Don't let thoughts arise. How to get rid of "terrible black thoughts"? On the psychology of the unconscious. What does a person with obsessive thoughts look like?

It is impossible to live happily ever after. Although sometimes we will experience sad events that will give rise to negative thoughts. And that's okay. But if bad thoughts begin to haunt you all day long, then it's time to sound the alarm. Otherwise, you can easily get depressed. But how do you get rid of bad thoughts? And why do they even occur?

Sources of negative thoughts

Negative thoughts can occur even in those people who are doing great in life. A person lives quietly and calmly, and suddenly bad thoughts creep in. They spin in the head and after a while they take away all the attention. But where did they come from? Bad thoughts can come for the following reasons:

1. human inconsistency. Every person makes decisions in their life. There are unimportant decisions - what to eat for dinner, how to dress for a bachelorette party for your best friend. And there are decisions that significantly change the course of life. We are talking about changing jobs, moving, marriage, having children. And before deciding on an important step, a person begins to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages in his head. On the one hand, he may want to make a positive decision, and on the other hand, he is afraid that such a decision will lead to problems. And such thoughts attract doubts that do not give rest day or night.
2. Guilt. No one can always make the right decisions. Sometimes people are wrong. But some learn from a mistake and then move on. And others wind themselves up, think how they could have acted in that situation. Simply put, a person lives in the past. He may understand in his head that it is impossible to fix something, but he is not able to say goodbye to obsessive thoughts about that situation. Guilt not only destroys the nervous state, but is also a good tool for manipulators.
3. Helplessness. Some problems need to be accepted and learned to live with them. But easier said than done. Even the most strong-willed person gives up, he feels like a hostage in captivity of a high tower. His mind is filled with fear of an unknown future.

Whatever the cause of obsessive thoughts, they must be driven away. Otherwise, you can fall into depression. How to get rid of bad thoughts?

Why are bad thoughts dangerous?

Many do not understand the danger of bad thoughts. They reason like this: “What difference does it make what I think? The main thing is that it did not change my usual life. And indeed, at first, nothing globally bad will happen to a person. But soon he will fall into depression, and if soul-searching continues, then neurosis begins. And it's not difficult to get into a hospital for the mentally ill there. But, in addition to the destructive effect on the psyche, bad thoughts:

1. They don't let you do it right. When a person immerses himself in negativity, his brain is not able to correctly perceive the events that are happening around. It is difficult for a person to concentrate on even simple tasks. As a result, depression sets in.
2. They provoke diseases. Most of the "customers" psychiatric hospitals are individuals suffering from psychological syndromes. But all their problems began from the fact that they worked themselves up and did not want to change anything in the subconscious.
3. Materialize. Many cases are known when a person's thoughts materialized into life. For example, a man dreamed of a beautiful house and after a while such a house appeared in him. But he can program himself for a bad event. A person is afraid of falling ill with a terrible disease, and after a certain period such a disease is diagnosed in him.

Evil thoughts often become very intrusive. And in order to save yourself from them, you have to seek help from psychologists to get rid of nervous syndromes. But even they will not help if the patient is not able to understand why bad thoughts arise. Then how to distract from bad thoughts? And how to independently identify a person with bad thoughts?

What does a person with obsessive thoughts look like?

People who suffer from obsessive thoughts are easy to recognize among the crowd. And this will help the analysis of the behavior of such persons:

1. they are terrified of contracting some disease. Obsessive thoughts about the disease climb into their heads and force them to constantly perform various hygiene procedures. Their fear pushes for daily general cleaning and disinfection using strong chemicals;
2. they are always in emotional stress, because they are afraid of sudden danger. Their thoughts are occupied with whether the iron is turned off, whether the tap in the bathroom is turned off, whether the door is locked;
3. they tend to think that everything can be done perfectly. At the same time, they constantly try to keep the commandments of God, forgetting about the sinful nature of man. And the slightest mess in the room provokes depression;
4. they are too steeped in the past. They store children's drawings, toys, diaries from school, old clothes and other unnecessary things. And if these "precious" things are thrown away by someone else, then a terrible depression begins;
5. in an emergency, they always think about the bad. If one of the relatives is out of the access zone, then such a person forgets about the possible discharge of the phone, and starts calling morgues and hospitals, winding himself up.

Such symptoms complicate the life of not only the patient, but also the people around him. To make life easier, you need to start fighting obsessive thoughts.

To cope with the disease, it is necessary to treat not the symptoms, but to look for the root cause of the disease. The same can be said about obsessive thoughts. Sit in a quiet environment and think about what triggered these thoughts. In addition, psychologists advise using the following methods to fight bad thoughts:

1. Avoid negative emotions. To do this, stop watching the news, start ignoring all the bad things that are said on the radio on the bus or what colleagues in the office whisper about. Find an activity that will be pleasant for your soul - go fishing, grow flowers, read interesting books. Communicate with cheerful people, and preferably children. Children are stronger than adults are able to enjoy good events.
2. Finding the positive in negative situations. On a sheet of paper in a column, write down all the events that make you think about the bad. On the contrary, write pleasant emotions that you felt in those situations. Such an exercise can free oneself from bad thoughts and see the good.
3. List the fears on a sheet and burn it. Burning a sheet that lists fears will help get all the negative thoughts out of your head. When burning, imagine how your anxiety and tension disappear in the fire. To consolidate the effect, this procedure should be done several times. You can also print your fears on a computer, and replace the burning ritual by simply deleting the file to the trash.
4. Boost your confidence. You need to understand that only you are responsible for your life. Set small goals and do your best to achieve them. And when you reach it, praise yourself for it. In this case, fears will quickly disappear.
5. Turn on your own imagination. When negative thoughts and fears come to you, imagine a picture of a landscape or other beautiful place. Consider this place in detail. This option helps to remove bad thoughts from your head on your own.
6. Eat antidepressant products. It is not necessary to take medicine to throw out bad thoughts. Eat natural, mood-boosting foods. Such products include chocolate, bananas, raisins, celery and sea fish.

Another important method in treating bad thinking is meditation.

How useful is meditation in the fight against bad thoughts?

Meditation is recognized by psychologists as the most effective way to clear bad thoughts. As a rule, it is used to concentrate attention or go into the subconscious. For a person in depression, meditation makes it possible to forget about the bad thoughts that so climb into the head. It is worth starting meditation only after a detailed study of this method. At first, it must be carried out when you have previously tuned in to positive emotions.

Very often, in order to get obsessive thoughts out of the head, a person uses false methods in solving this problem. He may think that meditation and other methods for curing bad thoughts are ineffective.

What will not get rid of bad thoughts?

