We Spend Nearly Half Our Time in Repetitive Intrusive Thoughts – Here’s How to Train the Mind to Relax

The average person has between 12,000 and 50,000 thoughts per day. What is truly remarkable is that about 95% of these thoughts are repetitive, and we spend nearly half our time in rumination—a kind of mental background noise that is often unproductive. In times of social and security-related uncertainty, this noise becomes a significant emotional burden.

At a special session organized in the wake of the war by the Tel Aviv University Alumni Organization, Prof. Ricardo Tarrasch was invited to speak. He is a faculty member at the School of Education and the School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, and holds both his M.A. and Ph.D. from the School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences. He also serves as Chair of the Center for Compassionate and Mindful Education.

Prof. Tarrasch, a leading researcher in the field, explained that mindfulness is not merely a spiritual trend, but a practical, research-based tool that has, over recent decades, been integrated into leading systems of medicine, psychology, and education worldwide.

The Brain as Plasticine: Rewiring the Mind

“Our patterns and habits shape our nervous system,” explains Prof. Tarrasch. “We can train the brain and shift it from a ‘ruminating’ mode to a state of presence. Mindfulness is like a personal ‘application’ that allows us to observe what is happening in our mind without reacting to it automatically.”

According to him, the practice enables us to create a separation between reality and our

Interpretation of it:

“When we are stressed by a siren or the news, the worry often hurts more than the event itself. The moment we add the phrase, ‘I am having the thought that…’, the thought stops being a fixed fact and becomes a passing visitor.”

You Don’t Need an Hour on a Cushion: Mindfulness in Daily Life

One of Prof. Tarrasch’s key messages is making mindfulness accessible within a busy routine. There is no need to “withdraw from the world” to find calm:

· Two minutes a day is enough – Studies show that consistent daily practice of just a few minutes (ideally around five minutes) over two months can already lead to physical changes in brain structure.

· “Informal” mindfulness – It can be practiced while washing dishes, hanging laundry, or walking. The key is directing full attention to the sensation of your feet on the ground, the taste of food, or the feeling of water on your hands.

· The body as a compass – A short body scan between meetings can help identify tension in muscles before it turns into pain or an emotional outburst.

The “Guests” Visiting Our Mind

According to Prof. Tarrasch, the key to success is non-judgment. “When a disturbing thought arises, don’t fight it. Look at it as if it were a guest who came to visit. Say, ‘Thank you for coming,’ and gently return your attention to your anchor—your breath—without judgment, both toward the thought and the fact that a guest has arrived. The more compassionate we are toward ourselves, the greater our mental well-being will be.”

At a time when external reality is beyond our control, Prof. Tarrasch reminds us that managing our internal “background noise” is the most powerful tool we have. “The body is our compass. If we learn to listen to it and stay with our emotions without being overwhelmed by them, we can act מתוך conscious choice rather than מתוך automatic stress responses.”

Practical Tips from Prof. Ricardo Tarrasch

1. Schedule a meeting with yourself – Set aside 2–5 minutes in your daily calendar for practice.

2. Find an anchor – In moments of emotional storm , focus on your breath or the contact of your feet with the ground.

3. Go out into nature – Time spent among trees and greenery has been scientifically proven to improve mental well-being.

4. Stop judging – Thoughts are just visitors. They come and go. Don’t believe everything you think.

The Tel Aviv University Alumni Organization works to strengthen the connection between alumni and their alma mater, as well as among the alumni themselves. As a community of more than 200,000 Alumni holding key positions in Israel and around the world, the organization serves as a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and personal development.

The webinar with Prof. Tarrasch is part of a series of sessions aimed at making groundbreaking academic research accessible to the wider public, while providing practical tools for coping with current challenges and fostering values of social engagement and impact.