How To Stop Thinking | Barry Long

Barry Long presents thinking as a psychological disease that feeds on emotion and keeps humans trapped in worry and unhappiness. The practice he teaches is radically simple: stop thinking now, by refusing to give the “Thinker” any material to work with. Presence is accessed through listening, sensing the body, and interrupting the emotional charge that fuels thought. The 10 lessons are not conceptual teachings but practical disruptions aimed at exposing the Thinker’s tricks and dissolving its influence.

• Thinking is described as a parasitic disease sustained by emotional energy.
• Understanding is thinking — and therefore part of the disease.
• The Thinker panics when it has nothing to hold onto.
• The key is to listen and feel the body without trying.
• Emotional irritation or frustration is the Thinker’s attempt to regain control.
• Catching yourself thinking creates the first space of freedom.
• The emotion that rises is not “you” — it is the disease defending itself.
• Feeling without judging dissolves the stored emotional backlog.
• The Thinker uses speed: emotion enters the brain faster than you can perceive it.
• Intelligence emerges only in the absence of thinking.

1. The Thinker is not you — it is a survival mechanism feeding on attention and emotion.
2. Emotion is the entry point: every time you judge yourself, the Thinker reattaches.
3. Presence is physical: you stay free by feeling the body, not by thinking about it.
4. Intelligence replaces cleverness once thinking loses its grip.
5. You stop thinking by not cooperating, not by effort or understanding.

Barry Long reframes thinking as an autonomous mechanism whose sole intention is to survive. Thought is powered by stored emotional residue accumulated over a lifetime. When the listener “catches” themselves thinking, a crack appears: a moment of pure presence. But the Thinker immediately deploys emotion — irritation, frustration, confusion, doubt — to pull the person back into identification.

The discipline is to feel the emotional pressure without thinking about it, allowing it to dissolve. Over time, presence expands, emotional layers weaken, and intelligence (not cleverness) takes over as the organizing force.

The tape is structured as a progressive exposure: Long describes the tricks in real time while the listener senses them internally. This creates an experiential dismantling of the Thinker, not an intellectual one.

To stop thinking is not a technique: it is the refusal to feed the Thinker.

Presence emerges when the emotional mechanism behind thought is fully felt without being judged.
Long’s method entrains the nervous system to remain in contact with bodily intelligence rather than mental narrative.

00:00:04 - 00:01:34
this is Barry long speaking thinking is a psychological disease a Madness now infecting just about everyone it is the cause of worry and all unhappiness I am assuming you want to be rid of it that you want to cure yourself I'm going to show you how that you must do it for you as I am doing it for me every moment Here and Now you can't learn how to stop thinking you do it by doing it Here and Now there are 10 lessons lesson one is all you need really but if you think you need more the others are there


00:01:08 - 00:02:48
they're there simply to stop the Thinker in you from panicking by thinking it needs time to understand what I'm saying this shaky panicky fear is the disease trying to make you give up what you're doing here are some points first don't try to understand just listen just listen to what I'm saying and stop thinking wanting to understand is thinking second don't try relax you can't try to stop thinking trying will make you think third play what I am saying over and over


00:02:12 - 00:03:43
until you get the idea it will come but you must not stop to think about it listen and do it and when you're not listening to the tape don't think about it do it fourth no theorizing the fifth point is this and it's most important The Thinker in you is going to think I'm not saying anything that's because I'm not giving it anything to think about if I give it something to think about you'll be thinking won't you also you'll hear the Thinker being critical and complaining because it can't


00:03:11 - 00:05:02
remember foreign so be prepared now to hear your own thinker and all the other thinkers around you who hear this saying they don't know what I'm saying or that it's nonsense these people will include your parents lover s sisters partner friends boss workmates business associates and any famous scientists you know experts psychiatrists psychologists University graduates therapists priests professors or gifted artists everyone who still thinks and worries one last point only the most disturbing truth in the


