The monkey mind: what it is and how to control it

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The monkey mind, as the name indicates, is that mind that screams and goes from one place to another without control. It is considered a state prior to anxiety. How to recognize it? To do?

The monkey mind is an expression used in certain Eastern philosophies to describe how our thoughts sometimes work: from here to there and from there to beyond, without control. Just like a monkey: from branch to branch, from cry to cry, in a hurry and without pause.

This expression is widely used today by mindfulness practitioners. You could say that it is the opposite of what they are looking for. The monkey mind is a scattered, unoriented, unfocused and therefore chaotic mind.. The various relaxation and meditation techniques want the opposite: to quiet those murky waters.

It has been suggested that the monkey mind is a precursor to anxiety.. It is not anxiety in itself, but rather the context conducive for it to emerge. That is, it would be that kind of breeding ground that would exponentially increase the possibility of anxiety developing. Let’s talk about all this.

“Dispersion is the best way to not advance, due to loss of energy”.

-Enrique Rojas-

The monkey mind is typical of states of anxiety, stress and excessive worry.

The monkey mind

The monkey mind, unfortunately, is the mind of a good number of people. It is said that the brain produces between 70 and 90,000 thoughts per day. It’s a barbarity. It would be wonderful if all those thoughts were valuable or constructive, but they are not.

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Let’s look at it in a more graphic way. You’re trying to do a task, and you think about it, but suddenly you remember that you forgot to take the clothes to the laundromat, and that reminds you that the last time you went there you ran into that annoying neighbor. And thinking about people you don’t like, what does that colleague who greeted you today with a bad face think? As if that were not enough, tomorrow the electricity bill is going to arrive and it is getting more and more expensive…

We could continue like this in an endless chain of thoughts. This is how the monkey mind works. From one branch to the other, from one banana to the other and in the end you can’t focus on what you should be doing. Today’s world helps this a lot because there are thousands of stimuli, thousands of activities. Everything works in a very dizzying way.

The mind of the ox

For Easterners, the opposite of the monkey mind is the ox mind.. This last little animal lives as if time did not pass. He moves slow, when he moves. He also eats slowly, walks slowly and only rushes when someone herds him. For the rest, graze and sleep peacefully.

For the topic at hand, The mind of the ox would be the antidote to the mind of the monkey. In theory, it’s just about clearing your mind and avoiding that barrage of simultaneous ideas. In practice, it is not so easy to achieve. It’s not easy for the brain to focus on something, especially for a long time. What to do then?

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The easiest way to get out of that state is by using the technique that some call “the working monkey.” It consists of using breathing to regain attention and concentration. Begin to breathe deeply and ask the mind to accompany each inhalation and exhalation..

Breathing and relaxation techniques help calm the rhythm of the mind.

Get out of the monkey mind

Is the worker monkey technique enough? No, at least in principle. The usual thing is that at the beginning the monkey mind prevails. You disperse, apply the technique and manage to focus, but only for a short time. To get out of this vicious circle, there is no other way than to insist. As you do it you train your ox mind and it becomes stronger and stronger.. Over time, great effectiveness is achieved.

Also use other resources. One of them is that of write down those thoughts that cross uncontrollably from one place to another or discuss them with someone. This applies in particular when there are specific concerns that give rise to extraordinarily invasive thoughts. If they are only thoughts without much travel that appear due to stress, the indicated thing is to resort to the worker monkey technique.

Remember that Meditation techniques are an excellent way to learn to clear your mind and gain greater self-control.. Practicing relaxation, yoga or similar is of great help to avoid that chaos of thoughts that, paradoxically, do not allow you to think.