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Default Thoughts, Mental Chatter & Breathing Exercises
Are you aware of your default thoughts? 💭
The ceaseless thoughts that we all come back to.
Over the last month, particularly the last week, my mind (or thoughts) have been loud, to say the least.
It’s been challenging to quieten them and find mental peace…
Through this time, while there is no “science” behind my insight I’ve realised that we tend to have thoughts that our minds come back to time and time again.
I call these our “default thoughts”.
This concept isn’t entirely new, although it might be for you as it’s also known as “thought mentation” and is different from “thinking”. This is how…
- “Thought mentation” is the unconscious thoughts that happen automatically with little conscious effort. We don’t have much control over them.
- “Thinking” is our conscious thoughts often used for creation.
Knowing the difference and having an understanding of the two is important and valuable in understanding ourselves and navigating this thing called life.
Because when we learn how to distinguish the two, we are more aware when our default thoughts are present which often leads to the monkey mind and mental chatter running the show or when we are thinking for creation!
Our monkey mind/mental chatter is that voice within our head that doesn’t shut up! And, most recently I noticed how a lot of that “chatter” is and stems from our default thoughts.
This helps to raise self-awareness and from my experience at least leads me to feeling lessbad or guilty when my default thoughts are present and mental chatter is loud.
I realise that it’s not me, because these thoughts aren’t truly who we are and I apply a strategy or two to help me navigate that moment in time!
More on strategies soon…
Because before I get to strategies, I want to share where default thoughts come from so we can understand them better.
Reflecting on this in great depth, I think that our default thoughts vary depending on the season of our lives, what’s most important to us in that season, and a collective sum of our life experiences.
For example, my default thoughts are very loud about health and nutrition at the moment and to cut a long story short as to ‘why’ it’s because that’s what’s most important to me at this season of my life.
I also have default thoughts that are a collective sum of my life experiences and when I’m not thinking consciously–remember for creation–up they pop! 🎉
They can get rather annoying. So what can we do about this? Is there anything we can do or is that just how life is?
Be warned that the following is easier said than done and that time, consciousness, and dedication will help us to navigate this because…
The antidote to this is awareness!
Meaning the first step is to become aware of the difference between “default thoughts” and “thinking” as you are now.
Once we reach this first step, we can start to do something about it…
This brings us to the second step which is about being more aware of when default thoughts are running the show, in our daily lives. This is where we need some tools and strategies.
The tools and strategies I use and recommend to help quieten the mind and find more mental peace from default thoughts (and life itself 🤣) include:
- Meditation in all its forms (there are many different types, styles, and practices out there, find one or two that work for you!)
- Meditative activities such as a walk etc. (different from meditation, but can have a meditative effect which can be beneficial for those who struggle with meditation)
- Journaling and self-reflection
- Breathwork and breathing exercises
These tools have massively helped me to quieten my mind and find more mental peace, something which I think we all need repeated help with. They aren’t perfect though and sometimes I still struggle.
They require time, consciousness, dedication and consistency to benefit from the full positive effects that they can have.
I would recommend playing with them and finding what one, two or three work for you. I’ve found that much like a good builder, we want more than one tool in our toolbox.
Once this step has been dialled in, meaning that you have found tools that work for you, although, it’s an ongoing process and tools may change over time–but you get my point we move to step three…
Step three is becoming immune to your default thoughts and subsequent mental chatter!
It’s an advanced step, that I only understand intellectually although I have experienced times whereby I haven’t reacted to mental chatter which is a start but to be immune to them, I’m not there yet! 😬
I’m continuing to master “step two” through my daily breath work and meditative practices as well as cultivating as much awareness as I can in my daily life.
Remember, awareness is the antidote!
You’re now aware of the difference between “default thoughts” and “thinking”.
It’s now up to you to decide what to do with it.
Reminders
Reminders and maxims to help you live your best life.
1. Thoughts are passing clouds of the mind.
2. Reality doesn’t need you to operate it. Let go or be dragged.
3. Our greatest enemy is ignorance.
Recommendations
Recommended resources, brands, and tools to help navigate life.
Breathwork has become my go-to strategy for regulating my emotional health and mental well-being because it’s a direct and powerful gateway to create immediate shifts in our physiology and change our emotional and mental state.
Breathwork and breathing exercises also improve cognitive function, performance, and stress levels.
This hasn’t always been the case though…
I used to be a bigger meditator and believed meditation and breathwork were the same thing because when I was meditating I focused heavily on my breathing so I didn’t comprehend the difference.
However, that changed once I completedMind Valley’s Breathwork for Life Quest which is a 14-day program into the powers of breathwork.
I discovered the work of Niraj Naik who is the teacher of this program, and founder ofSOMA Breath and I never looked back!
Breathwork became my go-to strategy! 😮💨
There are a few breathwork tools that I use and recommend depending on what I need and people’s starting place.
One of those is an app calledState which I mentioned in a recent edition.
Another tool, as eluded to above is SOMA Breath!
SOMA Breath is a holistic school and community, where you get to learn a range of Pranayama breathing techniques and the power of breathwork tailored to your specific needs.
What I love about SOMA is that it combines ancient wisdom with modern science to help promote overall wellness and longevity, reduce stress and anxiety, and achieve holistic health.
They have many offerings from their online courses to membership, live classes and certification programs with a like-minded community right by your side!
If you’re curious about breathwork and want something more advanced than the State app I recommended, SOMA Breath could be for you!
Click here to check out SOMA Breath and learn more about what they have to offer.
Until next week,
Luke
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