Overthinking: Endless Thoughts

2 weeks ago By Yogi Anoop

Overthinking: Endless Thoughts

Overthinking — the very word brings to mind that state when we become so entangled with a single thought, problem, or situation that the way out of it becomes hazy. At first glance, it may seem that thinking deeply is a good habit, for it helps us find solutions to problems. But the truth is that most overthinking is neither creative nor practical. It is merely a web of thoughts in which the thinker becomes trapped.

The root of the problem is that thinking, by its nature, is focused on a subject or a scene. When we dwell on something repeatedly, we keep circling within the same limited space. This process has no end, for thinking about a thought is like holding up a mirror to another mirror — endless reflections, but no tangible result. One thought gives rise to another, then a third, and so on, continuing indefinitely. The thinker does not even realize that his thinking is impractical; his mind is like an old gramophone stuck on the same tune, only the words and faces keep changing.

Such thinking is fruitless because it is driven not by reality, but by the world of thoughts. However well-arranged those thoughts may be, if they are only chasing each other, they never reach any solid conclusion. They merely keep the mind busy, and this busyness creates the illusion that we are engaged in some profound search.

The greatest turning point for the thinker comes when he begins to see that he is not a thought, nor is he a scene that can be thought about. He is the source of thought — the point from which thoughts are born. If the thinker starts considering himself as a scene, he unknowingly becomes a prisoner of his own thoughts. But when he begins to see his true nature — to know that “I” am not as limited as a thought or a feeling — then this endless chain of thoughts begins to break.

Real transformation happens when the thinker begins to “experience the self.” Here, “experience the self” means recognizing that awareness which exists beyond thoughts, which can see thoughts coming and going, yet is not bound by them. When this recognition deepens, a new silence is born in the mind. In this silence, thoughts still come and go, but they do not carry us away. It is like standing on the riverbank watching the flow of water, instead of jumping into the river and being swept along by it.

The solution to overthinking does not come from another thought, but from stepping back from thought. Just as darkness is removed not by fighting it, but by lighting a lamp — in the same way, ending overthinking is not about struggling with thoughts, but about recognizing the light of one’s own being.

When the thinker truly understands this simple yet profound truth — that he is not the subject of thoughts but their witness — his thinking begins to move from a futile cycle toward a meaningful direction. And that is the moment when the dense forest of thoughts begins to open up, revealing before him a clear sky — where there is silence, clarity, and a peace deeper than the solution to any problem.

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