Poor helpers in the treatment of obsessive thinking are:

1. Self-pity or excessive severity. After a series of troubles, a person begins to feel sorry for himself too much, considers his person to be the unloved of fate. All this creates more fear. And sometimes a person subconsciously does not part with bad attitudes. Imagine that you are overweight. On the one hand, you sob into your pillow every evening and think why you didn’t get the figure of a top model, and on the other hand, you like it so much when others feel sorry for you, comfort you, convince you for hours that a person’s weight is not the main thing. After such consolations, you get the legal right to go and eat your anxiety with cakes and other sweets. True, the nervous tension does not disappear from this. The problem will remain with the person until the time when his subconscious mind ceases to be protected from its solution.
2. Imagine bad consequences. To throw out negative thoughts faster, you should not imagine the terrible consequences of your own mistakes. Imagine that you are planning a trip to Italy for your vacation. You run and collect documents for a visa in your free time. And it seems that you meet the deadlines, but the anxiety that you will spend your vacation not in the country of your dreams, but in the country does not cease to torment. Get rid of nervous tension in such a situation, pronouncing the following text will help: “I am sitting in a comfortable chair. Everything is good in my life. I will spend my vacation in Italy, and all bad thoughts are just my fantasies. After such an exercise, your mind will be reminded of positive emotions.

Every time you visit bad idea keep yourself busy. Work is the best way to treat negative thinking and long depression.

Each of us almost every day there are some useful ideas. But the human mind is so mobile that they are almost immediately replaced by new thoughts and irretrievably forgotten.

There is another case when the idea is good, but untimely. And in this case, it will most often also be safely forgotten.

But you can change the situation and decide not to miss a single idea anymore, even if at first glance it seems untimely, unworkable, or just strange. In the end, you can never say for sure which undertaking will be successful and which will not be very successful. Ideas then come to us so that we can use them and change our lives.

What are the main reasons we miss ideas? At the very least, they could be:

1. Didn't write down the idea

The circumstances of life can be dynamic and constantly changing. For example, very often ideas come while driving a car, when the brain is practically free. Music on the radio or something seen along the way can push to some thoughts. But writing in a car is inconvenient, and upon arrival at your destination, there is a high probability of completely or partially forgetting the idea. A change of scenery encourages forgetting.

But it's easy to buy a notebook, a pen and put it all in the car. And now, if an interesting idea is born along the way, you can always write it down on the go or by making a stop.

2. The value of the idea that came to mind is not clear

This is another major reason why we miss good ideas. There are no completely useless ideas, there are only those whose benefits we still do not understand, and we just need to figure out how to apply them correctly.

Such ideas also need to be recorded. Someday they will acquire value, independent, or coupled with some other idea.

3. Abandoned an idea because it seemed stupid

Even if the idea seemed completely useless and stupid to you, it is still worth fixing. After some time, perhaps it will be more useful to you. So, you can, for example, once a month look through all the previously recorded ideas, and for sure among them there will be useful and necessary in this moment.

Write down your ideas

Experience shows that the best ones come suddenly, in the most unexpected places and situations, when they are not even related to what you are doing at that moment. This is completely normal. Just write down the idea, and you can analyze and use it later.

Train yourself to capture forward-looking thoughts.

Your subconscious is constantly working on the tasks that you set for yourself. But the form and timing of his answers to questions may be unexpected and incomprehensible at first glance.

Keeping such records will greatly increase your chances of success. In addition, you will always have entries with many ideas and perspectives in front of you, and this is a source of optimism and motivation.

Of course, not all ideas are good, and not all of them can be implemented. But remember famous inventors. Each of them had to come up with hundreds of unclaimed things at that time before they created something useful. They invented materials that at one time were not needed by anyone, and even by themselves. Their value became clear over time.

In addition, keeping records will allow you to become a more organized person. You will have to regularly analyze the written ideas, and plan their implementation.

In detail about obsessive thoughts: what is it, treatment for OCD. Psychology

Syndrome of obsessive states and thoughts - OCD. What is this mental mechanism, and how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fears? Video

Greetings!

For me, this article is very important, because I am familiar with the problem of obsessive thoughts from my own experience.

And if you are reading it, you may have encountered something like this yourself and do not know how to deal with it.

It will be not only about the knowledge of psychology, but even more importantly, about your own experience, feelings and important subtleties that you need to go through yourself in order to know.

I want you on your own practical experience, and not on someone else's words that you heard or read somewhere, applied and tested what will be discussed in this article. After all, nothing and no one can replace your own experience and awareness.

Somewhere I will repeat myself in the course of the article, but only because these are very important points that I want to draw your special attention to.

So, intrusive thoughts, what is it?

In psychology, there is such a thing as “mental chewing gum”. This name alone should tell you something - a sticky, viscous, addictive thought.

Obsessive thoughts, obsessive states or obsessive internal dialogue - scientifically OCD (), otherwise called obsessive-compulsive disorder.

This is a mental phenomenon in which a person has a painful feeling of forced appearance in the head of some repeatedly repeated information (some thoughts), which often leads to obsessive actions and behavior.

Sometimes a person, exhausted by obsession, himself invents some behavior for yourself action-ritual, for example, counting some numbers, numbers of passing cars, counting windows or pronouncing certain “stop words (phrases)” to yourself, etc. etc., there are many options.

He invents this behavior (action) as a way of some protection from his obsessive thoughts, but in the end these “action-rituals” themselves become obsessions, and the situation only gets worse over time, because these actions themselves constantly remind a person of his problem, reinforce and amplify it. Although this can sometimes help in moments, it is all one-time, short-term and does not get rid of OCD.

Mechanism of occurrence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

No matter how strange it may seem to someone, but the main reason for the emergence and development of obsessive states, in whatever form it manifests itself, are: firstly, the formed the habit of constantly having an internal dialogue with oneself, moreover, in an automatic (unconscious) way on any exciting old or new occasion;secondly, it attachment to some of their beliefs (ideas, attitudes) and deep faith in those beliefs.

And this obsessive thinking, to a greater or lesser extent, is present in many people, but many do not even know about it, they just think that it is right, that this is a normal way of thinking.

Having become habitual, an obsessive internal dialogue manifests itself not only in what is important for a person, but also in any everyday, daily and new situations. Just watch yourself carefully and you will quickly understand.

But more often this is manifested in what a person is obsessed with, what worries him greatly and for a long time.

From the constant scrolling of a monotonous, restless (often frightening) and essentially useless internal dialogue, such fatigue can pile up that, apart from the desire to get rid of these thoughts, there is no other desire. Gradually, this leads to fear of one's own thoughts, before their appearance, which only aggravates the situation.

A person loses freedom and becomes a hostage of an obsessive state. There is insomnia, VVD symptoms () and almost constant, increased anxiety.

Actually, the general internal anxiety and dissatisfaction for some reason led to the possibility of this problem, but this is the topic of other articles.

Obsessive ideas (thoughts) in their essence.

What are obsessive thoughts in general in their inner essence?

