Well, only because I know I'm going to have to hit the psych. books again to look up what they have to say about thinking. It's not like I don't know, exactly, but I tend to use my words loosely and due to the lack of precision on my part, I do not always say what I thought (ha ha) I said and meant.
It's communicating with others that I get into trouble with that sort of thing. I don't think I do it when I'm thinking to myself. But then how would I know?
Just another of life's mysteries.
Just a small digression. I have been a member of Al-Anon for quite some time. We aren't supposed to use the name because of outside controversy and anonymity. I don't care about my own anonymity. However, anything I may say about or quote from is strictly my view, my interpretation so please do not think that in any way I represent their views or philosophy. That said, it was the place that I heard "not to take a walk alone in your head because it's a dangerous neighborhood."
To me, that means that we can go into our minds, especially if they have lots of dark places, as we have no one there to remind us, that what we are experiencing there, are just thoughts. And thoughts are not necessarily based in reality. Nor did they originate in us. For example, if you start to think that you are worthless, I doubt that you woke up one day, when your brain/mind had matured, looked at the facts of your life and came to a rational conclusion that you were in fact, worthless.
More likely, it was from hearing it beginning at a very young age when you were naught but a sponge, soaking up all the information around you. Yet, not having the cognitive maturity to evaluate its truth. And so many of the thoughts we have bouncing around in our brains are just that. The dark places are filled with random thoughts about all sorts of things based on what we may have heard, or been told or misremember or, if we're psychotic, believe were planted by aliens, God, Son of Sam's dog or a host of other possibilities.
WHAT IS THOUGHT?
What do the experts say about thought? To start with, they prefer the use of the word Cognition. This is defined as " mental processes involved in acquiring, processing and storing knowledge."
Knowledge is distinct from instinct. Just ask Adam or Eve. How do we get to "know" something? Please don't tell me because you ate an apple.
Psychologists refer to it as" mental processing which involves acquiring, processing and storing knowledge." I.E. How people think, learn, remember and perceive.
I noticed that thinking was included, but not exclusive in the definition.
Another question could be, are thought always verbal? I don't believe so. You can have a visual thought. Or a visceral one but then I start to get confused between thoughts and feelings. I don't think I'm the only one. Psychologists had asked for years which came first. It's our version of the chicken or the egg. I've recently heard that the feeling follows the thought. I'm not sure I buy that. Do we label our feelings with words or do we experience them as physical sensations? I think, (there is that word again) that not all people are alike and we have many variations on this theme. That led me to ask,
WHERE ARE MY THOUGHTS STORED?
The scientists and researches can't say exactly. For some reason that makes me happy. As they said, even with the most updated brain imaging technology, they can't see inside the brain as it conjures up an image or comes up with a solution to a problem. Imaging measures blood flow which suggests brain activity. Where this actually begins or is stored is still under investigation.
To throw in another monkey wrench, if you know about holograms, there are people who believe that we are holograms which would suggest that our thoughts take place in every cell of our body, as does everything else. Now what?
SINCE THEY CAN'T ANSWER THIS, THEY PROPOSE, (THEIR WORD) (My word), HYPOTHESIZE, WHAT THOUGHTS ARE.
They propose that we represent ideas, knowledge or memories as mental representations, which they refer to as a structure in our minds. That doesn't sound right. I think what they mean is that thoughts are representations of our experiences. For example, the word apple represents what we know is an apple. The word apple itself, is just some letters that make sounds (when spoke) based on a system someone devised to help us communicate.They have a lot more to say, but I think, we have enough to work with. Now if I could remember what I was thinking, I could get on with it. That is one of the difficulties of the kind of mind I have. It tends to run ahead of me and when I think I've caught up, I haven't.
BACK TO THE TITLE
It may be my only help in remembering why I started this. It's pretty much the same phenomenon as when you go to another room to get something, but get there and don't remember what you went to get.
It is probable that I was wondering about trains of thought. As you can see, mine are often derailed. It's like the switching station keeps moving the tracks. I have a recollection that the hippocampus, which is involved in memory, has a sort of switching stations that directs information where it should go. The closest text I had on hand didn't refer to it in those terms and if I keep on searching, I'll be here all night. Well, actually I have a block party to go to soon, so I will be leaving, but you all know that I always come back. Eventually.
Do you all have similar thought processes? I'm not talking about the forgetting and jumping bean thing I have. I'm talking more about the chain or thoughts where one leads to another, then another and by the end you are completely somewhere else.
I have on occasion followed my patterns. Of course I can't think of one now, so I'll have to use my imagination which is not nearly so good as you might imagine.
Let's say I start thinking about ....... packing for a trip. I start with a list of clothes, then I start thinking about the weather. Then I might start wondering about the humidity and if my hair will frizz. Then I have to think about how long I'll be gone and whether I need to bring my hair iron or if I've having my hair straightened, I need to try to calculate when the last time was, and how many months it will be and if the time away coincides with my trip and do I have enough money for it now, or if I wait to long what will I do in the meantime and should I call Kyle and ask him, because I don't want him to think I've stopped coming and then what about the color? Do I do that? And that's how packing
becomes about getting my hair done.
So that is my question. Does your mind do that too? And. Does it do it so often you can't keep track of things. Not that I don't keep track of things. I most certainly do.
Fortunately, my memory isn't totally shot and I have a tracker in there that pulls me back when I'm needed. Being retired, means not being needed like I used to be.
Structure is good for people with monkey minds. When I worked and was single, I was glad to have the week end, but if I hadn't made plans, I'd go nuts because I couldn't decide what to do, therefore ending up doing nothing and being bored and eating too much.
I'm finding in some ways that's happening now. I have quite a few interests. I love reading, I have an anagram game on my old kindle I still play, I have my painting, crafts, photography, yoga, blogging, keeping up with my email, watching certain TV shows, lying in the sun by the pool, listening to music and dancing (if my knees aren't acting up), shopping, seeing some friends, getting back to studying Hebrew (which I seem to have dropped somewhere along the line), decorating the house, gardening and I'm sure things that aren't on the tip of my tongue.
Yet, I'm best in the mornings. I can get up, and get started on something. I can , if you will, use the word "accomplish" any number of things by one or two pm. then I run out of steam. (I often start at 7 or 8 am). I take a nap and get up and that's it. I still may want to do more activity, only I generally end up reading of watching TV. Sometimes at 9 PM I can get back to a project, but it's that time in the middle that befuddles me.
I want to learn something new. I want to pull weeds. I want to exercise. I think about all these things and then don't.
Sometimes I think I'm lazy. Sometimes I think I'm overwhelmed. Sometimes I think like I have some deadline hanging over me and I'm not getting there fast enough. I don't even know where, where, is.
This has gotten very philosophical. Or off topic. Both? Neither? One of those days? I don't know.
CONCLUSION
Thinking can be very complicated. It can be very confusing. For me, it is very verbal and very ever present. I'm assuming that everyone's thought processes are similar, but also different. Some people's thoughts are very organized. (I suppose). Others are slow and easy. Some people can sit without thinking. Some people overthink everything. Some people look to other people like they don't think at all.
To leave you with this final thought. I think this has been my most disorganized, discombobulated post ever. And I have no idea why I started it, but since I always feel obligated to start what I finished, I'm going to post it anyway. So there.
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