Mental Obstacles

[octavia]

Hello Bring4th. I am a university student, and over the past few weeks, I have begun to experience a number of mental obstacles. I am wondering if this is the result of some blockage within the 7 energy centers, or if there is some form of meditation or prayer that may assist in moving past these obstacles.

I will describe these mental obstacles. I am usually a successful student. I have lost my ability to focus on tasks which require mental labor. I can watch videos or play recreational games, but where reading is concerned, I find myself struggling to process more than 10 pages before losing focus. More recently, I struggle to even begin the work. For example, I will look at a page of Latin which is to be translated. I know exactly which steps are to be taken in order to translate it. However, instead, I spend 5 minutes staring at the page as the words swim around before giving up. There are periods of time where this inability to focus is more intense which I would best describe as a mental fog. Sometimes I will be speaking to another person like so:

"My day has been..."

The next word I want to say is "good", however, even though the word is in my mind, I am unable to say it. This happens from time to time.

Thank you for reading. Your ideas and insight are much appreciated.

[anagogy]

Motivation is hard to muster when there is no passion to ignite it.

I see this a lot with students in school.  I don't know if I have any words of wisdom for you, except to say I sympathize with your dilemma.

If I were in your situation I would probably start practicing self hypnosis to increase concentration and motivation. This involves sitting or lying in a comfortable chair/bed, and drifting into the state between sleeping and waking and then repeating an affirmation, in present tense, of what you want to accomplish. In this twilight state between sleeping and waking, your critical conscious mind is more pacified, and your subconscious mind is more open to suggestion. Then repeat your desired programming, such as, for example, "I am strongly motivated to study [insert area of study]." Then repeat it over and over, and then bring yourself out of it.  

It would probably take a couple of weeks of daily practice for the unconscious patterns to fully transform.

[octavia]

Motivation is hard to muster when there is no passion to ignite it.

I see this a lot with students in school.  I don't know if I have any words of wisdom for you, except to say I sympathize with your dilemma.

If I were in your situation I would probably start practicing self hypnosis to increase concentration and motivation.  This involves sitting or lying in a comfortable chair/bed, and drifting into the state between sleeping and waking and then repeating an affirmation, in present tense, of what you want to accomplish.  In this twilight state between sleeping and waking, your critical conscious mind is more pacified, and your subconscious mind is more open to suggestion. Then repeat your desired programming, such as, for example, "I am strongly motivated to study [insert area of study]."  Then repeat it over and over, and then bring yourself out of it.  

It would probably take a couple of weeks of daily practice for the unconscious patterns to fully transform.

I should clarify that I have no problems with motivation. I am interested in the course material. I am a course tutor for the introductory Latin that first year students take. I am interested in every course that I am taking. If the difficulty was motivation, then I would have never succeeded in the first place (I did very well my first year. This semester should actually be easier than my last); there would be no position of success to fail from.

I have spoken to a few people about these mental obstacles and many of them have interpreted my difficulty as being a lack of motivation, so perhaps this is a miscommunication on my part.

[anagogy]

I should clarify that I have no problems with motivation. I am interested in the course material. I am a course tutor for the introductory Latin that first year students take. I am interested in every course that I am taking. If the difficulty was motivation, then I would have never succeeded in the first place (I did very well my first year. This semester should actually be easier than my last); there would be no position of success to fail from.

I have spoken to a few people about these mental obstacles and many of them have interpreted my difficulty as being a lack of motivation, so perhaps this is a miscommunication on my part.

Please understand, I mean absolutely nothing negative when I imply a lack of motivation.  You seem to have an aversion to the implication, which I completely understand.

It is no judgment on your character I assure you.  Motivation can wax and wane.  So the fact that you succeeded in the first place does not mean the problem is not motivation.

If you like, think of it like this: you have the ability to do what you need to do (you've done it before), but some part of you is resisting.  I would call it "subconscious motivation".  You can consciously want to do something, but if your subconscious doesn't, there is going to be resistance to the activity.

