Narrating life to stay concious.

[Hojo]

If we are in our bodies and our bodies are machines we should always be conscious about what this machine is doing and why its doing it. I have been practising consciously thinking about what I am doing with my body at all times and notice I keep forgetting to keep track what I am doing with my body by being in life. Like say I walk to the grocery store and then I say to myself I am walking I am walking I am walking, I am opening the door to the grocery store I am walking I am looking at juice I am picking juice out I am putting juice in my basket' then someone I know walks around the corner I stop saying I am and I am thinking about interacting with them unconsciously, I am talking to them and listening to them but I am am not saying I am thinking I am thinking of a response I am deciding response I am responding. Should I sit there and wait for a response to appear or should I be using a different part of me to summon an answer like just talking without filter? Is this all ego game?

I keep trying to do this, I am washing a dish I am putting a dish in the rinse sink I am washing a dish, I am washing a dish I am putting it into the rinse sink. I am taking the dish out and drying it. then 10 minutes later I am remembering that I entered a thought process and forgot to narrate my life and then start doing it again. Is narrating your life like this normal and do I have a mental illness by drifting in and out of consciousness like this?

[LastThursday]

12 hours ago, Hojo said:

do I have a mental illness by drifting in and out of consciousness like this?

No. It's completely normal for your thoughts to wander. 

By narrating your actions you're doing a form of meditation. You're constantly bringing back your attention to the present moment and to what your body is doing. This builds up awareness and allows you to have more conscious control over your body and actions. A lot of mental health problems can be caused by negative and intrusive thoughts. That's why meditation is often given as a way to help with this.

But. Narration is just words. Words can never fully describe what is going on and they may end up being a distraction. It's a distraction because you're programming yourself to place importance on the narration and the words. This is the wrong emphasis. You should be placing importance on what is actually happening. Your body is a very intelligent machine and most of the time it doesn't need a lot of conscious guidance - let it spontaneously do its thing. 

You should also practise not narrating and totally switching off that inner voice. You'll be surprised that it's possible to live like that, and be totally conscious.

Edited November 21, 2023 by LastThursday

[gettoefl]

what i do is i just keep quiet as i go about my business and i watch the mind; i have two modes - intercept and interrupt ... catch a thought arising i add one point to the intercept, lost in a thought i add one point to the interrupt ... this morning while out i reached 5 intercepts and 23 interrupts, rest is silent ... getting better