00:04:16 - 00:05:48
world can stop you thinking this tape is it to see someone you love most dying in front of you is most disturbing but it's not enough to stop you thinking here in the practice of stopping thinking all the action is taking place inside you not outside you're no longer a spectator it's you who's doing the dying so there it is play it over again and over and over again but don't think about it that's lesson one here's lesson two if you need it have you been thinking about what I just


00:05:28 - 00:06:59
said or anything else how can you think while you're practicing not thinking be serious please see now while you are listening that you are not thinking now and when I stop speaking now see that you are still not thinking here is lesson three are you catching yourself thinking you will are you getting irritated or angry with yourself for thinking you will but that's good not bad as you think it means you've begun to not think now keep listening I'm going to explain when you catch yourself thinking


00:06:48 - 00:08:15
in that moment you are free of thinking you've put the first bit of space between you you've actually separated from it otherwise you couldn't see that you'd been thinking but any emotion of frustration or anger immediately rushes in and reattaches you to thinking you lose your detachment and off you go court again in the vicious circle of thinking you and I together are now going to break the vicious circle I'm going to tell you the secret and by hearing the secret you're going


00:07:46 - 00:08:58
to be able to do it it may take you time but once you know the secret you know the way and it's only a matter of time before you're there the secret is in the frustration or irritation you feel you're judging yourself as having failed that's being emotional at the time the emotion seemed so natural doesn't it so unquestionably normal that you wouldn't think of mentioning it would you so why am I mentioning it because the emotion is a trick it's a trick of the thinking disease in


00:08:49 - 00:10:07
your brain it's an emotional trick to keep you thinking it's the disease's way of ensuring its continued survival it's a parasite living off you now I'm going to tell you how it works as I'm speaking feel inside your body for any sign of frustration or emotion but don't think about it if it's there just feel the pressure of it if the emotion's not there simply listen everything is going well while you listen the feeling of failure is due to the Thinker thinking you've failed


00:09:51 - 00:11:27
the thought makes you emotional because it's not the truth the truth is you have not failed you only think you have I'm telling you you have not failed but up till now you've had to believe the Thinker you had no alternative because no one's told you the truth but now as I have mastered The Thinker and by the grace of God am free of this terrible disease I am able to tell you all about it to reveal every hidden detail of it and so undermine its hold over you notice now any strength you receive from


00:10:53 - 00:12:20
my saying that feel the sensation of it in your body if it's there feel the very fine Elation or excitation of it or perhaps you're feeling the emotional pressure of The Thinker wanting to question doubt resent or understand [Music] feel that too if it's there be as still as you can relax both the Elation and the pressure can be there at the same time see that everything's all right whatever's happening in there is part of the process just keep feeling what's there but don't think


00:12:10 - 00:13:38
Lesson Four I'm going to ask you some questions as you continue to practice they'll help you to know your progress you may not be able to answer any of them first time but you may the point is you must not try to answer and you must not think about the questions just hear them also you must not judge yourself by feeling you should have an answer when there is none in you the answer is either there or it is not don't go looking for it if there's no answer in you it's all right


00:13:17 - 00:14:39
don't be impatient although you do not know it yet you are learning that the answer is always there it does not have to come because it's already there you don't learn this immediately it takes time otherwise everyone would have the answer and there'd be no need for me or this tape would there don't think about that keep listening at first you'll be tempted to think of an answer or think that you can think of one that will be the thinking disease in your brain being clever


00:14:15 - 00:15:22
the fact is it can't come up with the answers to any of these questions I'm going to ask the truth is not about being clever the truth is being intelligent the whole world is extremely clever but it's not intelligent it can't be intelligent when all the people in it worry and make themselves unhappy that's hardly intelligent is it you are in the process of being made intelligent but the clever not intelligent part of you is going to insist on butting in it always thinks it has the answer


00:15:18 - 00:16:30
but in all recorded history it hasn't yet come up with the answer to the only real question everybody asks sooner or later why am I discontented I'm telling you why you're discontented I'm giving you the solution and that's the end of the question thank you each time you listen to the tape without thinking you'll be more intelligent and over the weeks months or years you'll notice how your answers to the questions gradually change increasingly the right answers will be there