It is very important to understand that obsessive thoughts are those thoughts that, without our will, make us think about something. As a rule, these are straining, monotonous (monotonous) internal scrolling dialogs the same mental plot, just in different ways. And this unconscious stream of thoughts in the head can so absorb attention that at that moment everything else that is happening around almost ceases to exist.

An obsessive state, as a function of the brain, oddly enough, has its own natural task, it plays a certain role and is something like a “reminder”, “signal” and “enforcer” that push a person to something.

Many of you may now think, and here is some kind of “reminder” and “signal”, because obsessive thoughts are still just thoughts.

Actually, it's not just thoughts. And the main difference between obsessive thoughts and ordinary, logical ones is that these thoughts, despite all their often seeming reasonableness, do not contain anything healthy in their internal filling.

These irrational, emotional thoughts, as a rule, are always connected with our fears, doubts, resentments, anger, or with something important and disturbing us. These thoughts are always based on an emotional charge, that is, their basis is emotion.

And what can be useful in this obsessive mechanism?

The Imposing Signal is called a signal that informs us about something. This mechanism is mainly designed to automatically remind and focus our attention on what we consider important to ourselves.

For example, if you have a loan from a bank, you need to pay it off, but you don’t have money right now, and if you are a sane person, you will look for a solution. And in many ways you will be helped by obsessive thoughts, which, whether you want it or not, will often or constantly, at any time of the day or night, remind you of the situation that has arisen so that you resolve it.

Another example of the usefulness of this intrusive feature.

What is so vitally important that a person can think about that can bring him to an obsessive state?

About money, oh better job, better housing, personal relationships, etc. For example, a person has a goal, and he begins to constantly think about it, makes plans, not looking up, does something and continues to think about it.

As a result, if it is non-stop, it goes on for a long time, there may come a moment when, having decided to take a break, he tries to switch and occupy himself with something else, but notices that he still continues unconsciously reflect on your important goal.

And even if he tries to tell himself with willpower and sound reasoning “stop, I need to stop thinking about this, I need to rest,” it won’t work right away.

Obsessive thoughts, in this example, make a person think about the important. That is, they perform a completely useful role, not allowing a person to stop there, but at the same time, without caring about his health at all, because this is none of their business, their only role is to signal, remind and push.

The very occurrence of an obsessive state - dangerous and harmful for us - is a sign that failures in the psyche have begun.

Just keep in mind: whatever important you are doing, if you do not give yourself good rest, this can lead to any disorders, chronic fatigue, increased anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders and neurosis.

There is only one conclusion - no matter how valuable and useful what you are doing, and what important you think about, you must always take breaks, stop and allow yourself to have a good rest emotionally, physically and especially mentally, otherwise everything can end badly.

Imposing thoughts on an alarming (frightening) occasion

Obsessive thoughts can be associated with something natural and completely justified, or with something completely absurd, frightening and illogical.

For example, thoughts related to health, when a person, having felt some kind of painful symptom, begins to worry, think about it, and the further, the more he frightens himself. My heart stabbed or pounded hard, immediately thought: “Something is wrong with me, maybe my heart is sick.” A person gets hung up on this symptom, worries, and obsessive thoughts arise about this, although in reality there is no disease. It was just a symptom caused by some disturbing thoughts, fatigue and internal tension.

But you can’t just take them and immediately ignore them. Perhaps it really makes sense to listen to these thoughts, because you really can have some kind of physical illness. In this case, consult a doctor. If, after all the tests, you were told that everything is fine with you, but you still continue to worry, go to the second doctor, but if it is confirmed there that you are healthy, then you are, and you are now just prone to OCD .

Other people are attacked by the obsessive thought to harm and even kill someone close to them or do something to themselves. At the same time, a person does not really want this, but this very thought haunts and frightens him with the fact that it comes to his mind at all.

In fact, this is a proven fact: there is no recorded case in the world that would lead to terrible consequences. Just the presence of these obsessive thoughts keeps a person from such actions. And the fact that they arise indicates that you not inclined to it, otherwise it wouldn't scare you.

Those who are inclined to something like this, they do not experience within themselves. They either act or wait, that is, they really want it and do not worry about it. If this scares you, then you are not like that, and this is the main thing.

Why did you have your problem? The following happened to you. Some crazy thought once visited you, and instead of saying to yourself: “Well, stupid things can come to mind,” and without attaching importance to this, you would leave yourself alone, get scared and begin to analyze.

That is, at that moment some thought visited you, you believed it and believed that since you think so, it means that you are like that and can do something bad. You trusted without solid grounds this irrational thought, not knowing what is so absurd and can visit any healthy person, this is quite an ordinary phenomenon. That thought, in turn, triggered an emotion in you, in our case, the emotion of fear, and off you go. Later, you got hung up on this thought, because it scared you, began to analyze a lot and endowed it with power (importance), so you now have a problem, and not at all because you are some kind of abnormal or mentally ill, that you can and want to do something terrible. You just have a disorder that is definitely treatable, and you definitely won’t do anything bad to anyone.

Thoughts themselves cannot force you to do something, for this you need a real, strong desire and intention. All they can do is make you think, but nothing more. This, of course, is also very unpleasant, and how to deal with it, how to get rid of obsessive thoughts, will be below.

For others, obsessions may be related to everyday things, for example, “did I turn off the stove (iron)?” - a person thinks and checks a hundred times a day.

Some are afraid of getting infected with something and constantly or repeatedly wash their hands during the day, wash their apartment (bath), etc.

And someone for a long time can worry and obsessively think about their appearance (), or constantly worry and think about their behavior in public, control over themselves and their status in society.

In general, everyone has their own, and no matter how scary or acceptable what is imposed, it is all essentially the same - OCD only in different manifestations.

An example of how obsessive thinking can manifest itself

Let's briefly simple example let's see how often the habit of obsessive thinking can manifest itself, and what physically strengthens and reinforces this habit.

If you have a conflict or argument with someone, and some time has already passed, and the thoughts associated with the situation do not let go.

You continue to mentally, unconsciously scroll through this in your head, conduct an internal (virtual) dialogue with the opposite side, argue about something and find more and more justifications and evidence of your rightness or your guilt. You get angry, threaten and think: “You should have said such and such or done such and such.”

This process can go on for quite some time until something grabs your attention.

You worry and get nervous over and over again, but in fact you are engaged in the most real, very harmful absurdity, which is reinforced and automatically moved emotional obsession state and anxiety.

The only right thing to do in this situation is to stop thinking about it, no matter how much you would like it and no matter how important you think it is.

But if you give in, and this compulsive process drags on, then it can be very difficult to gather yourself internally and stop the internal dialogue.

And you can exacerbate the problem even more if at some point you realize that you are not in control of the situation at all, you become even more afraid of these thoughts, you start fighting them in order to somehow distract yourself, and you start blaming and scolding yourself for everything that is now is happening to you.

