I had not heard the term “Monkey Mind” before watching Dr. Modupe Akinola discuss the possible reason behind the superstar’s restless sleep. At my office manager’s suggestion, I’ve been watching the National Geographic documentary series “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.” ¹ Although I have very few things in common with the actor who plays Thor in popular Disney movies, the struggle with sleep is one of them.

The series covers six challenges designed to highlight and teach Chris different physical and mental strengths, each of which should help any individual increase longevity. However, my doctor attributes my restless mind not to Buddhist principles ² but to regular jolts of adrenaline and cortisol from my sympathetic nervous system firing in a never-ending struggle to keep me breathing during deep sleep. My lovely wife has been after me for years to complete a sleep study, and now I sleep with a CPAP machine blowing a steady stream of air up my nose to keep my pathways open.

I sleep better and about an hour longer; over the past month, I’ve been getting used to wearing a mask and accommodating the tube that runs to the device — increasing my overall sleep performance by a disappointing 17%. My sleep may continue to improve, or perhaps not. Regardless, I still awake with thoughts rushing around in my brain, and neither the doctor nor my lovely wife understands that my Monkey Mind is my creative mind.

“Think for one hour every day,” ³ says Jeffrey J. Fox in his self-help book “How to Become CEO: The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization.” And so, for forty years, I have rolled out of bed and reviewed my goals, spending at least an hour every morning “planning, dreaming, scheming, thinking,” and “writing down ideas.” ⁴ I never became CEO (thank goodness) however; lately, I’ve enjoyed drawing upon the thirty thousand journal entries, notations, and experiences as fodder for blog articles. As a result, my writing has changed dramatically over the past several years, evolving from stumbling trip reports to more insightful readings. ⁵

In many cases, I’ll think of an idea, and my monkey mind will create and repeat the first few paragraphs of the storyline on a loop. The story circles my brain until I leave the bed and commit them to paper. Thankfully, unlike most who suffer from a monkey mind of inner critics that stifle creativity, ⁶ my mind insists on creating something new. It also insists on being heard but needs to learn how to finish a sentence. I’m generally good with the start; momentum often sees me through to the end.

I’ve tried becoming grounded and calm, ⁷ using exercise to stifle the monkey mind into submission. It works. Unfortunately, it takes my creativity with it, and I’ll stare all morning at a blank white screen. For now, at least, I’m comfortable with being unsettled, restless, and sometimes confused for a few hours every morning as my monkey mind swings through the Zettelkasten trees bringing me half-eaten fruits of stories to write about.

Written March 11, 2023

Published simultaneously at Medium.com.

Footnotes

https://disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/show/limitless-with-chris-hemsworth
Raab, Diana Ph.D. (2017, September 13). Calming the Monkey Mind. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-empowerment-diary/201709/calming-the-monkey-mind
Fox, Jeffrey J. *How to Become Ceo: The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization*. Hyperion, 1998. pp.17–18.
Ibid
I hope.
Ibid (Raab, 2017)
Ibid