The Buzzing - Mosquitos of the Mind

This is actually how the idea for this blog came to me. It’s not unusual to be woken up by mosquitoes in Bali. And one night, after completely losing the battle to them, I couldn’t fall back asleep. It was as if being awakened by that mosquito had jumpstarted my mind. Once that started, it was going to be hard to stop. So between the buzzing and my overactive brain, sleep didn’t stand a chance. It then came to me that that was the perfect analogy for the overactive mind, a mind with memories of the past and worries of the future in overdrive. Just like that mosquito, it does not relent. Instead, continuing to feed on your attention and disrupting your rest, your focus, your peace.

The Stiller We Are, The Louder It Gets

What is the mosquito’s purpose? It seeks us out because it’s hungry. Likewise, our thoughts circle in our mind, on a loop, because it’s craving something – resolution. Those swarming, buzzing, annoying thinking loops that won’t leave us alone are signals and reminders. They are unresolved tensions or issues demanding attention. We can’t rest because our mind senses unfinished business of lingering or unprocessed emotions that seek to be addressed. That’s why the more inwards you go, the louder they get.

It’s tempting to swat them away, but suppressing feelings and emotions by distracting ourselves with endless scrolling on our phones or outside social noises only makes it swell on the inside. It becomes a nagging, throbbing kind of persistent pulsation that’s loud to our internal biology. The buzzing becomes louder. The swarming becomes chaotic.

Letting Thoughts Land

What happens when we allow the mosquito to simply land on us? It feeds and then it dies. The buzzing stops. The night is quiet again.

If we look at ourselves closely, we can see that our thought patterns operate in the same way. When we allow our mental rhythms, our inner narratives to land and to be acknowledged and expressed by our mind, we can then proceed to process them. This is how they eventually exhaust their energy.

Some ways we can do this include:

• Writing it down – Try writing down your worries and fears on a piece of paper and burning it during a full moon. Making it into a ritual could have the effect of loosening its grip on you. Done with the intention of release signals to your mind that the burden is no longer yours to carry and you’re letting it go with finality. It is a form of transformation, where thought on pen and paper alchemises into smoke, disappearing into the atmosphere as nothingness.

• Talking to someone – Seeking help from someone who can listen and help you gain clarity on habits you perhaps didn’t recognise. A different perspective and guidance is useful. They should be able to offer support as well, checking in with when you require it. Take what resonates with you with an open mind and makes you feel good.

• Shower meditation – Shower meditation is great form of release. When you're in the shower, visualise the water washing away your stress. Watch as it goes down the drain and feel yourself light and free once more - I like to add a salt scrub as well, as salt is a natural ioniser and is used in energy field cleansing rituals to release negative ions (negative energy), especially used in conjunction with water.

• Mindfulness – Be mindful by observing your thoughts without judgment and let them pass naturally. Try this while having compassion for yourself and also the resilience to continue with it.

• Creative expression – Art, writing, music or movement gives your thoughts a channel. It gives you the opportunity to process experiences and release tension, sometime shifting inner chaos into an outlet of release. Creativity gives you something else to focus on. This is a shift of thought pattern from something that isn’t aligning or you’ve outgrown, to something more high-vibrational – soul food that fuels and grows your passion and joy.

By letting your mental mosquitoes land, by addressing them as they feed and allowing the release to happen once they’re full, they will drop dead and the endless buzzing and circling will end.

The swarm disperses, silence returns.

The Power of Release

When thoughts are settled and the mind is calm, what once felt like chaos becomes a source of insight. The buzzing was a signal, not an obstacle. Our mind was simply asking to be heard.

The next time swirling thoughts overwhelm you, remember that you don’t have to fight them. You don’t have to “shoo” them into submission. Allow them to land. Acknowledge them. Give them a moment in the light to express themselves before reminding it that it’s time to leave. Thank the feelings or thoughts and habits for serving out its purpose. Thank and honour them for the role they played in your evolution, by allowing you to recognise what needed to be addressed and released for your future growth. Consciously release them and know that this has created an opening, a space that allows peace, clarity and new, better experiences to flow in.

No doubt they sometimes continue to feed on your attention here and there, every now and then, when triggers are lit. But the more you observe without resistance, respond with awareness and return to the practice of gentle release, the more they continue to die down.

A Quiet Night Awaits

We are human, and our journey is our purpose. Therefore, life will always bring thoughts that buzz like mosquitoes. The key is to recognise them, recognise the cycles and make conscious efforts to shift. This doesn’t mean those things aren’t relevant or didn’t happen to you, but it’s made you wise and strong, and by understanding it, it helps you help yourself – and others as well.

True peace comes from stillness and presence. Eventually, the swarm disperses. The night grows quiet. Your mind finds rest, your body stills, and you are at peace.