Paralysis by Analysis

This morning I had coffee with a long time friend of mine that I have lost touch with. His name is Joe. We caught up for a while on the present, then relived the past, and finished up our time together talking about the future. At one point in the conversation, Joe commented that many people get Paralysis by Analysis. I loved this catchy expression and thought I would write about it.

Many times in life we find ourselves analyzing a situation. The ability to look at a situation and break it down is an important process in the brain, and it's one that is required when aiming to live skillfully. What happens though when we find ourselves over-analyzing the past, reliving mistakes, and going beyond what is healthy? We get stuck living in the past. We walk around rigid and tense. By continually reliving this past event we experience paralysis by analysis.

Joe then asked me, "How do you let go? Sometimes my mind is just so crazy". I told him that telling most people to let go is like throwing a child in the pool and telling them to swim-- the child has never been taught to swim nor has the child practiced swimming. Cultivating a mind that can let go is a skilled practice and something that for many of us can only be cultivated through practice.

In my Hatha yoga practice and my running practice I use the principles taught in the Shamatha meditation practice. Shamatha means calm abiding. The practice is simple in explanation yet challenging in application. The idea is to cultivate a present state of mind by anchoring your attention on the steadiness of your eyes, respiration, and body. When thought arises and pulls you away from mental steadiness you simply notice that you have lost your attention. You return back to the eyes, respiration and body.

As you continually return to your present state of mind you begin unwinding the focus on analyzing and the habit you have ingrained within your brain. This is challenging work yet it does work, particularly when practiced on a daily basis. The process of letting go of thought and coming back to the present moment cultivates a mind that can let go. I personally find with this practice that it has before easier and easier to let go. In my next blog I will write about what we are experiencing as we let go.