What are your thoughts on thoughts?

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
Our brain seems to be a thought generator. We have over 6,000 of them every day, and in a material sense they don't exist, but they are real.
They seem to be merely mental representations, or psychological presents that bombard us from all directions, and even when we sleep.
Sometimes they are conscious choices, but many times they aren't. About half of the time our thoughts veer off from what's going on around us.

These disembodied abstract entities can be memory like, picture like, song like, or idea like, but perception isn't a requirement.
Many times they are unwanted, and negative, and don't seem to serve any benefit, like a song you can't get out of your head, or something you wish you could turn off so you could get some sleep. They can be stressful and negative, but our brain serves them up anyway. We can even think about the future that hasn't happened, and may never happen.

So what is a thought? What generates them, and causes them to occur when we don't summon them? Why can't we control them better?
 

I ruminate. If I wake up in the middle of the night it will keep me from getting back to sleep. I have been consciously trying to make myself stop. I attempt to think about happier things but usually my mind just keeps going right back to the negative. I wish I could answer your questions. With me I suspect it is because of unresolved issues.
 
DebraMae said:
I ruminate. If I wake up in the middle of the night it will keep me from getting back to sleep. I have been consciously trying to make myself stop. I attempt to think about happier things but usually my mind just keeps going right back to the negative. I wish I could answer your questions. With me I suspect it is because of unresolved issues.
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Yeah, I guess the subconscious mind never gives up on unresolved issues, perhaps because they generate stress hormones, and the mind is trying to find ways to deal with them. Sometimes talking with someone (Even a close understanding friend) about the troubling matters can help, but some things can never be fixed, only accepted, and one has to find a way to make peace with them, which may satisfy the subconscious. Just a thought.
 

bobcat said:
Our brain seems to be a thought generator. We have over 6,000 of them every day, and in a material sense they don't exist, but they are real.
They seem to be merely mental representations, or psychological presents that bombard us from all directions, and even when we sleep.
Sometimes they are conscious choices, but many times they aren't. About half of the time our thoughts veer off from what's going on around us.

These disembodied abstract entities can be memory like, picture like, song like, or idea like, but perception isn't a requirement.
Many times they are unwanted, and negative, and don't seem to serve any benefit, like a song you can't get out of your head, or something you wish you could turn off so you could get some sleep. They can be stressful and negative, but our brain serves them up anyway. We can even think about the future that hasn't happened, and may never happen.

So what is a thought? What generates them, and causes them to occur when we don't summon them? Why can't we control them better?
Click to expand...
This is an interesting topic. Thoughts are important, but as you said, they can be conscious or not. Thoughts have served me well when making decisions.

If I have a persistent thought, then I typically listen to it. Usually, it will be for my good. If I have a negative thought, though, I have learned to question it. Negative thoughts about ourselves or others have never served me well. Someone might say something that hurts me (not physically, but mentally). if I allow my brain to obsess over this, I could literally spend hours doing nothing but ruminating on what they said, the reason they said it, etc. That is so unproductive and damaging.

I have learned to let go of negative thoughts to allow myself to create more and move forward. I don't want to be pulled down by negative thoughts. This includes avoiding the news (I do not watch the news), avoiding negative or toxic people and avoiding situations that cause negativity in my life.
 
palides2021 said:
This is an interesting topic. Thoughts are important, but as you said, they can be conscious or not. Thoughts have served me well when making decisions.

If I have a persistent thought, then I typically listen to it. Usually, it will be for my good. If I have a negative thought, though, I have learned to question it. Negative thoughts about ourselves or others have never served me well. Someone might say something that hurts me (not physically, but mentally). if I allow my brain to obsess over this, I could literally spend hours doing nothing but ruminating on what they said, the reason they said it, etc. That is so unproductive and damaging.

I have learned to let go of negative thoughts to allow myself to create more and move forward. I don't want to be pulled down by negative thoughts. This includes avoiding the news (I do not watch the news), avoiding negative or toxic people and avoiding situations that cause negativity in my life.
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A very sound and sensible approach in response to thoughts. You're right, in that our thoughts deserve a careful examination to see if they're helpful. Most often, negative comments from others are simply due to their ignorance because they are misinformed, or they have made a judgment based on limited information. Sometimes they draw conclusions based on their own attitudes and emotional immaturity. In any case, if their comments have no validity, then they don't deserve to occupy any space in your head, and yes, it's best to just avoid them in the future.
 
