How to move from intellectual thinking to “in the moment thinking”?

Meditation and breathing to practice focus and being in the moment.

 

Guided meditations can be helpful, like Headspace for example, but you can do it all on your own, anytime, anywhere.

I recommend to start out just doing five minutes, you can increase it over time as you get more comfortable. Set a timer on your phone.
Sit down, in a chair so your back is straight, put your hands on your thighs, close your eyes. and simple focus on your breath. Feel what it does to your body. Thoughts will come and go, just let them. When you realize you are distracted, just go back to focusing on the breath.

When you have done this for a whole you will find it easier to focus on your breath and your thoughts won't disturb you as much. You will find it relaxing and you will meditate for longer periods of time. You will become aware of your thoughts and that you don't have to "follow them" or act on them. You are not your thoughts. You are you.

 

If it's a matter of applying tips you read here then you are using memory, which means you're referring to information you gain in the past isn't that the case?

The kind of experience you're talking about is fundamentally non-conceptual, but we're talking about it through writing which is very conceptual. It is possible for people to express it through words but it actually is a very refined skill, you kind of have to be poetic. You'll find a spiritual teachers actually rely on their context a lot and not just their words, and not all of what they say and right will be those kind of big deal quotes that everybody repeats. Language actually dilutes that greatly but people continue to rely on it and not see this.

Just as a general point of interest I remember one specific thing that kind of resulted in a period of the senses being very vivid was using a flotation tank, but the other time I didn't feel like that, probably because I was trying to program my mind with a light and sound machine around the same time.

 

These forum messages are also accessed in an asynchronous way, which means we are in different moments. Even if someone reads the post right after it goes up it's a different moment, not to mention somewhere else entirely.

 

-relax jaw/mouth
-relax shoulders
-relax fingers
-breathe out, breathe in

And meanwhile look at your surroundings. This puts your attention outward.

Then ask yourself the following question: where do I see a problem? Where do I see thoughts? They are not there. They only exists in the tiny space between your ears. Realise this and you are free.

 

People with intellectual thinking tend to make things way too complex, just keep it simple, it’s all in your head, it doesn’t exist

 

Yes, this video touches on this a bit. You can use your mind to be happy, or sad, it's really your choice. The key here is that your mind is a tool. We use tools to solve problems. When we are done solving the problem we put the tool away until we need it again. Why would we walk around carrying a hammer in our hand if we are not going to use it? So is it with compulsive thinking. It is like carrying a hammer without having any nails to hammer. It is a burden. Meditation teaches you to put away the hammer, by distancing yourself from your thoughts that are not constructive.

You are you. You are a unique being in creation. Your mind is not you. Your mind, your thoughts, it's a tool that you have, just like your sight, voice, smell, etc. Your mind changes, your soul stays the same.


I recommend reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

 

I agree, this book has completely transformed my view on life

 

I think this is why some people do psychological counseling while walking in nature. It's basically a matter of not being limited to a separate sense of self, and that means there's more context than your minds ideas about things. It may not be accurate to call it thinking, or really it's that thinking is a very small part of what's happening in the scheme of things.

Zen master Dogen said to realize the self is to forget the self, and to forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things. That is basically what it means to be present, with everything, so the focus is not on what you think but to be fully immersed in everything.

 

Do whatever works. Music or guided meditation is good for beginners b/c it teaches you to focus, breath, etc.

 

From my experience as a "bad meditator" it actually doesn't matter too much if your mind wanders. Just notice it and bring your focus back. I feel more present/relaxed when I've meditated even if it was a "bad session".