Difficulty concentrating on some things, when there is no difficulty concentrating on some others things (i.e. recreational activities) means a lack of desire to do those things (read: motivation).  It is very common for that sort of steam to peter out periodically, which is why I suggest the self hypnosis routine.

Anyway, best of luck.

[octavia]

Please understand, I mean absolutely nothing negative when I imply a lack of motivation.  You seem to have an aversion to the implication, which I completely understand.

It is no judgment on your character I assure you.  Motivation can wax and wane.  So the fact that you succeeded in the first place does not mean the problem is not motivation.

If you like, think of it like this: you have the ability to do what you need to do (you've done it before), but some part of you is resisting.  I would call it "subconscious motivation".  You can consciously want to do something, but if your subconscious doesn't, there is going to be resistance to the activity.

Difficulty concentrating on some things, when there is no difficulty concentrating on some others things (i.e. recreational activities) means a lack of desire to do those things (read: motivation).  It is very common for that sort of steam to peter out periodically, which is why I suggest the self hypnosis routine.

Anyway, best of luck.

In that case I am curious to how this impacts my periodic difficulty with speech. That is, when there is a word that I wish to say and I am thinking of the word yet cannot say it, is my subconscious mind not desiring to utter the word? I can think of reasons why my subconscious mind would resist work. It is strenuous and requires dedication. I cannot think of any reason why my subconscious mind would resist myself to be able to express myself in conversation. Does the subconscious mind betray me in this way?

[anagogy]

Usually, in such a case it is simply because you haven't ran your conscious mind over that particular memory/thought for a while, so the subconscious or "second nature" groove has become worn down.  It is almost like a path through a bunch of weeds.  If you walk that path continually, the weeds won't grow back, but if you stop traveling that mental pathway for a while, the weeds will begin to grow back, making it more difficult to travel.  The more times you've walked a trail, the bigger and easier it becomes to walk it again.

I want to stress that the subconscious mind is not a nefarious alter ego attempting to thwart your efforts.  Rather, it is a amalgamation of automated patterns.

Even with the motivation thing, it is not that an alter ego is resisting the work, it is rather that you have inadvertently, through attention, practiced (you might even say "programmed") alternate pathways of thought to the point that the habitual road you used to walk has become less traveled and the road become divergent to the point where you need to "regroove" it. It is easy to accidentally do through repeated day dreaming (which is a light trance state), and occasional idle thought during study times. Before long, a counterproductive habit of thought is formed and gradually repeated and practiced (again, not on purpose).

The advantage of hypnosis is that it grooves pathways faster by streamlining concentration.  Have you ever seen a hypnotist show where they get someone to temporarily forget their own name?

Aside from being hilarious, it is what happens when you harness the powers of a trance state, which is a state of profound concentration.  It bypasses the critical faculties, and allows the underlying subconscious/second nature/habitual thought structures to change.

[Zach]

Maybe you would find benefit in concentration exercises. Open eyed or close eyed or both. Look/visualize at a symbol that you find inspiring and try to keep a single pointed focus on that object for as long as you can while doing your best to accept and breath through whatever emotions/sensations come up. It is good to also be mindful of your breath. If your mind starts to wander off then just gently bring it back to the symbol of focus. Don't be surprised if you find this exercise uncomfortable....as in feeling a stretch in your "mind muscles"/concentrative ability. Like when you hold a stretch (physically) and you get that tingly feeling and want to let go...but by keeping in the position you experience a release followed by more mental clarity.

[octavia]

Thanks to both of you. The advice given is appreciated. I will try these practices and perhaps speak of any developments that occur.

[Aion]

What would you rather be doing? Our energy is focused somewhere and if it's not on what is right in front of us then it must be on something else.

