B
bfree1216
Guest
Hi everyone! I’m a Catholic prone to over-thinking, over-analyzing, and mentally exhausting myself. I’ve struggled with, but overcome, OCD and scrupulousity in the past, but I’ve seen some signs of scrupulousity popping up again in my life. And so much of it is self-inflicted mental torment, unfortunately—lots of “solving problems that don’t actually exist”, you could say.
Anyways, my over-thinking mind clutters my head and makes me completely un-present to the people around me. I want to clear my mind so as to be open to the reality of life around me, and especially to however God might be speaking to me, but I’m deathly afraid of falling into any New Age-y or Buddhist practice. I don’t believe in any of that stuff, making myself God, the “God as a part of oneself”, or anything like that. But I’m often in desperate need of clearing my mind of negative thoughts, especially ones that don’t align with the truth of God. I confront the negative ones that pop up with the word of God ingrained in me, but the problem is that negative thoughts seem to pop up so often and so intensely. Fighting fire with water is great, but every time I stop a fire, a second and even bigger fire pops up. Getting out of my head, refusing to even fight the fires, and consequently clearing my mind helps so, so much. But lots of things I’ve read from Christian/Catholic sources warn about “clearing your mind.” In this way, I feel trapped
I’ve tried journaling, but it almost had the reverse effect on me. I became hyper-aware of any thought that would pop into my head and proceed to analyze it relentlessly. So, I’m looking for truth-filled ways to clear my mind, especially without looking to Eastern practices.
Of course I pray, and pray often, especially in times of distress, and Jesus has done so much in consoling me. But overwhelming thoughts still seem to fill my head. Understanding mindfulness—the psychological practice of simply being aware of the feelings I experience (but not analyzing them), the type of mindfulness that exists separate from Eastern religions— has been very helpful for me. I guess one of my main fears is meditation. If I understand it correctly (which it could be that I entirely do not), meditation is simply the practice of clearing away thoughts. But it’s the overwhelming amount of thoughts that causes me so much torment. So throughout the course of the day, I simply try not to think, and I feel way more present. But if I’m not thinking anything, then am I meditating? I mean I’m not sitting down in the cross-legged position and all that stuff, but just focusing on being present makes me mentally clear, alert, and ready to act out of love for others.
I’m just confused because there are so many ways people in general, Catholics included: “clear their mind”: exercising, playing games, talking with others, etc. Maybe I’m equating “clearing your mind” with “not consciously thinking”, and I might be wrong in this regard? Anyways, I’ve clearly developed a really nice mind trap for myself here
And I know there’s truth in the midst, I could just use a little direction. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks so much in advance!
Anyways, my over-thinking mind clutters my head and makes me completely un-present to the people around me. I want to clear my mind so as to be open to the reality of life around me, and especially to however God might be speaking to me, but I’m deathly afraid of falling into any New Age-y or Buddhist practice. I don’t believe in any of that stuff, making myself God, the “God as a part of oneself”, or anything like that. But I’m often in desperate need of clearing my mind of negative thoughts, especially ones that don’t align with the truth of God. I confront the negative ones that pop up with the word of God ingrained in me, but the problem is that negative thoughts seem to pop up so often and so intensely. Fighting fire with water is great, but every time I stop a fire, a second and even bigger fire pops up. Getting out of my head, refusing to even fight the fires, and consequently clearing my mind helps so, so much. But lots of things I’ve read from Christian/Catholic sources warn about “clearing your mind.” In this way, I feel trapped
I’ve tried journaling, but it almost had the reverse effect on me. I became hyper-aware of any thought that would pop into my head and proceed to analyze it relentlessly. So, I’m looking for truth-filled ways to clear my mind, especially without looking to Eastern practices.
Of course I pray, and pray often, especially in times of distress, and Jesus has done so much in consoling me. But overwhelming thoughts still seem to fill my head. Understanding mindfulness—the psychological practice of simply being aware of the feelings I experience (but not analyzing them), the type of mindfulness that exists separate from Eastern religions— has been very helpful for me. I guess one of my main fears is meditation. If I understand it correctly (which it could be that I entirely do not), meditation is simply the practice of clearing away thoughts. But it’s the overwhelming amount of thoughts that causes me so much torment. So throughout the course of the day, I simply try not to think, and I feel way more present. But if I’m not thinking anything, then am I meditating? I mean I’m not sitting down in the cross-legged position and all that stuff, but just focusing on being present makes me mentally clear, alert, and ready to act out of love for others.
I’m just confused because there are so many ways people in general, Catholics included: “clear their mind”: exercising, playing games, talking with others, etc. Maybe I’m equating “clearing your mind” with “not consciously thinking”, and I might be wrong in this regard? Anyways, I’ve clearly developed a really nice mind trap for myself here
And I know there’s truth in the midst, I could just use a little direction. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks so much in advance!