But the guilt for everything that happens to you is not only yours, but also in the running mechanism, which has both a mental basis and a physical and biochemical component:

• certain neurons are excited, and stable neural connections are created, at which automatic reflex response;
• the body produces stress hormones (cortisol, aldosterone) and a mobilizing hormone - adrenaline;
• the autonomic nervous system (ANS) starts up, and somatic symptoms appear - the muscles of the body tense up; increased heart rate, pressure, tension, sweating, trembling in the limbs, etc. Very often there is dry mouth, fever, lump in the throat, shortness of breath, that is, all signs of VVD (vegetative-vascular dystonia).

Remember: what to scold and be angry with yourself in this situation - a crime against yourself, much here simply does not depend on you, it takes time and the right approach to stabilize all these symptoms, which will be discussed below.

By the way, you should not be afraid of these symptoms listed above, this is a completely normal reaction of the body to your anxiety state. The same as if there were real a threat, for example, a huge dog would run at you, and you would naturally be afraid of it. Immediately, the heart would pound, the pressure would rise, the muscles would tighten, breathing would become faster, and so on. These unpleasant symptoms are the consequences of ejection chemical elements and adrenaline, which mobilizes our body at the moment of danger.

Moreover, notice and realize the fact that all this happens in our body not only at the moment of a real threat, but also during fictitious, virtual, when there is no real danger now, no one attacks you, and nothing falls from above. The danger is only in our head - we think about something restless, wind ourselves up with some kind of disturbing thoughts and begin to tense up and get nervous.

The fact is that our brain simply does not feel the difference between what is happening in reality and a mental (mental) experience.

That is, all these strong, unpleasant and frightening symptoms can easily be caused by disturbing (negative) thoughts that will provoke some unwanted emotions, and those, in turn, unpleasant symptoms in the body. This is what many people constantly do, and then, in addition, they begin to be afraid of these natural symptoms and even bring themselves to PA () and.

Now, I think it will be difficult for you to immediately realize this, because this moment of the relationship between the psyche and the body requires a more detailed and deep explanation, but this will be discussed in other articles, but now, so that you can slowly begin to understand yourself, I will Again I suggest learning to observe yourself, your thoughts and emotions.

Understand where and what comes from, how thoughts, emotions and other related sensations arise; what happens unconsciously and what we consciously influence; how much it all depends on us, and how your thoughts affect your current state.

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts, fears on your own?

First of all, you need to realize the fact that you cannot completely believe everything that comes to your mind, and you cannot associate (identify) yourself, your “I” only with your thoughts, because we are not our thoughts. Our thoughts are only a part of ourselves. Yes, very important, intellectual, necessary for us, but only a part of us.

Logic (thinking) is our main ally, it is a magnificent tool given to us by nature, but we still need to know how to use this tool correctly.

Most people are sure that ALL our thoughts are only our own thoughts, it is we who invent them and then think them over.

Indeed, since some thoughts arise in our head, then these are, of course, our thoughts, but besides this, they are to a large extent derivatives of various external and internal factors.

That is, what we can experience, and what thoughts now come to our mind, does not depend only on us whether we like it or not. All this directly will be connected with our mood at the moment (good or bad) and will be a consequence of circumstances already beyond our control and past experience.

If we had other attitudes, a different mood, a different past, for example, we would have been born to different parents or would now live in Africa - there would be completely different thoughts.

If some negative moment in the past had not happened to us, there would not have been a bad experience, therefore, there would not have been any obsessive thoughts.

When we associate ourselves, our “I” only with our thoughts, when we are sure that our thoughts are WE, then there is nothing left for us but to deeply believe in everything that comes to mind, but it can come such…

In addition, it is very important to realize that we are able to observe our thoughts, comment on them, evaluate, condemn and ignore them. That is, we are what can be attended to outside of thinking to be aware of oneself outside one's thoughts. And this suggests that we are not only our thoughts, we are something more - what can be called a soul or some kind of energy.

This is a very important point in solving this problem. It is necessary to stop identifying yourself with your thoughts, stop believing that they are you, and then you will be able to see them from the side (detached).

Our body is talking to us all the time. If only we could take the time to listen.

Louise Hay

If you start observing yourself and your thoughts, you will quickly notice the fact that most of our thoughts in the head are nothing more than automatic thoughts, that is, they arise unconsciously, on their own without our desire and our participation.

And what is most interesting, most of these thoughts are repeated every day. These are 80-90% the same thoughts only in different variations.

And these are not just someone's words, this is a confirmed scientific fact based on numerous studies. In fact, every day we most often think and scroll through the same thing in our heads. And you can track it yourself.

Second step which I briefly wrote about in the article ““, you can’t fight intrusive thoughts in any way, resist and try to get rid of them, dismiss them and forget.

Take care of yourself: if you try very hard not to think about something, then you already think about it.

If you strive to get rid of thoughts, switch or somehow drive them away, then they will overcome even stronger and more persistently.

Because by resisting themselves endow them with an even greater emotional charge and only increase internal tension, you begin to worry and get even more nervous, which, in turn, intensifies the symptoms (unpleasant physical sensations) that I wrote about above.

So the key point is do not struggle with thoughts, do not try to distract yourself and get rid of. In this way, you will save a lot of energy that you are now wasting on fighting them, without getting anything in return.

How to stop the obsessive internal dialogue if you can not fight?

At the moment when you were visited by obsessive thoughts, and you realized that these thoughts do not tell you something really necessary (useful) - it's just from time to time, repeatedly, like a broken record, a repetitive internal dialogue that gives you something something that is very disturbing and has not yet solved your problem - simply, impartially, indifferently, begin to ignore these thoughts, without trying to get rid of them.

Let these thoughts be in your head, allow them to be, and watch them. Look at them even if they scare you.

In another way, and perhaps it would be more correct to say, without entering into a dialogue with them, without analyzing You just contemplate them gently trying not to think about them.

Do not analyze what obsessive thoughts tell you, just observe them without delving into their essence. Always remember that these are just ordinary thoughts that you are not obliged to believe in, and you are not at all obliged to do what they say.

Don't avoid feeling

Also observe the emotions and sensations that arise in the body that cause these thoughts, even if they are very unpleasant for you. Take a closer look and feel what, how and at what moment is happening. This will give you an understanding of why your unpleasant symptoms occur and why at some point you start to feel worse.

Just like with thoughts, don't try to get rid of these feelings, give in to them even if you feel bad for a while. Remember that these are completely natural, although painful symptoms, and they have a reason. During the war, people did not experience such things, and after that they lived long and healthy.

These sensations are necessary accept and live to the end. And gradually inside of you, at a level deeper than our consciousness (in the unconscious), there will be a transformation of these sensations, and they themselves will weaken until at some point they stop bothering you at all. Read more about sensations in this.