Earth animal (not plants), brains developed executive control pilot structures at body head ends where eyes and chemical sensing noses, mouths, and hearing were located. Those face areas also evolved non verbal communication expression patterns and auditory mouth sounds, to communicate with both other animal species as well as their own kind.

That is where decision-making evolved, the thinking you that connect to our brain motor control muscles and thought control functions we act with. In humans, is an enormous cerebrum structure that becomes increasingly interconnected from birth to other cerebrum areas and emotional midbrain structures like the amygdala, depending on what we do and experience that the executive control operates upon. Many interconnections are also pruned away.

Our brain memory areas develop through neural plasticity processes. We are what we do and experience. Thus one becomes a result of such processes. Fill it with negativity and mental issues and that is what you become. That includes worrying, anger, fear, hate, revenge, hurting others, unacceptable social habits, criminal activity, warmongering, foul language, seksual perversions, poor interpersonal communication skills, illogical thought processes, flawed educations, rationalized incorrect understandings, and much more.

So adults that end up with their executive control pilot with issues at least in our free modern societies and culture, have in part by their own choices produced what they have sewn over their lifetimes.

To change such developed behaviors then embedded in one's brain then requires making changes to what one does and experiences. And that takes understanding, effort, and time so negative brain connections by nonuse degenerate away while positive ones slowly replace connections and neural plasticity structures.
 
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David777 said:
Earth animal (not plants), brains developed executive control pilot structures at body head ends where eyes and chemical sensing noses, mouths, and hearing were located. Those face areas also evolved non verbal communication expression patterns and auditory mouth sounds, to communicate with both other animal species as well as their own kind.

That is where decision-making evolved, the thinking you that connect to our brain motor control muscles and thought control functions we act with. In humans, is an enormous cerebrum structure that becomes increasingly interconnected from birth to other cerebrum areas and emotional midbrain structures like the amygdala, depending on what we do and experience that the executive control operates upon. Many interconnections are also pruned away.

Our brain memory areas develop through neural plasticity processes. We are what we do and experience. Thus one becomes a result of such processes. Fill it with negativity and mental issues and that is what you become. That includes worrying, anger, fear, hate, revenge, hurting others, unacceptable social habits, criminal activity, warmongering, foul language, seksual perversions, poor interpersonal communication skills, illogical thought processes, flawed educations, rationalized incorrect understandings, and much more.

So adults that end up with their executive control pilot with issues at least in our free modern societies and culture, have in part by their own choices produced what they have sewn over their lifetimes.

To change such developed behaviors then embedded in one's brain then requires making changes to what one does and experiences. And that takes understanding, effort, and time so negative brain connections by nonuse degenerate away while positive ones slowly replace connections and neural plasticity structures.
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I think humans have evolved in such a way to experience more negative emotions, and words to describe them, than positive ones.
We seem to be predisposed to think more negatively than positively, and we are also more inclined to engage more deeply with these emotions. As a result, we spend more of our time thinking negative thoughts. Thatā€™s because positive emotions tell us that everything is okay, so there is no need for our subconscious to think about them anymore. Because of that, these positive moments, although precious, are also not as common.

Negative emotions tell us that something is wrong, so we are likely to spend more time, and energy processing these feelings. They require more detailed thinking, more subtle distinctions. I think over centuries, humans naturally developed more negative thoughts and words to describe them because this helped ensure our survival and wellbeing.

That being said, we live in a considerably different world from our ancestors, but threats to our safety and survival are still there and negative thoughts, worry, and concern will probably accompany us for the long haul. However, as you pointed out, making a conscious effort to dwell more on the positive aspects of life can result in a better balance and a healthier lifestyle, if we can pull it off.
 
bobcat said:
I think humans have evolved in such a way to experience more negative emotions, and words to describe them, than positive ones.
We seem to be predisposed to think more negatively than positively, and we are also more inclined to engage more deeply with these emotions. As a result, we spend more of our time thinking negative thoughts. Thatā€™s because positive emotions tell us that everything is okay, so there is no need for our subconscious to think about them anymore. Because of that, these positive moments, although precious, are also not as common.

