I have a lot of free time. For a few months I have been sleeping a lot of it away. My plan now is to try to spend a lot of time sitting quietly–thinking and praying. My other interests are reading and working on emails and the internet. Yesterday and today I was able to sit and think for a whole hour. I wonder if I could think for several hours every day? I gain a lot of clarity when I sit. I also can realize when the thinking is not working.
I will still be looking for other ways to spend my time. We have all been through this topic many times.
Part of this thinking process is aimed at finding more things of interest.
Maybe as a sz, I could start to see myself as a monk.
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Well, just sitting and thinking is seductive and a luxury I try not to take for granted but there’s something to be said for action too.
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But I like action that has had some thought put behind it.
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Yeah, calculated risks are a good way to go. Not everything is life or death.
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sometimes i cannot get myself to move in a healthy productive way and then i think too much.
i hear this is common with us with sz.
hugs, judy
Oh, just thinking by sitting is not always healthy… I have racing thoughts and its a pain too, anxious triggering too…
I think, that if you are a bit more active, your thoughts will return too. Yeap, internet can help but if you prefer staying at home you can try some cleaning, some sport exercises or smth like this 
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I frequently close my eyes and mock up how I want things to be, feel, and turn out. I just imaging how I will feel after I accomplish something as if I have already done it. Or I picture myself doing something and how I will feel good doing it. It helps motivate me and reduces the anxiety of not knowing. It’s like using my overactive imagination to my benefit. I used to do this with housecleaning, now I’m starting to do this with errands and it seems to be helping a little bit. I’m not much of a planner so maybe in a way this helps me plan.
I can sit or stand for hours without doing anything, thinking anything etc just like we sleep on bed. Mind becomes almost blank with no thoughts to run.
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I like to just sit and read for hours and hours on end. Not just books but the internet.
Thank you all for your replies. I did not realize the implications of just sitting, in particular the need also to do things and be active. For me sitting was a relief of nervous feelings and it was a lot better than lying down and sleeping for a few hours. I just have too much time.
Some of you commented that it would be unhealthy to think too much. This is true. But sometimes I sit peacefully and think kind of slowly.
pr21 commented that sitting can be like a blank mind. When this happens to me I then decide to do something else, like reading.
SkinnyMe was agreeing with me about sitting and perhaps reading, to spend long stretches of time.
Leaf talked about visualizing the good feeling of an activity and using that to motivate one’s self.
Anyway I guess sitting and thinking is not the panacea for my boredom.
Best is to keep busy doing needed and useful things one by one. Idle mind welcomes laziness, depression and even needless thoughts which can turn to intrusive thoughts, delusions etc. Also other thing we all need to develop is cognitive flexibility that means we need to be flexible so that we not get stuck in one thing and forget about other things and thus waste time, energy etc.
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Very well said, pr21. Thank you for advancing me on this subject.
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@Here4You Thinking and sitting is good for me too as a daily exercise to find peace and process your thoughts and experiences. I went through the monk stage too- a contemplative monk.
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