Without struggling with internal processes, you can smoothly shift your attention to breathing, make it a little deeper and slower, this will speed up the recovery of the body (read more about proper breathing).

pay attention to the world, people and nature - on everything that surrounds you. Look at the texture of various things, listen to the sounds, and while doing something, direct all attention on this matter, that is, with full attention, plunge into real life.

Acting in this way, it is not necessary to do everything in the sequence I have described, do as you are doing now, the main thing is mindfully and attentively observe everything.

If thoughts return, let them be, but without mental analysis and struggle from your side.

Your indifference and calm attitude without fighting to these thoughts will significantly reduce or even deprive them of their emotional charge. With practice, you will understand this yourself.

Do not rush things, let everything take its natural course, as it should go. And these thoughts will surely go away. And they will leave without consequences or without serious consequences for you. It will turn out that you are calm and smooth, somewhere imperceptibly for yourself, naturally turn your attention to something else.

By learning not to fight thoughts, you learn to live when those thoughts are and when they are not. No annoying thoughts - fine, if there is - also normal.

Gradually, with a change in your attitude towards them, you will no longer be afraid of the appearance of any thoughts, because you realize that you can live in peace, without fear and without being tormented by them. And these thoughts in the head will become less and less, because without running away from them, without empowering them, they will lose their sharpness and begin to disappear on their own.

Arguing with obsessive thoughts and finding a logical solution

It happens that you, trying to get rid of a constantly overpowering, obsessive thought, are looking for some thoughts or mental solutions that would calm you down.

You are thinking intensely, perhaps arguing with yourself or trying to convince yourself of something, but by doing so, you only strengthen the problem from the inside.

In a dispute with obsessive thoughts, you won’t prove anything to yourself, even if you manage to find a thought that calms you for a while, soon obsessive thoughts in the form of doubts and anxieties will return, and everything will start in a circle.

Trying to replace thoughts or convince yourself of something doesn't work with obsessive states.

How to get rid of intrusive thoughts: mistakes and warnings

Don't expect quick results. You could cultivate your problem for years, and in a few days change your attitude to thoughts, learn to observe them impartially, not succumbing to their provocation - it will be difficult, but this really needs to be learned. Some will have to overcome a strong fear, especially in the beginning, but it will get better later on.

Something you can succeed almost immediately, and someone will immediately feel better, others will need time to feel how it all happens, but everyone, without exception, will have recessions, the so-called “kickbacks” or “pendulum”, when the past state and behavior are returned. It is important here not to be disappointed, not to stop and continue to practice.

Very harmful to talk with someone about your condition, about what you are experiencing, to share and discuss your experiences with a non-professional person.

This can only ruin everything. Firstly, because you once again remind yourself, your psyche, your unconscious about what is happening to you, and this does not contribute to recovery in any way.

Secondly, if the one to whom you tell something, showing his initiative, begins to ask: “Well, how are you, everything is fine? Are you well already? or “Never mind, this is all nonsense” - such questions and words can simply destroy the healing process. You yourself can feel what you feel at the moment when you were told this, take a closer look at your inner feelings, you are clearly getting worse, you are starting to feel sick acutely.

Therefore, it is very important to exclude any conversations on this topic with other people, except for a specialist doctor. Thus, by not communicating what you are experiencing, you will remove a lot of reminders (internal messages) that you are supposedly sick, and stop developing your problem further.

Trying not to fight with obsessive thoughts, you watch them, but at the same time you internally want and try to get rid of them, fight them, that is, in fact, the same struggle takes place.

Therefore, a very important initial step here will be to capture and fix the self a wish get rid of intrusive thoughts. Do not follow this desire, just be aware of it within yourself.

You don't have to wait impatiently for these thoughts to go away and not to reappear.

It's impossible, because you can't fool the memory, but to induce amnesia, friends, well, it's imprudent. If you keep waiting for some of your thoughts to disappear and never come back, you are already creating resistance and struggle, which means that the problem will remain a problem, and you will continue to dwell on it.

The key to solving it is not that there will be no more of these or similar thoughts, but in your correct approach - in change in attitude (perception) towards them. And then you just won't care much about what comes to your mind from time to time.

Notice this fact when you are already immersed in an obsessive internal dialogue, or you have some kind of obsessive fear, sound logic completely stops working. You seem to be able to remember or think about something right and necessary at this moment, you can say sensible words to yourself, but if you didn’t succeed in immediately following them, then the logic is no longer perceived, the obsessive state stubbornly dictates its own. Even understanding all the absurdity of this obsession (and many people understand), it is impossible to get rid of it either by willpower or logic.

Impartial(no rating) conscious observation without logical analysis(because, in essence, obsessive thoughts are absurd, and even if in some cases they come on business, they only remind and signal that we need some practical steps to solve the problem, and not about what these thoughts need to think), without identifying yourself with this state (that is, to observe everything that happens inside you: the thought process and sensations from the outside, you are separate, the obsessive state (thoughts and sensations) are separate), and natural, soft, without resistance to these thoughts switching (when you don’t try in every way on purpose, by an effort of will, to get distracted, get rid of, forget, etc., that is, you accept everything that is happening to you now), is the most correct way out of the situation and the natural process of recovery (liberation from an obsessive state and thoughts), except for .

If you had done this in the beginning, you wouldn't have this problem now.

P.S. Always remember. In any case, no matter what your intrusive thoughts tell you, there is no point in delving into them repeatedly and scrolling through the same thing a hundred and a hundred times.

Even if some kind of obsession suddenly turns out to be justified and will inform you about a real case or some real problem, then you must solve it in a practical way ( actions), not thoughts. You just need to do what needs to be done; what the imposing thought tells you, and then there will be no reason to worry and think about it.

Sincerely, Andrey Russkikh

Since we are people, and the eternal presence of black and white both in our lives and in our heads is determined by nature, we cannot get away from this dilemma. Even wrestling. And depending on which side we fight on, it will outweigh. But even when our lives seem to be woven mostly of white, strange, sometimes terrible black thoughts still visit us from time to time. They can scare us, alarm us. It is difficult to understand their nature without knowledge, since this element of the vital activity of the brain is considered to be part of the psychology of the unconscious. The so-called dark side of personality can help us understand ourselves - if we “cooperate” with it correctly.

The Inner Demon: Why Terrible Thoughts Come to Our Minds

It's good that there is no mind-reading device yet, otherwise any of us would be caught red-handed. After all, even the most meek and delicate person can sometimes rejoice at the failure of his neighbor or feel the desire to crush someone's head. Why do respectable citizens enjoy watching thrillers with dismemberment, while ardent liberals sometimes catch themselves in xenophobia? And is it possible to prevent such “thought crimes”? Psychologist Jena Pincott wrote about this, this article contains the main theses of her article.

