Subnostr

Often people have difficulty meditating because they find themselves “lost in thought.”

First, realize that the very act of noticing that you are lost in thought is literally the first step to coming back to the present moment. Noticing that you are caught up in thinking is not a sign of failure; it’s the opposite.

Second, here’s a strategy you can try: close your eyes, let your body relax into a cloud of sensations, and listen to whatever sounds you hear. You cannot fail to hear them. You simply notice whatever you notice.

The same is true for thoughts. The simply arise out of nowhere.

Now…attempt to notice your next thought AS SOON AS IT ARISES. Be alert. Remain vigilant.

Thoughts will generate, that’s out of your control, but you can surf the wave of the ocean of thoughts, riding in front of them, rather than drowning in the turbulent swash after the wave has crashed against the shore.

#Meditate

#MeditationTips

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Discussion

Hazey 1y ago

I just let the thoughts happen but I don't indulge in them. After a few minutes, they quiet down

j'ai les clés 1y ago

Yes, that’s another great meditation technique for sure, but not the one I’m advocating for in this post. This post is an intermediate exercise for people who can’t get there as easily as you.

Rather, in *this* exercise, the goal is to bring your focus directly onto the thinking process itself, examining it in the moment that it arises. The next step, which I didn’t write (because I didn’t want to write too much this morning), is to draw your attention sharply on onto the thought and then momentarily turn your attention onto the source of the thinking, if you can find one.

Is there a source, or is there just an experience of thinking? If you think you found a source, isn’t that just another creation of your thoughts? There’s actually nothing there.

By bringing your focus directly onto thoughts, you watch them unravel into nothing. Metaphorically, thoughts are just the running programs of your body-mind’s operating system.

The idea here is to see, first hand, that the mind is just a functioning organ like any other. The liver makes bile, the body-mind makes thoughts. Acknowledge this, and you don’t need to take them as seriously. You don’t need to indulge them. They aren’t necessarily real or true. They are just a process and you are experiencing them.