It’s the same way for me… most of my best thinking is in the car.

I have couple things I do related to this article. Firstly, I do yoga specifically in order to feel what it’s like not to think. I find, that having to focus on breathing, movement, and muscles does not leave room for the thought-chatter that’s usually going on inside our heads.

The other thing, with different impact, is that I take 20 minute naps almost every day, and during that time I deliberately stop actively thinking about anything, but instead let the thoughts flow freely. It’s similar to sitting in a movie theatre and wathing a film, without taking any control or stand on the things I see.

//sami

@ Kevin – “Meditating for the purpose of clearing your head is not meditation. So – it’s tricky.” It is indeed! I trod a bit of a tightrope a while back when I wrote about meditation and its effect on productivity:

@ dava – I know how you feel. Sometimes it feels like my mind is incredibly vacant, yet as soon as I try to empty it on purpose, it feels very full.

@ Steph @ Cory – I’d not heard of Meisner classes before, did some Googling and it looks interesting. I’ve tried Impro according to Keith Johnstone’s approach and found it an amazing experience (esp. mask work), might be interesting to compare it with Meisner.

@ Chuck – Well, maybe I’d go along with ‘unstructured thought’ if you mean something other than the ‘hard’ thinking and reasoning that gets trumpeted so much.

“Aren’t we really freeing ourselves from our feelings and not our thoughts?” – I’d suggest not. Given the choice, I’d go with an emotion rather than a thought anytime – emotions are from an older and in some ways wiser part of our brain. If I ignore a thought, I may not be missing much. If I ignore an emotion, I’m probably in trouble.

@ Philip – I used to test INFJ on Myers-Briggs, but after hanging around with John Eaton for a few years, I recently tested INFJ.

@ Abby – “As soon as I revert back to over-analysis everything goes pear-shaped.” Amen to that!

@ Stacey – “I used to carry my head under my arm”. Looks like you anticipated (or suggested) my Green Knight post!

@ George – What you call intuition, John Eaton calls Bodymind:

Bodymind is the intelligence of the body, working through the Brain, the Nervous System, the Glands, the cells and the Immune system. It’s primary function is to ensure the safety of the individual and to maximise health and happiness.

From John’s website http://www.reversetherapy.com

@ Jack – “So, what I would like to call “effective thinking” is a leisurely duet of the analytic and intuitive minds, working in concert, and most important – getting out of each others way when it’s appropriate.” – That’s an excellent summary of the creative process.

@ Glen – If Zen doesn’t hit the spot for you, have you tried Timothy Gallwey’s Inner Game books? I see you coach golf – he wrote a book called The Inner Game of Golf where he talks about Self 1 and Self 2, which roughly correspond to the analytical an intuitive aspects of human beings. His basic coaching philosophy is that Self 1 (analytic) needs to get out of the way for sports players to perform at their best.

@ Kathy – Recovering heavy thinker here too.

@ Melissa – I didn’t say Westerners were particularly good at critical thinking, just very impressed by it!

@ Marvin – “Group think takes on an entirely new dimension when you connect with the concept of oneness.” Agreed. That sounds more like group feeling than group think to me.

I think it has to do with hand-brain coordination. When you occupy your hands (or any other bodily limb) there is less room for clutter in your brain, or it allows it to take unexpected turns.

Thanks for this article. I enjoyed that.

There is a certain comfort that comes from being part of a group. So called group think is what drives most of those things which form the basis of society as we know it. Most of us learn from a very early age that to get along one must go along. We follow the rules and obey the laws in order to avoid unpleasantness or the social stigma of being different.

Those who stand out are often singled out for special treatment. This tends to discourage critical thinking and encourage individuals to stay within the fold.

When you get out of your head and into your heart it becomes obvious what the limitations of critical thinking really are. Group think takes on an entirely new dimension when you connect with the concept of oneness. This is the ultimate radical view which goes well beyond anything which is contained in any finite belief system.

However, I don’t see Western culture as stuck on critical thinking, logic, or reason. In fact, I think these skills are sorely lacking in our society. Here in the U.S., science and philosophy have absolutely no place in mainstream culture, and that’s a big problem when your country is supposed to be a democratic republic whose citizens are educated thinkers.

I would say there are appropriate times and places for using your mind in different ways. Again, I love this post. I’m only mentioning this other perspective because the lack of critical thinking and the widespread apathy on the part of everyday people gives me great concern on the social and political stages as well as in the artistic arena.