Each of us sometimes catches ourselves in the wrong, frightening or vile thoughts. To bend over a cute baby and suddenly think: "I can easily crush his skull." Comfort a friend who has experienced a breakdown in his personal life, and secretly savor the humiliating details of his story. Riding with relatives in a car and imagining in detail how you lose control and drive into the oncoming lane.
The more persistently we try to distract ourselves from these ideas, the more intrusive they become and the worse we feel. It's not easy to admit, but we do enjoy primitive thrills and other people's misfortune. People have a surprisingly poor command of their own black thoughts: we have no control over their duration or content.

In the 1980s, in his famous experiment Eric Klinger asked volunteers to write down their thoughts for a week every time a special device sounds. The scientist found that during a 16-hour day a person is visited by about 500 unintentional and obsessive ideas, lasting an average of 14 seconds. Although most of the time our attention is occupied with everyday affairs, 18% of the total number of thoughts cause discomfort to a person and are marked as bad, evil and politically incorrect. And another 13% can be described as completely unacceptable, dangerous or shocking - these are, for example, thoughts of murder and perversion.

The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung was one of the first to become seriously interested in black thoughts. In his work The Psychology of the Unconscious (1912), he described the shadow side of the personality - the receptacle of sinful desires and animal instincts, which we usually suppress.

How is the dark side of personality formed? From the point of view of neuroscience, part of the cognitive processes forms the "I" with which we are used to identifying ourselves - prudent, normal, logical, while other processes serve as an impetus for the development of a dark, irrational consciousness, where obsessive images and ideas are born.

According to Klinger's theory, the ancient preconscious mechanism in our brain is constantly looking for potential sources of danger in the outside world. Information about them, bypassing consciousness, is transmitted in the form of emotional signals, which cause unwanted thoughts. Neuroscientist Sam Harris believes that these thoughts are random and completely uncontrollable: although a person is conscious, he cannot completely control his mental life.

Dark and frightening thoughts: "This is disgusting, show me more"

People are embarrassed to admit that they are attracted to sinister and vile stories: it is believed that this is the lot of freaks and perverts. Fans of bloody thrillers, photo compilations of car accident victims, or alcoholized embryos have a reduced ability to empathize. Thirty years ago, University of Delaware professor Marvin Zuckerman determined that some people are more thrill-hungry than others. When confronted with something abnormal and terrible, people with this type of personality are more aroused - this can be established by measuring electrodermic activity.

Cravings for unhealthy and creepy things can also be beneficial. As psychologist Eric Wilson argues, thinking about the suffering of others allows us to neutralize destructive emotions without harming ourselves and others. They can even lead to a state of awe: “I can feel the value of my own life in a new way,” Wilson writes, “because I myself and my family are alive and well!”

Thoughts on perversions: "Do not open at work ... and nowhere at all"

Many of us consider the most terrible thoughts associated with taboos: there is nothing worse than catching yourself fantasizing about something immoral or illegal.

The good news is that being a little aroused doesn't mean anything. Clinical psychologist Lee Baer, ​​a professor at Harvard Medical School, argues that arousal is the body's natural response to attention. Almost everyone thinks about it in one way or another, but not all fantasies should be taken literally.

Politically Incorrect Thoughts: "If they know what I'm thinking, they'll hate me"

A hateful voice in your head that turns on when the "other" appears in your field of attention - be it a person in a wheelchair, a woman in a veil, or a foreigner with an unusual skin color. This voice, which you do your best to muffle, calls into question the adequacy, behavior, abilities and, in general, the presence of human qualities in “others”.

Mark Schaller, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia, believes that such thoughts are caused by a primitive defense mechanism that was formed at the dawn of mankind, when outsiders were by definition a source of threat. The mechanism of "psychological immunity", however, does not justify modern manifestations of intolerance - fat-shaming, xenophobia, religious prejudice or homophobia.

The good news is that automatically occurring politically incorrect thoughts can be overcome: psychologists advise you to stop thinking about how polite and open-minded others think you are, and concentrate on the personality of the person with whom you communicate.

Malevolent thoughts: "Your failure is my joy"

When we hear on the news that some girl was caught drunk driving and arrested, we don't care. But if that girl turns out to be Paris Hilton, we feel a strange, malicious satisfaction that the Germans call "shadenfreude" (literally, "joy at harm").

Australian psychologist Norman Feather (Flinders University) has proven that we are more pleased with the failure of someone outstanding than the failure of a person of our equal status. When successful people fail, we feel smarter, more insightful, and more confident.

Perhaps this is how our inner desire for justice manifests itself. But where does the feeling of shame come from? According to Professor Richard Smith, author of The Joy of Pain (“Joy of Pain”), it makes no sense to reproach yourself for this banal emotional reaction. To overcome an attack of gloating, you need to imagine yourself in the place of the victim or concentrate on your own achievements and merits, because the best antidote to envy is gratitude.

Cruel thoughts: “I wish I had a chainsaw now…”

You are calmly cutting onions in your kitchen, and suddenly the thought flashes through your head: “What if I slaughter my wife?” If thoughts of murder were considered a crime, most of us would have found guilty. According to psychologist David Bass (University of Texas at Austin), 91% of men and 84% of women have ever imagined pushing a person off a platform, strangling their partner with a pillow, or brutally beating a family member.

The researcher offered a radical explanation: because our ancestors killed to survive, they passed on to us a predisposition to kill at the gene level. Our subconscious mind always stores information about murder as a possible way to solve problems related to stress, power, limited resources and security threats.

However, in most cases, thoughts of violence do not precede actual violence, but rather block it. The heartbreaking pictures that the brain paints make us analyze the situation before we act. The scenario plays out in the imagination, the prefrontal cortex turns on, and creepy thought disappears.

But what happens to dark thoughts when we suppress them?

The Hydra's Dilemma: "The Method of Radical Acceptance..."

The thoughts we try to suppress become intrusive. This is reminiscent of the battle with the Lernaean Hydra: instead of a severed head, new ones grow back. When we try not to think about something, we only think about it. The brain constantly checks itself for the presence of a forbidden thought, and it pops up again and again in the mind, while feelings of shame and self-loathing distract us and weaken our willpower.

Depression and stress can exacerbate the painful process of suppression. The more effort we spend on fighting the obsession, the more time we need to recover and rest. For people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, dealing with unwanted thoughts can take several hours a day. None of us can fully control our minds. As Jung wrote, we do not control the shadow "I", we do not create dark thoughts and desires of our own free will - which means that we cannot prevent their appearance either.

Dr. Baer recommends the Buddhist method of radical acceptance: when an unwanted idea comes up, try to accept it as just a thought, without deep meaning and hidden meaning. No need to judge yourself or resist - just let the thought go. If she comes back, repeat again. Another way to let go of an obsession is to write it down on paper and destroy it. This helps to distance yourself from an unpleasant thought, and then literally get rid of it. The “door effect” can also work - physically moving to another room helps the brain switch to new topic and reset short-term memories. For difficult cases, there is a radical approach: do not let go of frightening thoughts, but, on the contrary, play them out in the imagination in full detail.

