5 Strategies To Appease Mental Noise

Children begin the process of internal dialogue by listening to their parents as they speak to them; then they talk to themselves and their toys, thus exercising verbal language and rational thinking. At some point they learn that it is socially unacceptable to speak to oneself out loud; from there the internal dialogue is established .

This process prepares the child for adult thinking, but internal dialogue, when it does not stop in the adult and gets out of control, can impose its presence in an excessive way. A continuous monologue or internal debate becomes exhausting.

Reduce external noise sources and savor the silence

The stream of disorderly thoughts thus becomes real mental noise. Is it possible to manage an agitated mind and transform it into a more calm and serene one? Or, in other words, is it possible to regulate the frequencies of the waves of mental noise to make it a harmonious vocalization and a coherent transmission?

The mind is a great tool to define the steps that lead to a goal and reflect on the previous ones. It is responsible, among many other functions, for the processes of understanding, learning, creativity, imagination, classification, reasoning, behavior, perception and attitude.

Thoughts are the products of the mind and arise influenced by the perception we have of things, situations and people at a given moment. Education also plays a role in the points of view, in habits and, with it, in the way of facing each experience.

In fact, some authors consider thoughts as voices of others; the inner voice could be an echo of the parents’ teachings and the messages learned, as if they were social rules.

1. Avoid repetitive thoughts

Experience shows that some thoughts often come back to mind over and over again. The more time and attention invested in them, the easier it is for them to reappear and the more difficult it is to create new mental links that offer an alternative way of managing everyday experiences.

And, if each thought is linked to a type of emotion, it will be easy to repeat psycho-emotional patterns, making it difficult to become aware and transform those that do not benefit us or those around us.

To be more aware of personal mental noise I would like to ask the reader to stop reading to see if they have some frequently repeated phrases in their mind. For instance:

• “Uff, now this”
• “Well, in life there is nothing that is easy”
• “I give too much (I don’t feel compensated)”

Taking the trouble to write them down will make the exercise more effective. Before any change you want to achieve, it is essential to know the starting point ; that is, the type of mindset that has been created, consciously or not.

• See if you have repetitive thoughts that may be sowing the seeds of an obsessive, hyperactive, explosive, controlling, pessimistic attitude …
• Observe if, in turn, you often experience emotions such as anger, frustration, impatience, overwhelm, nervousness, acceleration …

A scenario in which the self-talk focuses on gratitude, faith, curiosity, or enthusiasm is also possible. This attitude leads to lighter, joyful thoughts, which elicit a sense of peace and confidence.

Anyway, the usual thing is that the mind oscillates between these two poles. The awareness of this situation and self-observation is what allows the pendulum to swing less and less, without moving so far from the center, so that equanimity prevails.

2. Listen to your mood

If you find it difficult to find those phrases and thoughts that you repeat the most, I invite you to look at your predominant mood during the day. Are you feeling nervous, sad, lost, or bored? Every time that happens, what have you thought about?

It is advisable to feel in which part of the body a certain thought or emotion has affected us physically.

• On the belly, on the chest, on the head, on the shoulders, on the knees …?
• In what way?
• Tickling, pain, contraction …?

It is also interesting to observe and feel the type of breathing that accompanies a repetitive thought:

• Does it shorten, loosen, accelerate, tense, stop?

Identifying the respiratory quality influenced by a belief, which in turn is linked to an emotion, provides body, respiratory and psycho-emotional awareness. Just what is necessary before considering a transformation.

It must be taken into account that the help of a professional can be very useful in all cases, both in which self-observation and awareness are especially difficult, and to broaden the perspective and take other points of reference that may be useful. .

3. Practice active listening

When a child does not feel heard, they scream. Thoughts can do the same. If a part of us does not feel cared for, the body can obsessively repeat its message until we notice it.

It is preferable to listen carefully to the thoughts, avoid an immediate and impulsive response and take some time to reflect if this thought is really based on indisputable evidence or is basically an opinion that depends on a certain point of view.

It is feasible to consider thoughts as a choice, an invitation or a suggestion where we can immerse ourselves or we can refuse. Each thought carries an emotion and with it a particular way of living reality.

The thoughts, ideas, notions, opinions, reasoning, arguments, judgments, concepts, plans, projects and purposes are nothing more than phenomena that depend on factors such as:

• Indoors (hormonal issues, quantity and quality of sleep the night before may influence …).
• Exteriors (television consumption, the social messages we receive from a young age …).

So no thought is entirely “ours”, for it is composed of various influences. Instead of believing each thought and feeding it, we can question its origin and study its influence and relevance to our vital quest.

It’s advisable:

• Listen to yourself carefully.
• Noticing when a thought, emotion, idea, or mental projection emerges.
• Simply listen to its message and its body and respiratory influence so that it does not have to turn up its volume in search of our attention and does not disturb us more than necessary.

But listening does not mean intervening, manipulating, controlling or managing. Listening is allowing the mind to freely express its beliefs, joys and fears, without judging them.

Now, once you have become aware of the inner voices, let us remember that these thoughts are nothing more than an invitation. Learning to dialogue with these voices, be they beliefs or fears, generates an intimate and sincere communication.

You can agree or disagree with the views these thoughts offer … and act accordingly.

4. Free yourself as a choice

When the mental noise becomes so loud and unbearable that one can come to believe that peace is an unattainable dream, mental training can be very effective.

A workout is a constant and regular practice that is done for a specific goal. If the goal is to lower the mental noise and be more centered, reduce the sources of external noise as possible and find spaces to savor the silence and tranquility. Also, avoid having the television or radio as a backdrop and slow down the speed with which you perform daily tasks.

If we look closely, we will find that we can learn to be more efficient or to eliminate commitments to reduce the time spent “doing things” so that the time we have is of higher quality.

If we can reduce the speed and the number of occupations, our mind will find it much easier to cope calmly.

5. Use your breath to help

Active breath listening is a subtle practice and allows you to go one step further. It consists of accompanying the breath with attention, awareness.

“I inhale, I know that I am inhaling. I exhale, I know that I am exhaling,” recommends repeating Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, in order to calm the mind and its compulsive activity. It is a very effective practice to improve concentration and the feeling of calm and peace.

Thus, it does not consist in using words or a specific emotion related to an idea or belief, but in maintaining the focus in the continuous and dedicated listening of each breath.

In this practice our tool is consciousness itself. Phrases that help keep your awareness focused (“I inhale, exhale” or literally count the breaths) are an initial instrument to sharpen concentration.

Once you have enough experience, you can stop using the words as the concentration is focused only on the breath. This concentration awakens the mind and can serve as a training base to choose what type of thoughts we want to focus our attention on; or in other words: what inner messages we want to hear and what volume we want to give them. In power to choose is freedom.