In praise of mind wandering!

I talk to A LOT of people about their scripture study habits.

One of the most common “confessions” I hear from people goes something like this:

“I just can’t stay focused while I’m reading! My mind goes everywhere!”

First, I totally understand what you are saying, and if you think my mind never wanders to my grocery list or laundry pile, you would be completely incorrect.

I’ve got lots of tips I’ve shared about reading comprehension tips like taking notes, giving a purpose to scripture study, and being in a good physical environment.

But also…

Letting your mind wander more might be exactly what you need to make your scripture study better.

Joseph F. Smith let his mind wander.

He was reading the scriptures.

And then he got caught up in thinking about how good God is.

And then he started thinking about some other scriptures and decided to turn there and read them.

And then he let his mind wander more on that topic.

And THEN he received one of the greatest revelations of the 20th century.

For me, my scripture study looks like me reading the scriptures only about 50% of the time.

The other time is a mix of writing notes…

And a mix of me just staring and thinking.

I intentionally let my mind wander when it wants to (as long as we are at least staying somewhat gospel-related or uplifting).

I’m thinking about that Sunday School lesson where the teacher told us that story about this principle here in the scripture.

Or I’m pretending I’m teaching a class about this scripture and I’m just getting on my soap box in my head and talking about it.

Or I’m thinking about other scriptures or scripture stories this reminds me of.

Or I’m wondering what that sentence really means and just letting my mind play around with some options.

Or I’m thinking about my friend, and realizing that this scripture gives me a bit of clarity on how to help her out more.

Obviously, off-topic mind wandering isn’t usually super helpful, and there are tools to help there.

But forcing our minds to only stay focused on only reading might be keeping us from the wandering and the pondering that could lead to marvelous revelation!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black