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1] I have come to learn that it is entirely possible to 100% switch off the monkey mind. Not just 'notice and not identify with it', but actively get it to shut up. This can be done by choosing, repeatedly, to pay attention to the present moment — all of it, in its entirety.
2] My own Alexander Technique teacher (Peter Nobes, link below) says "the present moment only lasts three seconds". It's not something you get once and then hang on to. The 'hanging on' triggers the monkey mind. https://t.co/fPft86zQi2
3] It's a continuous reassertion of the present moment, hooking my processes onto what is right now. This may seem at first like it takes effort or force, but this is an illusion. What it takes is what @mattgoldenberg calls 'resolve'. It's the energy required to make a choice.
4] "I am quite sure for myself that it is quite indispensable for me to spend ten minutes or longer every day, if I can manage it, in just bringing my sensitivity to a state of emptiness, not projecting anything onto it, and keeping it clear of automatic associations."
5] That quote is from the book Creative Thinking by JG Bennet. The "state of emptiness" is what I describe here. It's not "single minded attention on the breath", nor is it "noticing that there is mental chatter". It's the exclusion of everything except direct experience.
6] This is one of the skills I developed in Alexander Technique: - to notice all the ways in which I can get de-coupled from the world - to decline to give consent to them hijacking me, and - the consciously choose to re-engage with the present moment. And it feels GREAT, btw.
Meta] Also, if you want to dive much deeper into this stuff, I have built what I believe is the only asynchronous online course that explores Alexander Technique from a first principles perspective. You can find out more and stay up to date by going here: https://t.co/GHzsyr4ILq
@m_ashcroft @JasnaSeishin has a great take on this, framing it as a race to leave behind the monkey mind in the previous moment and race to the next (click through for full thread) https://t.co/PA7KrwrT5O