Dr. Rick Hanson

Much rumination is saturated with inner speech, inner language, talking to yourself or ideating. But when you get a sense of things as a whole, you're immediately drawing on that right hemisphere of your brain, which reduces rumination activity. The other thing that happens, including when you especially lift your visual gaze to the horizon or above,

Much rumination is saturated with inner speech, inner language, talking to yourself or ideating. But when you get a sense of things as a whole, you're immediately drawing on that right hemisphere of your brain, which reduces rumination activity. The other thing that happens, including when you especially lift your visual gaze to the horizon or above,

you shift out of what is called an egocentric frame of perceptual processing into an allocentric frame. There's a lot of science about this. And a large fraction of the brain is dedicated to visual processing, not just the occipital cortex, but other areas as well. So when you fiddle with visual processing, you're affecting your brain. A lot of real estate is getting affected.

you shift out of what is called an egocentric frame of perceptual processing into an allocentric frame. There's a lot of science about this. And a large fraction of the brain is dedicated to visual processing, not just the occipital cortex, but other areas as well. So when you fiddle with visual processing, you're affecting your brain. A lot of real estate is getting affected.

you shift out of what is called an egocentric frame of perceptual processing into an allocentric frame. There's a lot of science about this. And a large fraction of the brain is dedicated to visual processing, not just the occipital cortex, but other areas as well. So when you fiddle with visual processing, you're affecting your brain. A lot of real estate is getting affected.

So you can just notice it. In evolution, it makes sense. When things are close to you, when your gaze looks down to what's within a meter or two, That's where friend and foe live typically. Going to eat me or can I eat it? Self-referential processing increases. What saturates rumination is self, me, right?

So you can just notice it. In evolution, it makes sense. When things are close to you, when your gaze looks down to what's within a meter or two, That's where friend and foe live typically. Going to eat me or can I eat it? Self-referential processing increases. What saturates rumination is self, me, right?

So you can just notice it. In evolution, it makes sense. When things are close to you, when your gaze looks down to what's within a meter or two, That's where friend and foe live typically. Going to eat me or can I eat it? Self-referential processing increases. What saturates rumination is self, me, right?

The me that it's happening to or could happen to or did happen to or should have done a better job. Me, me, me, me, me. Okay. On the other hand, and you can just observe this, when you start getting a sense of things as a whole, And especially when you lift your gaze out to the bigger picture, you shift into a more impersonal frame of reference. You're not privileging your perspective.

The me that it's happening to or could happen to or did happen to or should have done a better job. Me, me, me, me, me. Okay. On the other hand, and you can just observe this, when you start getting a sense of things as a whole, And especially when you lift your gaze out to the bigger picture, you shift into a more impersonal frame of reference. You're not privileging your perspective.

The me that it's happening to or could happen to or did happen to or should have done a better job. Me, me, me, me, me. Okay. On the other hand, and you can just observe this, when you start getting a sense of things as a whole, And especially when you lift your gaze out to the bigger picture, you shift into a more impersonal frame of reference. You're not privileging your perspective.

You're taking a sense of things as a whole, in which you're certainly a part of that whole, but there's a lot more going on in that whole. The sense of self immediately starts reducing. And as the sense of self starts reducing, just like as the sense of inner language is reduced, rumination starts to reduce as well.

You're taking a sense of things as a whole, in which you're certainly a part of that whole, but there's a lot more going on in that whole. The sense of self immediately starts reducing. And as the sense of self starts reducing, just like as the sense of inner language is reduced, rumination starts to reduce as well.

You're taking a sense of things as a whole, in which you're certainly a part of that whole, but there's a lot more going on in that whole. The sense of self immediately starts reducing. And as the sense of self starts reducing, just like as the sense of inner language is reduced, rumination starts to reduce as well.

That's kind of my bottom line.

That's kind of my bottom line.

That's kind of my bottom line.

One of the reasons people ruminate is a defense against feeling certain things. And the feelings keep coming up because they're incompletely experienced.

One of the reasons people ruminate is a defense against feeling certain things. And the feelings keep coming up because they're incompletely experienced.

One of the reasons people ruminate is a defense against feeling certain things. And the feelings keep coming up because they're incompletely experienced.