The Usual Suspects of Mindlessness
Language Pollutants
Language is the greatest invention of human evolution and development: From grunts to words allowing us to convey meaning-making abstractions of our deepest cognitions and corresponding emotions. I propose language is a vital component in the ecology of consciousness. And just as nature’s ecology is polluted by toxins and trash, language is polluted by mindless speech patterns.
As it relates to language, its pollutants serve as disfluencies, discordances, over-informing, and vernaculars to fill gaps in the flow of thoughts and speech as well as affectations for inclusion in the latest sociocultural trends. The reason these lexical fillers are analogous to pollutants in nature’s ecology, is because they reduce the pristineness and clarity of our language.
Let’s expose the language pollutants and their effect on mindbody communication. The omnipresent filler, you know, is a disfluency (disruption of flow) as well as a discordance (confounding meaning). It fills the gap between the speed of thought and speech, while distorting the meaning of the verb, to know. Although the conversationalists do not take the discordance literality, “you know” is used as a meaningless filler. An act of mindlessness. Other candidates for the robotic lexicon are no problem, in place of words expressing gratitude, and like, in place of the actual experience. While there are many more language pollutants, I will limit my critique to the biggest offenders:
A Mindless conversation:
“You know, she looked at me and I thought, like, what does she want, you know?”
“Thanks for your help.” “No problem.”
A Pristine conversation:
“She looked at me and I wondered what she wanted.”
“Thanks for your help.” “My pleasure.”
Do these examples entice you to remove pollutants from your language?
Thought Pollutants
One of the main contributors of stress and its deleterious effects on health is the negative thought patterns we experience in the ecology of our consciousness. Because of our highly developed consciousness, our thoughts are as powerful as our language and actions in how they influence our biology. We are the only species that can affect our health and longevity by what we think and express with language. Our thoughts and speech contextualize our consciousness, and our bodies respond according to the emotions and sensations generated. While negative thoughts and speech patterns pollute our mindbody, we are also uniquely endowed with the option to change what does not serve us. But I will emphatical argue that responding assertively to conditions that require outrage reflected in our thoughts, speech, and consequent emotions, are not pollutants. In fact, these protective responses are necessary to set personal boundaries, confront infamy, and assert moral position.
Fortunately, we are designed so that when we defend our integrity, our nervous, immune, and endocrine systems support our actions. The healthy protective value ends, however, when we take our righteous thoughts, speech, and emotions beyond the challenging context, and turn them to negative ruminating patterns that burden our consciousness. What was protection in one context becomes pollutant in another. Why? Because, unlike any other species, when our fight or flight response is no longer needed, we mindlessly continue to replay the negativity we experienced, without recognizing that our biology will respond as if we are still in jeopardy.
Other Sources of Pollution
Although ruminations are repetitive out-of-context thought patterns that interfere with our focus and pollute our consciousness, we can take control of these subtle stressors. But first we have to determine how we create these mindbody pollutants. In addition to our personal fight or flight conditions becoming dysfunctional reruns, there are other usual suspects. The news, politics, religion, and any cultural construct that can also become material for the ruminations that affect our wellbeing. While we should be concerned with our external world and defend our beliefs, our thoughts and emotions must be monitored to prevent imposing a fight or flight context on matters that are beyond our control or beyond their function. Otherwise, we carry the weight of weltschmerz (world-pain), as if our own.
Tools
Whether coming from our own suffering, defending constructs dear to our hearts, or negative world events, the key to addressing and besting ruminations is to identify the context, respond accordingly, and not allow appropriate righteous action to become a misplaced pollutant. Although the corrective process should be cultivated with patience, the most effective balancing action is deceptively simple when we recognize ruminations are out-of-context events.
Mindfully attend to the thoughts and emotional landscape you construct to rerun beyond their function, take a deep breath, and assess how you are embodying (experiencing) the polluting rerun. Smile about catching the culprit, and attend to any novelty you notice in your instant present. The discovery will bring you to the mindfulness of your experience in cultural time and space. Why novelty? Because when you discover something new that you neglected to notice in your immediate environment, you enter mindfulness. No need to spend years meditating to find the tool required to bring you out of mindlessly polluting your personal journey.
News Media Fasting
News Media is implicitly manipulate in how it gains your attention: sensationalism, fear mongering, and appeal to your goodwill. I recommend, what I call news media-fasting. For one week, stay away from the news, social media, excessive cell phone fixation, and from discussing the usual rerun suspects of mindbody pollution (politics, religion, news events). The considerable serenity and lightness of being that you will experience, will be sufficient evidence to free you from the out-of-context hell you orchestrate when you are too smart for our own good.
Finally, you may be surprised to know that recent research shows, going to your cell phone the moment you wake up, talking on the phone while driving, and eating meals with a digital partner, can increase your cortisol (stress hormone) to abnormal levels for the rest of the day. Our biology responds to the as if reality we create with our thoughts and actions.
Mindlessness Pollution
For more information read my bestseller The MindBody Code
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