moment by my colleague Sunada. I've temporarily stopped doing that so I can concentrate on my two young children and on finishing my book.
Hi Bodhipaksa and Grace
You know I don't think anything bad has happened I can be prone to worry and having paranoid thoughts/ideas. Yes I can talk to myself internally I guess my "monkey mind" hasn't gone anywhere. I still ask myself questions, make comments on things etc in my head but not as much as before. I guess I have only just started to understand one of the intentions of meditation as in I can be "in the moment" pretty much anytime I wish or I can start thinking and take myself out of "being in the now" or whatever term you want to call it. In all honestly with me recently realizing I am in my head less and thinking less about things It kind of freaked me out because I wasn't used to having such a quiet mind. I working now on my self esteem and confidence. I don't know if what I am experiencing is the same as Fuzzwuzz but I can still think I just feel less need to now probably because I have condition my mind through meditation to turn thoughts on and off at will. Have I got this right?
Thanks again for everyones help and support.
Calm
Hi Calm,
I don't think you have anything to worry about! It does seem as if you're just having a little difficulty adjusting to having a quieter mind. We all identify with different aspects of our experience as being ourselves, and it can be traumatic when the things we identify with start to change. In fact a lot of resistance to change is, I'm sure, a resistance to altering our view of ourselves. People identify with particular feelings, for example, as being themselves, and are reluctant to move away from those feelings even when they are painful. It may be in your case that you've been identifying with your thinking as being your self, and so when your thinking quiets down you experience a panicky sense of losing your familiar bearings.
I'd strongly suggest taking up the practice of lovingkindness meditation or metta bhavana. It will probably help you feel better about yourself and help "warm up" the quietness of your mind.
Hi Bodhipaksa,
Yeah I guess I am overeating but it's just so odd in me barely ever really thinking anymore. My mind is so quiet almost a total blank everyday, this is how I live now. Like Fuzzwuzz said I generally seem to understand things and ideas immediately without thoughts but when it comes to bringing up ideas of my own I am slow to come up with them, my mind is quite foggy I am also slow to react to situations. I can appear too "laid back" because I am very relaxed and content. My worry though is isn't it kind of dangerious to be free from thoughts and thinking? I still can't believe it is possible to completely stop all thinking. That's what the brain is supposed to do think. If I do try and think or I have a thought it sounds very quiet inside my head.
Anyway I have been looking a lot into meditation and I have found out some interesting information. Apparently doing meditation or self hypnosis changes brain waves the higher the brain waves are the faster you are to think and react. However the lower the brain waves are the slower your thinking and reactions response time will be. Like Fuzzwuzz I sometimes feel "dreamy" or my vision is blurry epecially when I am outside I don't always feel 100% "with it" or aware despite being free from thinking.
Sorry for taking over this blog article :)
That post that you just did there, Calm, describes me exactly too! Fogginess, low awareness, too relaxed, etc, etc. I find the information you came up with interesting 'the lower the brain waves the slower your thinking and response time will be'. My reaction time is pretty slow too, I'm thinking that meditation/ self-hypnosis slows brain waves? My query is: Is this good for you? Is there any way to make your thinking and reaction time faster again, lol? It's a problem for me because sometimes I don't follow conversations as fast. I sometimes process what they've said after they've said it. It's a problem when you have to give a prompt reply...
Hey Fuzzwuzz when I first realized I wasn't having any thoughts or thinking much I panicked and I actually thought I was going to have a mental break down. I have always been a person who is mostly "stuck in their head" thinking too much. After calming down and being rational I have realized that being free from "mental chatter" hasn't really changed anything about me. I still enjoy the samethings, I still feel pretty much the same as before. Even before all this happened I was reserved and somewhat stoic. I thought being free from thinking would mean I wouldn't feel sad or nervous or self concious not so. It's true thoughts aren't everything about who you are and how you feel about yourself or things in general. I guess having a clearer mind for one makes me less stressed and because I am more content and have a relaxed vibe I get the females attention :) On the other hand though my thinking may be a bit slower than before but I have had memory problems before doing meditation/self hypnosis anyway. I think we are normal it's just through us stopping all the "mental chatter" with meditation/self hypnosis it can seem like our mind is blank. I can still think If I couldn't actually think I probably wouldn't be able to write this now, I wouldn't be able to look after myself. I can fucntion through daily life just as well as before. That's why the inner voice we use to speak ourselves to inside our mind probably sounds so quiet because all those "mental chatter" thoughts aren't clouding our own inner voice. I have to be honest all the "mental noise" over most of my life has just held me back and I think most of it was the root of my poor self esteem.
Sorry to have been away for so long. Weeks can be busy and weekends (especially with children) can be even busier.
I'd say again, Calm, that I suspect you've over-identified with verbal thinking in the past -- seeing your thoughts as being you and you as being your thoughts. You say, for example, "That’s what the brain is supposed to do -- think." The brain has evolved to do many things, and verbal thinking is just one of them. Brains sense, evaluate, feel, and do all kinds of non-verbal thinking that are actually much more important than having a ticker-tape of words scrolling through consciousness.
I'd suggest again that you explore lovingkindness meditation in order to get you a bit more in touch with your feelings and emotions. It's those that help us make decisions rather than our conscious mind. People with brain damage that prevents them from feeling can stand in the cereal aisle for literally hours, trying to evaluate which breakfast cereal they should buy. A person who is in touch with his or her emotions simply makes a quick decision based on their feelings -- there's a good feeling about this cereal because it's the one we ate as a kid, or we have good feelings about that one because we tried it and it tasted good, eg.
As you said in another comment, our subconscious drives us, and the subconscious drives us by way of presenting feelings and emotions to us. The more we're in touch with our bodies and their feelings, the more alive and responsive we are. The fact that your thinking has slowed down is great, because over-thinking is something that really holds us back. The next stage in your growth is going to involve emotional integration.
i am shocked to be reading this discussion,im so glad im not the only one who has this condition, i found this dicussion by intering ''when your mind goes absent of thaught'' into my search engine. i have no voices,no memories hardly at all. its like someone shut off or unpluged my brain.everything runs automatic. im very worried about the future because it seems to be my reality now, i have a wife and child whom i love very much i dont feel depressed. but there are times that im totally brain dead without worning. no emotion, very little memory, no thaughts unless i force myself to have one. what do i do ? i feel it is growing worse. am i losing my grip on reality?,losing my mind?
Thoughts are inspired by putting together what you see and adding knowledge and experience. If you are able to type coherently and present thought, whether it just flows out or whether you have to sit there and dwell on the matter for a few seconds.. is pretty much the same thing. I think you are creating this delusion that your thoughts are "gone" or your mind is blank... But it's just the fact that your brain is evolving and you are becoming accustomed to the world...