Why letting go is the perfect way to access the hidden gems of your brain

“Swim in silence” to access the hidden gems of your brain.

Einstein was a wise man. Stop thinking is sometimes all it needs to find new solutions. If you are pondering about a problem, you can twist and turn, but you will hardly find an answer. But if you take a little time-out, rest in silence, new ideas and resolutions will find you. The more experience you have, the easier it is to “swim in silence” and access the hidden gems of the brain.

But where shall this information come from?

While we are occupied with our day-to-day businesses our brain works on “operating mode”. There are so many impressions the human brain receives in every second, that the brain compromises the information to a minimum. Pam Grout, author of the book “E2” states in her book that scientists found out that the brain receives 400 billion bits of information each second, which will be narrowed down to 2000 bits. That is a one-half of one-millionth of a percent of the input.

The brain works like a highly efficient computer: within a split second, it maps all the information to “immediately useful”, “maybe later” and “not important”, stored in different areas of the brain. It is all there, the problem is the accessibility. Some things may become interesting at a later point in our lives but are buried deep down in our cells or “overwritten” with other things, which are considered more important.

How can we access the hidden information?

I have the best ideas, while I´m hiking. My body is occupied with setting one foot in front of the other whilst my mind is relaxing. Of course, it is not really relaxing. It is busy with taking in the surrounding, the smell of the trees, the humming of the birds, the voice of my daughter who can´t stop talking……etc. But somehow it still relaxes me. My senses are busy with walking, smelling and listening while my mind takes off. I can “write” whole novels in my mind during that time. I enjoy the float of ideas and hope to preserve them for later.

Can you completely let go of thinking?

Sometimes, I try not to think at all. I fully concentrate on the moment taking in the surrounding with all my senses. This can be hard. Immediately my brain shots in thoughts or “comments” on the things I see or smell.

The trick of a walking meditation as with all other kinds of meditation is to acknowledge your thoughts once they arise and then to let them go. Breathing in and out while setting one leg before the other. No comments, no judgement, no emotions. You just feel what´s happening around you:

• Is the sun warm on your skin?
• Is your breath calm and steady?
• Can you hear the distant rustling of a bird shoo through the trees?
• The ripple of the creek beside you?

Take in all those feelings, but don´t dwell on them. There is no special experience needed, nor any means necessary. Just dive into the moment and feel. Maybe it´s a hike in the woods, or a swim in the ocean, start with a single moment. Close your eyes and feel what´s happening around you and then let go and rest in silence.

The more you let go, the more effortless the hidden gems of the mind will find you.