THINKING Thinking is the act of clinging... Amâncio Maurício Xavier...
THINKING
Thinking is the act of clinging to or becoming trapped in a thought related to a specific situation. Thinking corresponds to what Steven Hayes calls "Cognitive Fusion" or what Adrian Wells calls "Self-Focus." In the *Homo sapiens* organism, a thought is information flowing through the brain's neural networks in the form of nerve impulses.
Thinking can give rise to joy, stress, anger, fear, anxiety, sadness, depression, or wisdom. Thinking can lead to drug use, suicide, stroke, or paralysis.
Thinking causes joy when the thought stems from a successfully resolved situation; stress when it stems from a difficult situation; anger when it stems from a frustrating situation; anxiety when it stems from an unresolved situation; sadness when it stems from a poorly resolved situation; and wisdom when the thought resulting from any situation is examined.
Thinking that leads to anxiety, depression, and wisdom has specific names: worry, rumination, and reflection, respectively:
1. Worry: Involuntarily and unconsciously clinging to a thought resulting from an unresolved situation, thereby causing anxiety.
2. Rumination: Involuntarily and unconsciously clinging to a thought resulting from a poorly resolved situation, thereby causing sadness that, over time, turns into depression.
3. Reflection: Voluntarily and consciously clinging to a thought—any thought—and connecting it with various other thoughts to gain understanding or a better solution regarding the situation that gave rise to the thought.
THE GOOD NEWS OF THE 21ST CENTURY, which should be shared with everyone, is this: WE CAN STOP THINKING FOR A WHILE! We can temporarily SWITCH OFF the THINKING MODE! Pausing one's thoughts means entering a state of attention. We can switch on "Attention Mode"!
Attention involves voluntarily and consciously engaging our body's sensory organs for a few minutes.
Voluntarily engaging our body's sensory organs for a few minutes a day to foster mental well-being is an example of biopsychology in everyday life.
