How to Stop Ruminating Thoughts: Coming Back to Presence
In this video, Eckhart Tolle answers a question about how to break the habit of excessive thinking. His answer centers on presence, and on simple ways we might bring our attention back to this moment. If you’re wondering how to stop ruminating thoughts, Tolle points to presence. Overthinking and anxiety often show up together, so coming back to the direct experience of this moment may ease a racing mind.
Coming to Our Senses
Eckhart Tolle invites us, when we notice the mind is caught up in excessive thinking, to come back to our sense perceptions. Through our senses, we can reattune to the present moment. This works not by force or denial but through gentle, focused attention.
Here are some examples of how you might practice this through sensory perception:
1. Observing the world around you through your sense of sight, without judgment.
For example, if you are on a walk through the forest, allow your eyes to open to the trees, plants, insects, soil, and animals without labelling or assessing any of it. If you see a trail of ants, a plant, or a bird, simply be present with this visual without assigning any words to it. Watching the world with openness and curiosity.
2. Closing your eyes and noticing the sounds that filter through the atmosphere.
Similarly, you might see if you can take in sounds without assigning labels to them, perhaps by closing your eyes and noting what you can hear. If you hear the hum of the refrigerator, for instance, see if you might skip the labelling of this noise and simply let its music flow through you.
3. Tuning into our bodily sensations.
Another way to come to our senses is to shift our attention away from the realm of thought and into the physical body. A simple way to practice this is to note the earth beneath our seat or feet. What does it feel like for your body to be in contact with the earth?
Check out this worksheet, ‘Exploring the Five Senses’, to deepen your practice of sensory perception. If you’d like to be guided through a practice, consider Sean Fargo’s ‘Coming to Your Senses’ guided meditation.
Moving into Deeper Peace
These simple techniques may help us find a little more quiet and ease. Overthinking and anxiety often occur together, and since presence can help soften our thinking patterns, it may ease our experience of stress and anxiety. For additional resources, you might explore these mindfulness exercises for anxiety.
Mindfulness practice can complement professional care but does not replace it. If racing thoughts or anxiety are getting in the way of daily life, a doctor or therapist can help.