What is really important in terrible thoughts? The value we give to them. We can perceive unpleasant thoughts as valuable objects for investigation - clues that the shadow self, the dark side of personality, gives us. By analyzing its manifestations, we better understand others and ourselves. A gloomy, vile and uncomfortable "black" thought becomes a source of inspiration. As Eric Wilson writes, highly imaginative people can turn destructive ideas into fuel for mental and emotional development.

The father of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, kept a diary, which was later published as The Red Book. In his diary, Jung recorded disturbing images and ideas from the unconscious, including his encounter with the metaphorical Red Rider. The presence of the Horseman is unpleasant for Jung, but the researcher enters into a dialogue with the stranger: they talk, argue, and even dance. After that, the scientist experiences an extraordinary surge of joy, feels agreement with himself and the world. "I'm sure this red man was the devil," writes Jung, "but it was my own devil."

OBJECTS]

45. The second method of concentrating the mind, namely, without the use of objects, consists of three steps: instant expulsion of a thought at the very moment when it appears like a flash; leaving unfinished any thought that has arisen; bringing the mind to its natural state [absolute rest, not disturbed by thought processes (2).

(2) Briefly, the essence of these methods is to immediately block thought, allow thoughts to arise freely without limiting them, and bring the mind to a state of complete rest.

[STOPPING THOUGHT]

46. ​​The eradication of thought at the very moment when it arises like a flash is carried out as follows.

While meditating in the manner described above, the meditator finds that thoughts continually arise because the mind reacts to stimuli. Knowing that even one thought should not be allowed to arise, one must exercise vigilant control and try to block this continuous arising of thoughts. And as soon as a thought arises, you need to uproot it entirely and continue to meditate.

47. When the meditator devotes a longer time to efforts to prevent the arising of thoughts, he finds that thoughts follow each other on the heels, and it seems to him that their number is infinite. This is the knowledge of the nature of thoughts, which is the recognition of the enemy (1). This is called the "first resting place". The first stage of calmness of mind is reached, and the yogi, with an equanimous mind, observes the uninterrupted stream of thoughts as if he were resting serenely on the bank of a river, watching its course (2).

The enemy of a long yogi is uncontrolled thoughts.

To convey the meaning of this phrase, I had to resort to a free extended translation of it. Literally, it could be translated as follows: "This is called the" place of the first rest, "like the bank of a river, past which water flows." In other words, if the yogi has been successful up to this point, he will be freed from the tyranny of the thought process and will be ready to perform even greater tasks awaiting him on the Path to Nirvana.

48. As soon as the mind comes to a calm state, even if only for a moment (3), it notices the arising and disappearing of thoughts. This will give the impression that there are more and more thoughts. But in fact, thoughts always arise, and there is no increase or decrease in them. Thoughts are born instantly. That which is aloof from the arising of thoughts and is able to immediately stop this arising is Reality (4).

The Indian yogis define this shortest unit of time (which they can record) as the length of time between cutting the first and second of three hundred banana leaves stacked on top of each other and cut with a single stroke of the sword.

Tib. pierce, what-nyid. Reality is not the human mind, which knows the continuous flow of thoughts. Reality is comprehended only in the True State, and the yogi, being in it, if he has merged with Reality, with this Noumenal Source, can prevent the emergence of thoughts, just as a person who knows how to use a switch can turn on and off the electric current.

[NON-RESPONDING TO THOUGHT]

49. At the next stage, which is leaving unformed any thought that has arisen, the method consists in an indifferent attitude towards it, allowing it to act independently, without falling under its influence and without making attempts to stop it (2). Let the mind behave like its shepherd [or watchman], and you continue to meditate. Then thoughts will cease to arise, and the mind will be in a passive calm state, focused on one thing.

This method is diametrically opposed to the method described in paragraphs 46-48. However, for one who has mastered the preparatory exercises of yoga, there is no discrepancy between them, since both methods are mainly a means of discipline of the mind, in a certain sense fulfilling the same role as Latin language for the student studying it. Through the first method, the yogi begins to realize that the formation of thoughts is as natural as breathing, and when the organism is biologically functioning normally and the mind is active, the latter is as difficult to bring into a calm state as any other process inherent in embodied existence. The second method, considered here, leads to the true goal, when the Knower, having reached the superconsciousness, observes from the sidelines and dispassionately the spontaneous flow of thoughts.

50. Again thoughts are going to rush like a meteor [rushing through the sky for one instant, but in an uninterrupted way] (3).

(3) In the original, khyur-khyur. An onomatopoeic word meaning movement in relation to a meteor flying in the sky, an arrow cutting through the air, or a wisp of smoke carried away by a light wind.

51. If you meditate as before, the state of peace will continue. This is called the "middle state of calm," likened [in its serenity] to the calm flow of a river.

52. Keeping the mind in this inactive state leads to the formation of sediment in the mind (1).

(1) Sediment is thoughts, as the following saying will make clear.

53. Expert in the Teachings (2) said:

If the mind is inactive, it becomes calm. When the water settles, it becomes clear.

(2) The text does not give the name of this sage. But it was Gampopa or Dzongkapa, who were the illustrious apostles of the White Dynasty Guru who transmitted, as stated in the homage formula, this treatise (see Book 1, introduction: the author of the book and his fellow student).

54. And the great teacher of yogis [Milarepa] instructed:

When the mind is in the original immutable

state, Knowledge is born.

When this state, which can be likened to the calm flow of a river, is maintained, the fullness of Knowledge is attained.

O yogi, stop directing and formulating thoughts,

Keep your mind calm all the time.

55. The great Saraha summarized in the following verses the essence of the teachings about this double method applied during meditation:

When the mind is bound [unrelaxed], it strives

wander in each of the ten directions.

When it is free, it is firm and immovable.

And I understand now that he is as stubborn as a camel.

[WAY TO RETURN THE MIND TO A NATURAL STATE]

56. The third way, which is bringing the mind to its natural state, consists of four steps.

[THE DEGREE SIMILAR TO THE SPINNING OF THE BRAHMIN CORD]

57. The first stage is to keep the mind in a balanced state with the same diligence with which the Brahmin thread (1) is spun, since it must be spun evenly. It should neither be too tight nor too loose. Likewise, when meditating, one should not strain the mind too much, otherwise thoughts will get out of control (2).

(1) The cord of a Brahmin, which a Brahmin wears as a sign of his caste, must, according to tradition, be spun by a virgin, and with the greatest care, for if it breaks while spinning, misfortune will follow. Saraha (see books 2 - INTRODUCTION: 1. On the origin of the teachings of the great symbol) was a brahmin by birth, which explains the appeal to this analogy.

(2) Thoughts must be under the control of the consciousness, which, like a shepherd, guards them.

58. If you relax too much, laziness arises. So one should meditate with the same energy.

59. At first, the meditator uses the method of instantly cutting off thoughts (3) and therefore strains. But when fatigue appears, one must relax, allowing thoughts to wander spontaneously (4).