00:16:17 - 00:17:30
make a note if you like of your first answers or responses and in a few weeks see how unreal or misguided they were but don't ponder over them here are the questions how do you know that what I'm saying is the truth well is it the truth do I know what I'm talking about is what I'm saying in this tape the truth in your own experience if it is how is that possible what is the truth of your experience is it a fact that you've been engaging in thinking and emotion for most of your


00:17:45 - 00:19:11
life why then do you pretend not to know the truth of it you've had enough experience haven't you what is the truth of thinking and emotion in your own experience foreign do I know what I'm talking about do you know what I'm talking about of course you do but the Thinker in you doesn't any resistance or confusion you feel inside now is the Thinker feel it if you recognize the truth I'm saying without thinking then you must know the truth without thinking mustn't you why don't you see this instantly this


00:19:10 - 00:20:46
moment now why look at why not for because is the excuse for not seeing why do you see that another thing why in one instant do you see and know the truth I'm saying so clearly and it's gone what happens inside you to obscure it what do you do at that moment of truth is it that you try to hold on to the moment to think about it is it the truth that no moment can be held onto what is the truth keep feeling inside you that's where the truth is known not in your head one thought and you'll start doubting


00:20:39 - 00:22:02
and getting emotional keep listening don't go back over these questions unless you play the whole lesson over pull the whole tape over from the beginning again be still relax feel what the questions have Disturbed in your body but don't give any answers the answer is in the feeling here's lesson five when you get impatient or frustrated with yourself for thinking you're falling for the thinkers trick the disease gets another feed of you if however you are quick enough not to judge


00:21:55 - 00:23:14
yourself you'll be amazed you'll discover you're not thinking and gradually you'll extend the period of Detachment from thinking the emotion can't rise if you don't think and the thinking can't start up again if you don't criticize yourself it's not a question of suppression it's simply knowing by feeling what you're doing which is not to give into thinking by judging yourself feel now while I'm speaking if that has stirred any emotion in you any tightness or hardness


00:22:58 - 00:24:20
there's a lot of that old emotion down there in your body from past thinking feel it foreign but while you keep listening and feeling it like this you are slowly dissolving it that emotional pressure you feel in there is all old thought old worry trying to get back up into your brain now I'm going to tell you how the thinkers dirty tricks department works he detests being exposed like this how would you feel if you were the world's best Trickster and after thousands of years of getting


00:23:56 - 00:25:15
away with it someone blew the whistle on your act how you would feel is in the feeling in your body now in there is where the old trickster lives he might not be playing up now he might be all quiet and easy at this moment while the fingers on him that's one of his tricks he's brilliant you know but he's going to play up all right and try to make you emotional so he can get possession of your brain again he chooses the moment when you're off guard when you're not listening and feeling


00:24:47 - 00:26:50
yourself like you are now what does he feel like at this moment feel it don't think just look inside is he disguised as the feeling of resentment fear confusion restlessness Heat uncertainty guilt anxiety depression tightness sadness anger ache perhaps it's a heaviness in your chest that makes you sigh that's him perhaps it's the feeling you'll never ever be able to remember all I'm saying and that you might as well pack it in and toss the tape away now I've got news for you


00:26:06 - 00:27:25
you don't have to remember anything I'm saying in this tape you're doing it what you learn from your own experience is yours it is you so any moment the knowledge is required it's there so what's the thinkers disguise what's his game in you at the moment feel what's he appearing as as some sort of pressure in you one of his favorite costume changes when you've really got him cornered and he's hanging in there by the skin of his teeth is the phony feeling that you're going


00:27:07 - 00:28:45
mad any thought that you might be going mad is simply a reaction to not thinking it's the Thinker that thinks he's going mad because you're not thinking thinking thinks not thinking is a state of Madness if you ever feel from practicing listening and not thinking that you must be going mad be still feel the feeling of it thank you can handle it keep the emotion and doubt out and if you need it play this lesson or the whole tape again but really you can do it on your own whatever you feel that the Thinker is


