Monkey mind is a Buddhist term meaning indecisive, unsettled, restless, confused, and uncontrollable. It's a term to describe a mind full of racing thoughts that look much like monkeys who are aimlessly swinging from branch to branch.
If this is the way we live our day to day, it's no wonder that so many people talk about feeling exhausted, scattered, and out of focus. People actually believe that they cannot control their mind because they don't know how to and this causes them worry, anxiety, irritability, and sometimes pain. Depending on our life circumstance, this monkey mind can lead us to feeling out of control and unable to make decisions with confidence and clarity.
Much of my work as a counselor is to help others understand that they do have the power to control thoughts through mindfulness practices that help them train the brain and regain focus. The simplest practice to tame the mind is to connect with breath because when you are breathing deeply, thoughts stop, and monkey mind is no longer able to hijack you.
Another way to explain monkey mind is describing a comic strip drawing I once saw of a woman walking a brain she has on a leash. Envision this and think of the power of your mind in a new way. We DO have the ability to get a handle on our minds by noticing what thoughts come up and deciding how much we will let ourselves be affected by them.
Will you in engage with and entertain every single thought that comes up?
The choice is yours: You can keep swinging aimlessly from branch to branch (thought to thought) or you can stop, breathe, become present enough to focus your attention on what is happening right in front of you, and calm that monkey mind once and for all.