Is there a monkey inside your head, madly pedaling his bicycle and running your mind? Do you find yourself thinking the same thoughts again and again and again, with no “off” switch? Where is the alt/control/delete for your mind when you need it?

A simple tool from Access Consciousness can stop all that. It’s called the Crazy Phrase and it stops your crazy phase.

What is it? “Everything is the opposite of what it appears to be, and nothing is the opposite of what it appears to be.”

It’s simple and effective, but it does have to be used verbatim. You might wish to write it on your hand, or better yet, tattoo it on the inside of your eyelids or put it on endless loop in your ipod.

When would you use it exactly? Anytime a mind, yours or someone else’s, is driving you crazy.

If you’ve got thoughts running through your own head that you can’t shut off and you can’t ever resolve, that would be a good time to try it. Say, “Everything’s the opposite of what it appears to be, and nothing’s the opposite of what it appears to be” 10 times and see what happens.

You can also use it when someone else’s thoughts are driving you and them crazy. If your partner or teenager is telling you heartfelt argument #467, you might try this tool. Say it to them, or have them say it if you can get a word in edgewise. It works both ways–if they say it, or if you say it to them.

The crazy phrase also works on people you don’t even know. It can be a handy tool if you encounter someone crazy in the street whose mind is driving him and everyone else crazy. Say the crazy phrase 10 times and even the insane are not able to hold onto their thoughts. Chances are they’ll stagger away like they don’t know what hit them. They won’t. But you will have peace.

On those nights when your own mind is going faster than that street person’s, causing you to turn in bed more often than San Francisco’s crookedest street, you can use this phrase yourself. Repeat it over and over until you find yourself waking up in the morning.