00:28:15 - 00:30:00
now he'll soon change his disguise to distract you and make you think don't think but don't ignore him feel the pressure of him inside you that keeps him facing you he can't then move into your brain when you feel good inside that's you it's good to be alive isn't it feel it inside now it's there it's life it's you it's well-being it's good it's right it feels true feel it under or around any pressure The Good Feeling is always there somewhere


00:29:26 - 00:30:57
but the pressure the tightness of the thinker's emotion makes you think it's not there feel the good as well as the pressure feel it now once you get The Knack of feeling it you'll find there's more good in you than pressure after all I've said and revealed about the emotional thinker is he still going to fool you probably so but that's all right that's how you get strong in the truth by facing up every hour every day to what is not the truth there is no failure no matter how often or infrequently you


00:30:30 - 00:32:10
catch yourself thinking start afresh now don't condemn yourself or get emotional that is the secret that's the key now you may have noticed throughout the tape I'm referring to the Thinker as he it might be she if you're a woman are you disturbed by my calling at he look and see if you are Disturbed that's one of the thinkers tricks are you able to see that he or she is not the point the point is first are you able to withstand the pressure to think about it and the second do you see


00:31:41 - 00:33:00
it's an emotional point in you lesson six are you feeling confused are you doubting yourself are you doubting what you are hearing perhaps you even feel you've lost something of what you had that's the Thinker trying desperately to remember what he knows I've told you self-knowledge or the truth can't be remembered or thought about so of course while the thinkers trying to remember what can't be remembered you're sure to feel confused and doubtful or frustrated and emotional


00:32:52 - 00:34:35
who wouldn't even so you must not get caught up in it you won't nearly as much now anyway now that you know better confusion is a passing phase it's very necessary it means you're breaking up the thinkers old established ground he's being shaken not you it's all right feel the good under or around the confusion the good is you the confusions him from now on each time the emotion starts to rise in any situation your intelligence will often be there first you'll have practiced so frequently


00:34:08 - 00:35:36
feeling what it feels like to feel the emotion inside you like you're doing now feel it that because you're there the emotion won't be able to move and you'll not think but see that you're not thinking don't be confused by it confusion is hovering between the two see for yourself you are not thinking and that's it all your life you've been taking the blame for trying to do the impossible every time you've laid awake trying to stop worrying it was impossible it still is


00:35:17 - 00:36:50
it always will be because it is the emotion doing the worrying not you you're not thinking not worrying now are you check inside why aren't you thinking or worrying because you are holding the emotion of The Thinker inside you with your intelligence feel it see yourself doing it now listen to this and see by feeling yourself throughout that it is the truth the anger frustration or resentment you feel in your life are distressed symptoms of the disease in your brain they are not of you they are the Heat or emotion of the


00:36:46 - 00:38:16
disease just like Kopi is sweating and irritation are symptoms of other diseases of the body you don't say you're responsible for sweating when you've got a fever do you you don't feel guilty or that you've failed again do you of course not you know it's the sickness you can feel causing the reactions well at this moment feel the pressure the tightness the resistance the emotion in your body if it's there that's the feeling of the sickness in the brain and so are any other demanding damning


00:37:48 - 00:39:18
or damaging emotions you feel in there at any time thank you when the brain is cured or clear you will feel love Delight well-being in your body without emotional interruption sometimes you feel it now when the disease is quiet but it doesn't last does it it's not long before you're reeling under another bout of the worrying thinking sickness see if you can see in your own experience that it is the sickness of thinking that makes you feel guilty tense nervous and all the rest of the negative


00:38:49 - 00:40:19
emotions that are spoiling your enjoyment of life this is lesson seven yeah how does the Thinker produce the illusion that you're thinking when you're not he does it the same way as the Entertainer magician does the three card trick the magician relies on his hand being quicker than your eye The Thinker performing inside you relies on his emotion being quicker than your perception yes it is his emotion not your emotion after all just as it's his thinking not yours the whole box of Tricks is his


