This week it feels like there's a lot going on inside of me.
It reminds me of when I go to people's houses and their homes are filled with a lot of crap, and they can't think clearly. There's a lot of turbulence.
When we have turbulent thoughts, we can't pick up one thing at a time and ask, "Do I need this or can I let it go?" It's like a vibration that's chaotic and goes in different directions. It's not tangible. At the same time, it's intrusive and we wish it would go away.
One thing I've learned that works for me when I have emotional or mental turbulence is to allow the thoughts and feelings just to be there, as best as I can. My experience is that when I do this, it's more peaceful than trying to stop the thoughts, resist them, or distract myself from them. It's easier to say, "Alright, they're here." Then they go on their merry way.
A lot of time there's an experience of pain, and we think "this is too much." We introduce stuff to try to remove the pain, but it doesn't remove it. And we get frustrated. So I find it's easier to not put up a fight and watch the pain almost like it's a muscle spasm. Eventually it relaxes and gets quieter.
Even now, just writing about this process, I feel my turbulence dying down.