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Clearing your mind and gaining clarity - What do you do?

Anything related to matters of the mind

AvocadoMan

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Hey guys,

Who here has some interesting methods of clearing your head and getting focused?

I like to ride a bike at night through suburbs while I listen to binaural beats - you just get an awesome feeling of awe especially if it is a cool night. I also don't mind driving a car at night either.

Feel free to share what you do!
 
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RazorCut

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I am currently reading Brain Rules by John Medina.

In it the research concludes that…

….The brain appears to be designed to solve problems related to surviving in an unstable outdoor environment and to do so in nearly constant motion.

This is why you find clarity and focus through riding your bike.

In essence we have changed our environment at a vastly quicker rate than our brains have had time to adjust to. Thus our habits, and the way we are wired, are out of kilter with each other.

In the book further research concludes that:

….If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing you probably would design something like a classroom. If you wanted to create a business environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a cubicle. And if you wanted to change things, you might have to tear down both and start over.

I have always found that walking my dog through the forest on my own with just the sounds and sights of nature to distract me always provides the greatest clarity of vision. To such an extent that I often take a Dictaphone with me to record my thoughts, though I do find that this can be a distraction.
 

InspireHD

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Interesting. My biggest clarity moments always came when I went for a run. Even though I would be running and tell myself how tired I am, I always had positive thoughts. I never ran with music in my ears. I would literally talk to myself while I was running and it was a perfect way to just get out whatever was on my mind. Sometimes I would get so into it that I would completely space out and 2 miles later I'd come back out of it wondering how long I was running for.
 

AvocadoMan

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Interesting. My biggest clarity moments always came when I went for a run. Even though I would be running and tell myself how tired I am, I always had positive thoughts. I never ran with music in my ears. I would literally talk to myself while I was running and it was a perfect way to just get out whatever was on my mind. Sometimes I would get so into it that I would completely space out and 2 miles later I'd come back out of it wondering how long I was running for.
That sounds really interesting. There seems to be a common thread and that is clarity comes from some form of motion, just as razorcut just quoted in his comment. Victor Pride from Bold and Determined says the same thing - the answers will come while you are in motion.
 
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ddzc

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I sometimes do the same at midnight after working all day and night, Ill go for a ride on my street bike.

The biggest shift for me has been social media. I've stopped using fb and disabled my instagram. I felt like it was a huge distraction and was getting on my nerves at times. I couldn't delete fb due to ad management and my biz pages, so I installed a chrome extension called News Feed Eradicator. It blocks your entire wall to avoid seeing the useless brainless shit people post all day long.
 

RazorCut

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The biggest shift for me has been social media. I've stopped using fb and disabled my instagram.

Yes, a total distraction and waste of precious productivity time not to mention loss of focus from alerts.

I haven't logged in to Facebook in an age and I only use Instagram as I am building a couple of accounts up.
 

Iwokeup

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Relax and understand that everything is fine. Clarity comes from listening to yourself without distractions from outside sources.
Probably the best advice out there. Also the hardest to learn. ;)
 

Iwokeup

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Hey guys,

Who here has some interesting methods of clearing your head and getting focused?

I like to ride a bike at night through suburbs while I listen to binaural beats - you just get an awesome feeling of awe especially if it is a cool night. I also don't mind driving a car at night either.

Feel free to share what you do!

I am currently reading Brain Rules by John Medina.

In it the research concludes that…

….The brain appears to be designed to solve problems related to surviving in an unstable outdoor environment and to do so in nearly constant motion.

This is why you find clarity and focus through riding your bike.

In essence we have changed our environment at a vastly quicker rate than our brains have had time to adjust to. Thus our habits, and the way we are wired, are out of kilter with each other.

In the book further research concludes that:

….If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing you probably would design something like a classroom. If you wanted to create a business environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a cubicle. And if you wanted to change things, you might have to tear down both and start over.

I have always found that walking my dog through the forest on my own with just the sounds and sights of nature to distract me always provides the greatest clarity of vision. To such an extent that I often take a Dictaphone with me to record my thoughts, though I do find that this can be a distraction.

Interesting. My biggest clarity moments always came when I went for a run. Even though I would be running and tell myself how tired I am, I always had positive thoughts. I never ran with music in my ears. I would literally talk to myself while I was running and it was a perfect way to just get out whatever was on my mind. Sometimes I would get so into it that I would completely space out and 2 miles later I'd come back out of it wondering how long I was running for.
I've found this to be extremely true over the years. Running, cycling, hell, even driving fast for a long time.....
 

biggeemac

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Just started intermittent fasting and caffeine pill in the morning. I won't be eating until 4p. I must say, its feeling pretty good so far. Going from sleep to caffeine makes me pretty darned focused.
 
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MetalGear

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Guided meditation and hiking. Setting aside time to cook a meal that I love.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 

Sanj Modha

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Meditation, going for walk, exercise etc. I also listen to a mindset podcast or watch a motivational TED Talk. You must do whatever it takes to change your 'state'.
 

