---
title: Nonthinking
date: "2022-04-29"  
lastmod: "2022-04-30"
---

## What is it about?
It is difficult to imagine functioning without the mind, despite the fact that it is useless. Dan Millman explains this brilliantly, explaining the difference between the mind and the brain, consciousness, being conscious and active attention:

> I’d better redefine some terms for you. ‘Mind’ is one of those slippery terms like ‘love.’ The proper definition depends on your state of consciousness. Look at it this way: You have a brain that directs the body, stores information, and plays with that information. We refer to the brain’s abstract processes as ‘the intellect.’ Nowhere have I mentioned mind. The brain and the mind are not the same. The brain is real; the mind isn’t. “‘Mind’ is an illusory reflection of cerebral fidgeting. It comprises all the random, uncontrolled thoughts that bubble into awareness from the subconscious. Consciousness is not mind; awareness is not mind; attention is not mind. Mind is an obstruction, an aggravation. It is a kind of evolutionary mistake in the human being, a primal weakness in the human experiment. I have no use for the mind. ~ Dan Millman

If we take a moment to think about it, indeed the mind is just random, uncontrolled thoughts that appear and disappear, constantly distracting us from what is happening here and now and actively taking action.

For me, non-thinking is the **most important** skill I develop in myself, including through [[Knowledge/Dictionary/Perspective]], [[Mindfulness]] and [[Knowledge/Thoughts/Boredom]].

Does this mean that my mind is then devoid of any thoughts? Of course not, because I have no control over them. However, it is possible to function in a mode in which they also have no control over us.

If you want to experience the state I'm writing about, while outside toss a tennis ball high and do your best to catch it. The moment when your attention will be focused only on this is the moment when thoughts have no control over us. Similarly, this moment is also illustrated by a scene from the movie The Power of Calm (based on the book [[Knowledge/Books/Way of The Peaceful Warrior]]):

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/40ZYSJ3A7yM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>