Negative emotions tell us that something is wrong, so we are likely to spend more time, and energy processing these feelings. They require more detailed thinking, more subtle distinctions. I think over centuries, humans naturally developed more negative thoughts and words to describe them because this helped ensure our survival and wellbeing.

That being said, we live in a considerably different world from our ancestors, but threats to our safety and survival are still there and negative thoughts, worry, and concern will probably accompany us for the long haul. However, as you pointed out, making a conscious effort to dwell more on the positive aspects of life can result in a better balance and a healthier lifestyle, if we can pull it off.
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Exactly, and I have always been hypervigilant due to my childhood. It is very difficult to turn that off. At my age I doubt that I ever will be able to. But I can identify what is going on and make an effort to stop it.
 
bobcat said:
Our brain seems to be a thought generator. We have over 6,000 of them every day, and in a material sense they don't exist, but they are real.
They seem to be merely mental representations, or psychological presents that bombard us from all directions, and even when we sleep.
Sometimes they are conscious choices, but many times they aren't. About half of the time our thoughts veer off from what's going on around us.

These disembodied abstract entities can be memory like, picture like, song like, or idea like, but perception isn't a requirement.
Many times they are unwanted, and negative, and don't seem to serve any benefit, like a song you can't get out of your head, or something you wish you could turn off so you could get some sleep. They can be stressful and negative, but our brain serves them up anyway. We can even think about the future that hasn't happened, and may never happen.

So what is a thought? What generates them, and causes them to occur when we don't summon them? Why can't we control them better?
Click to expand...
Apparently we have over 60,000 thoughts a day and like yourself, the negative ones sometimes dominate and turn into ruminating, which is a very unhealthy thing to do.

I try not to take my thoughts too seriously and distract myself with things to do . Good movies, a good book, painting , needle point , playing a musical instrument, writing poetry and just journaling about my day is helpful.
Last night we played a game of scrabble which was fun. My husband won. šŸ™ƒ

I try and realize my thoughts are just like passing clouds that change from day to day but that sun that always shines is like the energy within me that pumps my heart. I remind myself that I am a minuscule part of the Devine.


Every day, our minds are flooded with a constant stream of thoughts, ranging from mundane daily tasks to deeper contemplations about life and the world around us. According to research, the average person has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day.

The impact of 45,000 negative thoughts (via Passle)
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Apparently we have over 60,000 thoughts a day and like yourself, the negative ones sometimes dominate and turn into ruminating, which is a very unhealthy thing to do.

I try not to take my thoughts too seriously and distract myself with things to do . Good movies, a good book, painting , needle point , playing a musical instrument, writing poetry and just journaling about my day is helpful.
Last night we played a game of scrabble which was fun. My husband won. šŸ™ƒ

I try and realize my thoughts are just like passing clouds that change from day to day but that sun that always shines is like the energy within me that pumps my heart. I remind myself that I am a minuscule part of the Devine.


Every day, our minds are flooded with a constant stream of thoughts, ranging from mundane daily tasks to deeper contemplations about life and the world around us. According to research, the average person has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day.

The impact of 45,000 negative thoughts (via Passle)
Click to expand...
All excellent points, and not that it matters all that much, but the 60,000 thoughts per day was an old meme that was repeated by many articles, but was later found to be inaccurate. In 2020 they did actual fMRI scans and determined it was on average just 6,200, but be that as it may, it's still a lot of thoughts that go marching through ones head on a daily basis. Here's the link:
New study suggests we have 6,200 thoughts every day

Follow up article dispelling the myth: How Many Thoughts Do We Have A Day?
 
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I wish I had a switch in my brain so I could turn it off. I have always struggled with runaway thoughts, sometimes I will run a scenario thru my brain hundreds upon hundreds of times. If I have a problem to solve or am stressed I will vary the scenario bit by bit searching for resolution, it becomes exhausting. And as much as I hyper focus at times other times my thoughts are a colleague of randomness, thoughts flowing like a river of garbage.