Andy Black

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Going for an evening stroll.

A couple of years ago I did it religiously every evening. Now not so much but you've reminded me to do it again.

It even got to the point where, if I only had 2 hours in the evening to get something important done, then I'd go for a 40 minute stroll first.

By the time I got back I was calm, at peace, and the problem seemed to have solved itself. I was able to make a small tweak to achieve the desired effect, rather than hammer away at my desk for more than the 2 hours.



Very interesting about the classroom and cubicle @RazorCut.


I 100% agree with @SteveO. It's about relaxing, having faith in yourself, and being able to hear yourself think above all the noise.

Going for an unhurried walk, without a podcast playing, and with no agenda, is what allows me to hear myself think.


I did a few videos along these lines:
 
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Contrarian

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A good country road, a motorbike, and liberal use of the throttle.

People who don't ride imagine it's some constant huge adrenaline rush. Only if you're riding beyond your abilities. Otherwise, it feels more like high velocity meditation. There's only space in your mind for the next corner, the next overtake, or whatever else is happening immediately in the now.

Everything else just...disappears. And you are at peace with the world.

I tend to live in my own head - maybe that's why I love it so much.

Going for an evening stroll.

A couple of years ago I did it religiously every evening. Now not so much but you've reminded me to do it again.

It even got to the point where, if I only had 2 hours in the evening to get something important done, then I'd go for a 40 minute stroll first.

By the time I got back I was calm, at peace, and the problem seemed to have solved itself. I was able to make a small tweak to achieve the desired effect, rather than hammer away at my desk for more than the 2 hours.



Very interesting about he classroom and cubicle @RazorCut.


I 100% agree with @SteveO. It's about relaxing, having faith in yourself, and being able to hear yourself think above all the noise.

Going for an unhurried walk, without a podcast playing, and with no agenda, is what allows me to hear myself think.


I did a few videos along these lines:

I need to start doing this. Sitting at a desk and staring at the screen for 12 hours a day isn't healthy. Sometimes I'm just zoned out and can't focus on anything.
 

Andy Black

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A good country road, a motorbike, and liberal use of the throttle.

People who don't ride imagine it's some constant huge adrenaline rush. Only if you're riding beyond your abilities. Otherwise, it feels more like high velocity meditation. There's only space in your mind for the next corner, the next overtake, or whatever else is happening immediately in the now.

Everything else just...disappears. And you are at peace with the world.

I tend to live in my own head - maybe that's why I love it so much.



I need to start doing this. Sitting at a desk and staring at the screen for 12 hours a day isn't healthy. Sometimes I'm just zoned out and can't focus on anything.
Actually, I mention motorbikes in one of my wee videos...
 
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Nicoknowsbest

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What helps me most changes from time to time.

While everything mentioned works for me, especially physical activity and talking a walk, I found something to be especially effective at the moment.

Driving my car.

I think it's being encapsulated while the landscape is passing by?

When everything gets hectic, I sit down in my car and take it for a spin.

Surprisingly, every time I come back to park it, the solution to the problem I have been pondering is clear and visible in my head.
 

Roli

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Gym, swim, sauna is great, but takes 2 hours to fully work. If I have less time, then I like to watch the International Space Station barrel around the earth (light side) at 17,000 mph whilst listening to classical. Mozart or Rachmaninoff Just 10 minutes of this is perfect, in fact... Actually scratch that, it has to be to Cello Suite no 1 by Bach

EDIT: In the 10 mins since I posted this, the ISS has traversed the United States of America and is now over the Atlantic Ocean... bliss.
 
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Last edited:

CPisHere

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Extended water fast (at least 3 days) provides more mental clarity than you ever thought possible.
 

InspireHD

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Extended water fast (at least 3 days) provides more mental clarity than you ever thought possible.

Is this literally drinking only water for 3 days? I did some very short research and found that people go 2 weeks only drinking water? That sounds crazy. Two weeks ago I went about 22 hours without eating and felt okay. I'd be interested in trying 2 days.

I sometimes struggle with waking up in the middle of the night and wandering to the kitchen to eat cookies or chocolate. :arghh:
 
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CPisHere

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Yes, no food - just water for 3 days. I allow coffee personally. I've gone 7 days - plan to do 40.
The physical hunger (which isn't actually hunger) goes away completely after 3 days.
 

trinitydica

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Theirs this ios app called "Relaxmelodies", you don't need alcohol but instead you'll need a cool earpiece. You'll set the melodies to which ever mood you want and clear off your mind and it works very well. You could give me your e-mail so I can recommend the app for easy download. You can thank me later


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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buteyko method: breathing slower and less
 
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fresh

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When I drive, a lot of those drives are over an hour. Generally, I work from home. One of the things I do is turn off the radio or put on some non-lyrical music. I use the Spa Channel on Sirius for this or nothing at all. This works wonders. At home, on my computer, I'll use BrainFM...has done wonders for my focus when I need to be in a zone.
 

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