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resonantI had a strange experience yesterday, though I despair of being able to convey it in words.
I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I have a very chattery brain. If you come upon me unexpectedly, you'll usually catch me talking to myself; this is the only way I can hear my thoughts over my, well, other thoughts. If I wake up in the middle of the night, there'll already be a song in my head. It's very noisy in here.
Well, yesterday I walked to my coffee shop, had a mocha, and worked for a couple of hours. I completed a goal. Feeling very pleased with myself, I packed up my backpack and got ready to walk home --
And discovered that my brain had fallen silent.
There were no chains of thoughts, no ongoing arguments, no pileup of associations. Not even music. Thoughts floated into my head and floated out again.
It lasted twenty minutes, nearly all the way home.
I told the spouse about it and he said, "You're achieving enlightenment."
I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I have a very chattery brain. If you come upon me unexpectedly, you'll usually catch me talking to myself; this is the only way I can hear my thoughts over my, well, other thoughts. If I wake up in the middle of the night, there'll already be a song in my head. It's very noisy in here.
Well, yesterday I walked to my coffee shop, had a mocha, and worked for a couple of hours. I completed a goal. Feeling very pleased with myself, I packed up my backpack and got ready to walk home --
And discovered that my brain had fallen silent.
There were no chains of thoughts, no ongoing arguments, no pileup of associations. Not even music. Thoughts floated into my head and floated out again.
It lasted twenty minutes, nearly all the way home.
I told the spouse about it and he said, "You're achieving enlightenment."
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(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 07:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 7/25/08 07:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 07:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 07:23 pm (UTC)I'm envious. I've never managed to sustain it longer than about 10 seconds.
(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 07:31 pm (UTC)*is deeply suspicious of this alleged non-verbal thought business*
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Date: 7/25/08 07:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 08:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 09:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 09:14 pm (UTC)If I wake up in the middle of the night, there'll already be a song in my head.
OMG, me too.
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Date: 7/25/08 09:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 10:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/25/08 11:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 02:23 am (UTC)When I get ill, one of the symptoms I actually enjoy is the fever-brain because everything slows down and I have no extra processing. It is the perfect time to read crappy magazines and watch tv because I can be totally absorbed in it with no boredom or distraction! Last bout of tonsilitis, I couldn't edit anything I said to my husband's amusement.
Of course, that's like emptying the pool, rather than calming the waters.
(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 02:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 7/26/08 03:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:13 am (UTC)I never really had that experience in yoga yet, but I would imagine one could.
I did experience exercise endorphins once. The elliptical machine I like to use at the gym is next to a window that looks out on the river, and there was a boat going by, and I thought, "The curves that the waves make going out from either side of the stern are the most beautiful thing that could ever exist."
(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 03:18 am (UTC)I don't know your age, but I've also heard from at least one source that the ability to reach it has to do with age and (to some degree) with various kinds of brain development or ability to think -- which I kinda do and kinda don't buy into for various reasons. I don't think it has to do with intelligence per se, as in Stanford-Binet measureable.
I had brief periods of it (much shorter than yours) for a while, then last year was faced with a situation that showed me a truth I had not expected -- and it happened then and continued for several days. As you said, very restful. Since then, it has come and go, not necessarily when expected.
There have been other side effects, beneficial though not necessarily explanable. If you want to talk about it more, I can be reached in email.
Recommended listening
Date: 7/26/08 04:01 am (UTC)Your description of your experience reminded me strongly of a Fresh Air interview I heard recently. The interviewee was a brain scientist who had a stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. She literally lost all ability to comprehend language for awhile. It sounds like it would be creepy, but she was wonderful to listen to - very positive. Fascinating, fascinating stuff. If you have time at some point, I truly recommend listening to it. The link is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91861432
I think you can also download it in mp3 format somewhere. I can't recommend it enough.
Thanks very much for all your lovely stories. I hope to read more of them soon.
-Janice
(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 04:51 am (UTC)Hee! This sentence describes an embarrassingly large portion of the Stuff I Know.
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Date: 7/26/08 08:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 05:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7/26/08 09:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 8/7/08 02:48 pm (UTC)(this reminds me of a study I once read about -- women always say that they feel stupider once they have a baby, and apparently scientists tested the intelligence of mice after giving birth. They discovered that the mice were more intelligent after giving birth -- but theorized that if giving birth gave you, say, a 2% IQ boost, having a small baby required about 4% more intelligence, making you feel stupider overall!)
Re: Recommended listening
Date: 8/7/08 02:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 8/7/08 02:53 pm (UTC)