First post asks the question "where does it come from?" I believe my mental habits are a result of my childhood. I was thrown into adult responsibilities at a young age so was always trying to fix problems and solve a crisis, my hyper active thought patterns were a result of my environment and once ingrained just became my normal.
 
bobcat said:
All excellent points, and not that it matters all that much, but the 60,000 thoughts per day was an old meme that was repeated by many articles, but was later found to be inaccurate. In 2020 they did actual fMRI scans and determined it was on average just 6,200, but be that as it may, it's still a lot of thoughts that go marching through ones head on a daily basis. Here's the link:
New study suggests we have 6,200 thoughts every day

Follow up article dispelling the myth: How Many Thoughts Do We Have A Day?
Click to expand...
Ok Iā€™ve read and listened to the audio and I find it somewhat misleading. Six thousand two hundred thoughts per person per day seems to be a bit too EXACT.

Listening to the audio the study clearly dismisses the thoughts we ruminate about or repeat. The device only detects NEW thoughts. Many things we think about we think about in many different ways. This research data canā€™t detect that so I personally discredit the findings. Iā€™m not convinced.

60,000 thoughts seems a tad excessive so I will just leave this to the million things I donā€™t know much about. The human mind has got to be one of lifeā€™s biggest mysteries
 
C50 said:
I wish I had a switch in my brain so I could turn it off. I have always struggled with runaway thoughts, sometimes I will run a scenario thru my brain hundreds upon hundreds of times. If I have a problem to solve or am stressed I will vary the scenario bit by bit searching for resolution, it becomes exhausting. And as much as I hyper focus at times other times my thoughts are a colleague of randomness, thoughts flowing like a river of garbage.

First post asks the question "where does it come from?" I believe my mental habits are a result of my childhood. I was thrown into adult responsibilities at a young age so was always trying to fix problems and solve a crisis, my hyper active thought patterns were a result of my environment and once ingrained just became my normal.
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I'm right there with you brother on the searching for resolutions quest, and for trying to fix problems. It's just how our particular brain is wired I guess. Excellent insight btw on where it comes from. I hadn't thought of that.
 
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PeppermintPatty said:
Ok Iā€™ve read and listened to the audio and I find it somewhat misleading. Six thousand two hundred thoughts per person per day seems to be a bit too EXACT.

Listening to the audio the study clearly dismisses the thoughts we ruminate about or repeat. The device only detects NEW thoughts. Many things we think about we think about in many different ways. This research data canā€™t detect that so I personally discredit the findings. Iā€™m not convinced.

60,000 thoughts seems a tad excessive so I will just leave this to the million things I donā€™t know much about. The human mind has got to be one of lifeā€™s biggest mysteries
Click to expand...
Well, just to clarify, the meaning of NEW thoughts: It means the fMRI scan tracks the beginning and ending of a thought, and the beginning of a new thought, which is to say the next thought. Also the 6,200 figure is just an average between all that took part in the study. It's going to vary from person to person, and also a person's situation. I'm sure if you're in a cage with a tiger, you're going to have a few more thoughts than someone just listening to a song.

Nonetheless, I'm sure the exact number is just a ballpark figure, so I get your point. No one can know for sure how many thoughts each individual may have.
 
Yeah, I just went through a bout of this again myself. I'm so relieved that my fears were unfounded, an incorrect extrapolation of earlier events.
 
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bobcat said:
Well, just to clarify, the meaning of NEW thoughts: It means the fMRI scan tracks the beginning and ending of a thought, and the beginning of a new thought, which is to say the next thought. Also the 6,200 figure is just an average between all that took part in the study. It's going to vary from person to person, and also a person's situation. I'm sure if you're in a cage with a tiger, you're going to have a few more thoughts than someone just listening to a song.

Nonetheless, I'm sure the exact number is just a ballpark figure, so I get your point. No one can know for sure how many thoughts each individual may have.
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New fMRI that can scan thoughts from start to finish is amazing technology . The place where this was done in Canada is well known for its up to date research and youā€™re right; Information thrown into the web is copied and then recirculated whether itā€™s correct or not. There have been many things Iā€™ve seen online that I know 100% to be false and the false info is just copy pasted on.

Maybe they will be able to better learn and brain dysfunction and / or mental illness by testing the brain patterns. Thats cutting edge technology.

Thanks for the topic. Itā€™s very interesting. The new technology is amazing.
 

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