(3) See No. 46.

(4) See No. 49.

60. This method of alternating tension and relaxation, used in our school, has now been considered. Tension and relaxation of the mind, which can be likened to increasing and decreasing the tension of the threads while spinning a Brahmin thread, is called "keeping the mind in a state similar to spinning a Brahmin thread."

[DEGREE SUITABLE TO DISCONNECTING THE STRAW HARNESS]

61. At the second stage, called "the separation of the mind from thoughts is like separating a straw bundle into parts by pulling out a part," necessary condition is to make an unwavering decision to remain vigilant, for previous attempts at blocking thoughts have created thoughts (1).

(1) The efforts hitherto made to keep thoughts from arising, to control them or not, inevitably lead to the formation of other thoughts. Now the goal is to achieve a higher level of peace of mind. It is necessary to stop the continuous thought process, just as a bundle of straw is divided into parts, in which each stalk of straw serves as an analogy for some separate thought, and the bundle symbolizes the continuity of the thought process.

62. The methods of blocking thoughts described above involved the ability to know, leading to the formation of new thoughts, and this made meditation difficult (2).

(2) The Yogi must now realize (and be reminded of this) that he has not done much yet. The goal is still far away. But at the same time, he begins to realize that his yoga classes are necessary for his further development, as those who are preparing to become an athlete need exercises that develop muscles.

63. Switching off from the ability to know and from the knower and keeping the mind in an inactive calm state is called the way of freeing the mind from all mental activity and effort, and this way of switching off can be likened to breaking a straw bundle.

[DEGREE SUITABLE TO A CHILD'S PERCEPTION]

64. The third stage is called "the state of mind of a child looking at the frescoes in the temple [and completely absorbed in this occupation]".

65. In order to keep the vital currents in the channels, one binds the mind to cognitive ability and the knower (1), like an elephant to a post.

(1) It was said above that the mind has the property of a stubborn camel. Now he is compared to a clumsy and clumsy elephant. There is a vital force (Skt. prana) in the body, which is divided into ten vital currents (Skt. vayu). "Vayu" comes from the root "va" - to breathe or blow, meaning driving force prana. These vayus, composed of negative prana, govern the vital processes of the organism, and therefore each of them has its own location and knows certain functions. The normal health necessary for a yogi depends on the preservation of each vital current in its normal state, that is, in the channel it must occupy (see The Tibetan Book of the Dead, p. 346).

66. As a result of this practice, forms similar to those woven from smoke, or ethereal, arise, and the yogi experiences the bliss of ecstasy, being on the verge of fainting (2).

(2) This is due to the fact that the vital currents penetrate the median nerve (Skt. sushumna-nadi), which is the main channel for the psychic forces moving with the help of their carriers - vayu. In addition to this psychophysical factor, a spiritual factor operates in parallel, namely the first faint glimpses of the knowledge of the mind, not affected by thought processes. In the West, this ecstatic state is called "illumination." This is the first fruit of perfection in meditation. In this state, the mind of the yogi embraces the deepest peace that arises from the direct sensation of oneness with Nature and Its Source. The human nature of a yogi who has reached the True State gives way to the divine. Now he is faced with the task of entering this state at will and remaining in it for ever longer periods of time. His final goal is to enter this state forever at the time of death, or to choose the Highest Bodhisattva Path and give up this Freedom in order to help others achieve Liberation.

67. The visions that arise in this inactive state of body and mind, when it seems that you are floating in the air, must be perceived with indifference - without sympathy and antipathy, that is, not to be attached to them and not to turn away from them. Therefore, when there is neither attachment nor aversion to any vision that arises, such perception is called "the state of mind of a child contemplating [the frescoes] in a temple [and wholly absorbed in this occupation]" (1).

(1) The child, looking first at one fresco, then at another, does not feel attracted to one of them, but at the same time his attention is entirely focused on looking at the frescoes, since he does not know what he will see next. And such mental concentration, based on expectation, but without attachment, must be maintained by the yogi at this stage of mental training.

68. The fourth stage is the preservation of the mind in such a state of indifference, with which the elephant receives pricks from thorns (2).

(2) At this stage, the "Knower" must be completely indifferent to such stimuli as constantly changing thoughts, just as an elephant, due to its thick skin, is insensitive to the pricks of thorns.

69. When thoughts arise in a calm state of mind, they are realized simultaneously with their occurrence. When the "preventing" [i.e., the mind accustomed by yoga to the vigilant vigilance mentioned above for the purpose of controlling thoughts] and that which is to be prevented [i.e., the process of forming thoughts] meet each other, the arising thought is deprived of the ability to give rise to a new thought (3).

(3) When calmness of the mind is achieved, apperception or grasping of it occurs simultaneously with the appearance of thought, which then occurs unconsciously or automatically, like the beating of the heart. As a result, the development of thought stops, and it loses the ability to transmute into a new thought.

70. Since the "Preventing" is himself, and it is not necessary to look for him, this state is called "the state in which the uninterrupted stream of consciousness operates automatically."

71. The ability to keep the mind in such a state in which thoughts are not interfered with and not reacted to when they are noticed, is compared with the indifference of an elephant, not sensitive to the pricks of thorns, and hence it is so called (1).

(1) This yogic faculty may be classified as the highest form of indifference to physical and mental reactions to stimuli. This is one of the black steps on which the illusions of samsara are neutralized, and this path leads to the True State. However, this is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to realize that samsara (i.e. the created world) and nirvana (i.e. the uncreated world) are an inseparable unity, comprehended at the final stage of analysis by the Mind illuminated by the Light of Bodhi. Other elephants, the state in which thoughts arise, and the state in which thoughts do not arise, are two opposites, which, when mastering the yoga of the Great Symbol, will be perceived not as duality, but as unity.

[HIGHEST STATE OF REST]

72. This [state] is called the highest state of rest and is compared with the ocean, on the surface of which there are no waves.

73. Although in such a calm state the movement of thoughts, their arising and disappearance is registered by the mind, it is called "the state in which the line between movement and rest disappears", because the mind has reached calm and is indifferent to movement (2).

74. Thus, concentration of the mind on one thing is achieved.

75. That by which the "moving" and "immovable" [that is, movement and rest in inseparable unity] is known, is called, if It is rightly understood, the "All-discriminating Wisdom, or the Supermundane Reason" (3).

The human mind is inseparable from the One Mind. The purpose of yoga is to bring about this union of the human and divine aspects of the mind. This will happen only when the mind is freed from the illusions of samsaric existence and knows itself. All-distinguishing Wisdom is the Wisdom of the Bodhic (Supermundane) Consciousness (or Mind) in the state of nirvana, endowing with the ability to cognize each thing separately and all things in their unity.

76. As the "Graceful Sutra" (1) says:

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