Is That a Thought?

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The practice involves things like, is that a thought? Is that a feeling? If it's a feeling where you feeling it in your body, when it's a thought, is it positive? Is it negative? Is it neutral? These are all techniques that you learn in meditation to be able to do what you're talking about. So the idea is the training that you can't really command your thoughts. But there are other tricks and one of the tricks I really loved was this labeling.

Most of us are productivity junkies. We pride ourselves on how much we accomplish and how long we maintain our focus. But our brains know better. Sooner or later, they start to wander. To the tune of nearly half our waking hours. Moshe Bar, cognitive scientist and author of the book, Mindwandering: How Your Constant Mental Drift Can Improve Your Mood and Boost Creativity, argues that we need these daydreams. They promote connections that inform our sense of self, lift our mood and stimulate creativity. Bar also believes the better we understand how mind wandering works, the more effective we’ll be at accessing it when we need it most. This is a mind-expanding book. It’ll give you a peek into the thought process of a brilliant cognitive scientist and a new appreciation for what you may have thought of as an annoying mental habit. Episode Links Raising the Bar: The Brain Scientist Who Studies the Past to Predict the Future Think Less, Think Better by Moshe Bar Karl Popper Jon Kabat-Zinn Reculturing by Melissa Daimler The Team Learn more about host, Gayle Allen, and producer, Rob Mancabelli, here. Support the Podcast If you like the show, please rate and review it on iTunes or wherever you subscribe, and tell a friend or family member about the show. Subscribe Click here and then scroll down to see a sample of sites where you can subscribe.