[upensmoke]

from reading your first post it seems to have more to do with passion, then motivations. If i didn't read your other post i would have also said something along the lines of motivation. also i would like to add that being motivate to work and being passionate about work are two different things. Im motivated to go to work everyday, but i am not passionate about my work. From what it sounds to me is that you are no longer passionate about translating Latin. In other words you do it because u have to not because you want to. find what u want to do

[native]

My ability to concentrate has gone downhill as well. I think it's several things. One is the internet..it's so easy to just bounce around from this or that, cultivating a short-attention span. The other is that I'm too "in the head." While my mind is very active, I don't feel like it really exercises my brain which brings me to the third point. Creativity! When I pick up my guitar that I used to play regularly, I get that feel-good workout sensation in my head afterwards. This also happens when I sit down to draw. So I think that kind of focus and creativity is an area that I've neglected..it's an aspect of life that I think is central regardless.

[octavia]

What would you rather be doing? Our energy is focused somewhere and if it's not on what is right in front of us then it must be on something else.

Thank you for these words. This is a difficult question to answer coherently. There are things I would rather be doing, however I am not concerned with them just yet, so I put them in the back of my mind. I am not thinking so much about hobbies and crafts so much as I am thinking on a broader scale. There are certain temporary obstacles that prevent me from doing these things. Some of these obstacles are temporary within my own lifespan, and some are not. I am not concerned with them in the same way that a Freshman might not be concerned with their Senior Thesis. Then again, perhaps I am mistaken. Because although the Freshman does not begin work on the Senior Thesis, it is nevertheless wise for them to consider and work toward their Major. Unfortunately I cannot elaborate further because the things in question are extremely personal. I am fairly certain that one of the reasons I am having this life is to interact with and learn from a few specific obstacles. I apologize if this is not coherent.

from reading your first post it seems to have more to do with passion, then motivations. If i didn't read your other post i would have also said something along the lines of motivation. also i would like to add that being motivate to work and being passionate about work are two different things. Im motivated to go to work everyday, but i am not passionate about my work. From what it sounds to me is that you are no longer passionate about translating Latin. In other words you do it because u have to not because you want to. find what u want to do

Thank you for these words. I think I erroneously give the impression that I no longer care for Latin. It is instead the case that I continue to enjoy learning and interacting with the Latin language. I don't think there is anything in particular I can say to you to convince you of this. I think I give off an impassioned impression online in general, which I realize to be a difficulty in my communication. However, I nevertheless agree that it is valuable to consider the distinction between passion and motivation.
When I was younger, I had a great passion for for drawing. As I grew, I began to take this endeavor seriously. I recall working off of Andrew Loomis' anatomy textbooks, and with great frustration found that I was not truly learning, but merely copying via imitation. For a long time, the art world was a very confusing place. In highschool, we were once assigned to the task of replicating a Van Gogh painting. During one class, the professor came to my painting and said that I had ruined my replica. Yet not a few classes afterwards, he gave to me a great compliment for the painting. I was confused, as he was not one to give out empty compliments. Eventually I lost my passion for drawing. There is a similar story to be told about my relationship with the piano. So while I do still have passion for Latin, you are correct in thinking that I have lost passion for my own interests in the past.

My ability to concentrate has gone downhill as well. I think it's several things. One is the internet..it's so easy to just bounce around from this or that, cultivating a short-attention span. The other is that I'm too "in the head."  While my mind is very active, I don't feel like it really exercises my brain which brings me to the third point. Creativity! When I pick up my guitar that I used to play regularly, I get that feel-good workout sensation in my head afterwards. This also happens when I sit down to draw. So I think that kind of focus and creativity is an area that I've neglected..it's an aspect of life that I think is central regardless.

Thank you for these words. I relate to this strongly. I think that for those of us who have particularly active minds which so often manifests in the form of a short attention span, creative activities which occupy the hands are tremendously valuable. I see that I have also neglected these activities.

[Cobrien]

Don't forget the you created the problem in the first place. You decide what will work for you. You decide how long you will learn from this.

[octavia]

Don't forget the you created the problem in the first place. You decide what will work for you. You decide how long you will learn from this.

This is a good point, and is perhaps true in more ways than one. I'm not sure if this is what you intended, but it seems to me that, because I have experienced this catalyst in various ways throughout my life, that I specifically arranged to experience it. In this way, I have created this for myself, and I have already decided how long I wish to receive data about this catalyst. Let me know if I misunderstand you.