Brain Dump
Empty your brain of all the items it is struggling to remember by writing them all down.
everyday life offers plenty of challenges; often, you might find that you’re mind is swimming with things to do, remember, or think about, and you feel confused or overwhelmed.
Our brains can become easily overwhelmed with ideas, thoughts, things to do, and other mental distractions.
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A brain dump reminds me of the pensieve in the Harry Potter books where Dumbledor would off-load his memories so he could focus.
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In my experience, writing things down helps my mind let go of it. In his YouTube series Awakening From the Meaning Crisis, John Vervaeke talked about how important literacy is as a psychotechnology—it allows you to off-load your mind to paper, freeing your mind for other tasks.
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I’ve almost always used this technique to write a list of tasks that I need to accomplish. I realize that this preference may be fairly specific to me, as things I have to get done occupy a fairly large portion of my working brain during the day. For others, you may want to write about problems you’re having in a relationship or worries you have about your kids. The subject is up to you, as long as it frees your mind for a while to think of other things.
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In her book Walking in This World, Julia Cameron talks about a practice she calls “Morning Pages” that is a similar idea, but in a slightly different format. The idea is to do them first thing in the morning as a way of prioritizing, clarifying and grounding the day’s activities. “Frequently fragmented, petty, even whining, Morning Pages were once called ‘brain drain’ because they so clearly siphoned off negativity.” (p. 7)
Therefore:
As you feel the need to, and perhaps as often as every morning, empty your brain of all the items it is struggling to remember by writing them all down.
If you create a list—Inventory—keep it handy so you can trust it as an extension of your mind—Notebook; some people may want to have a specific time, location and special journal just for this practice—Ritual