00:40:02 - 00:41:29
and he uses your body and brain for his stage thank you now let's go through his act together while you see the truth of it he stores his emotion in your body feel the pressure as fast as you get rid of it he replenishes it every time you get emotional it adds to it it grows layer by layer in there over the years you get so used to it being there you eventually think it's you feel it inside you is that you anyone would normally have to say it was it might be normal but it's not natural


00:41:18 - 00:42:49
it's not natural to have emotional pressure or disturbance inside you the natural feeling of the body is well-being and the Delight of being alive anything else you can feel in there that is not good apart from physical pain is what he's stored up in you notice that while you are perceiving the pressure as you are now that is while you're feeling it without thinking the emotion cannot move The Thinker cannot think cannot reach your brain but immediately your attention is distracted the emotion moves


00:42:23 - 00:43:53
it moves so fast into your brain you fail to see it move once inside the brain it uses your memory to enjoy itself thinking and worrying about anything and everything that's in there so you're tricked into thinking you're thinking again when really you are not thinking at all the result is you lose confidence in yourself that produces more emotion and more thought then as far as this tape is concerned you start to think you want a rest from it and everything it stands for that's the Thinker


00:43:21 - 00:44:45
you think it's making you drained tired weary that's the Thinker you think that all you want is some peace and no one telling you what to do you think about giving up not giving up the Thinker but giving up in precisely that way the Thinker the most amazing confidence trickster of all time has deceived man and woman down Through the Ages just about every time but this time it's different you're seeing to that now aren't you here is lesson eight now I want you to see your own


00:44:23 - 00:45:50
intelligence are you holding the emotion steady inside you it is your intelligence doing it see how effective your intelligence is how it doesn't use any Force force is not intelligent any effort you can feel inside there is the force of the emotion trying to break away as you persevere like this your intelligence is going to gradually dissolve all the old emotions stored in your body the tightness the uneasiness will slowly vanish and along with it all the doubts fears guilt sorrow and negativity


00:45:23 - 00:46:56
what will remain The Thinker will think up a good answer to that question but it won't be the truth here is the truth so that you can provide the right answer listen on a lovely day or a moment when you seem in touch with the Earth feel the feeling of it inside your body what do you feel it feels good you feel good when you are in love feel what it feels like as the feeling in your body don't think about the person you love feel the feeling of the love how does it feel it feels good you feel good


00:46:33 - 00:48:02
thank you at any time when you are free of the emotions of excitement or depression feel the feeling inside your body what do you feel you feel good how can you feel good when there's nothing happening externally in your life to feel good about because the feeling inside the body the being inside the body is always good underneath the emotion it is never not good but you overlook it by being attached to thinking to think you have to disconnect from the good that produces emotion and uneasiness


00:47:37 - 00:49:00
since everyone naturally loves feeling good the good in the body is the only good that never leaves you feel the good now it's there somewhere even if it only begins with the warmth the life in your little toe your whole body is warm alive delightful to be in once you've made yourself intelligent enough to realize it this is lesson nine thinking is thinking about how much money is in your wallet instead of having a look thinking is thinking about the past or future when there is no intention to


00:48:44 - 00:49:57
take action action purifies your thinking you take action all day at work that's how you get the job done if you start thinking you'll be daydreaming and you'll get the sack no boss employees thinkers the boss employers Lookers looking is not thinking looking is action you see what is there you don't imagine what is there you see it if you don't see what is there you are thinking and you are likely to run into something and hurt yourself the boss wants you to look and see the


00:49:50 - 00:51:08
problem then he wants you to look at what resources are available to solve the problem and he wants you to be able to look into your own experience the truth of your own experience to see what is the best course of action to take you live an effective Life by looking and taking action you drive yourself emotionally Crazy by thinking this is lesson 10 the last lesson you are gaining power comes from not thinking not thinking is intelligence your intelligence has got to be there watching the emotion like a cat watching


00:51:03 - 00:52:24
a mouse hole that way the mouse the thought can't come out there is only one way you can do this you have to be in your body by feeling it the more you do this the more power you get when you have built up sufficient power no effort whatever will be involved the mouse hole will be empty the mice the effort will have gone that's it that's the end of the tape that's how to stop thinking