Becoming mindful of our thought patterns can help us get some distance from the ruminative obsessive thoughts that are often going through our minds.
The Buddha said,
Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded.
Through mindfulness,
You can learn to be aware of your thoughts without judgment or reaction.
Befriending your thoughts and yourself with openness and kindness.
I invite you to start by settling into an erect yet relaxed posture,
Letting your eyes close or simply lower your gaze to the ground as you move your attention into your body and your breath.
Taking a couple of deep breaths to help you relax and settle into this moment.
Briefly scanning the body from head to toe and see if you can soften and release any tension you might find.
We hold a lot of tension in our bodies from the stress of the day.
So you might feel tension in your jaw,
Your shoulders,
Your belly or your chest.
Breathing in a sense of ease and breathing out any tension.
Settling into the natural rhythm of your breath.
Using the breath as an anchor to the present moment to stabilize the mind in the here and now.
Simply knowing when you're breathing in and knowing when you're breathing out.
Letting the body breathe itself.
At some point,
The mind will wander to a bodily sensation,
A sound,
But most likely to a thought.
When you notice that your mind has wandered to a thought or gotten lost in a story,
Firmly but gently bringing your attention back to the breath.
Resting your attention once again on the in breath and the out breath.
Writing the waves of breath.
Noticing when the mind wanders and then coming back over and over.
In order to become familiar with the thoughts you commonly experience,
You can practice with labeling the thoughts like worrying,
Planning,
Judging,
Regretting.
Let this label be a soft whisper in your mind.
Then coming back and resting your attention on the breath once more.
Noticing that there are times that thoughts are absent.
Just being with the sensations of breath and movement in the body in response to the breath.
The belly rises and falls.
The chest expands and deflates.
When your mind wanders to a thought,
Remember that no thought is good or bad.
They are just thoughts,
Not facts.
Noticing them with kindness and curiosity and coming back to the breath.
At some point you will probably notice one or two very prevalent thought patterns.
These are the ones that are most likely to create suffering for you and you're most likely to believe.
The body often becomes tense as these thoughts arise.
Emotions will arise with the thoughts.
You might actually feel the energy of the body sensations,
Emotions,
And thoughts pulling your attention away from the breath.
See if you can notice this experience for yourself.
Getting literally pulled into a story.
Letting it be a moment of waking to the present again and again.
Coming back to a deep breath into this moment with what is actually happening right now.
Allowing your body to soften.
When a strong or repetitive thought pattern arises,
One with a lot of emotion attached to it,
You might try a technique called,
And the sky is blue.
After you hear and feel the thought and emotion,
Say to yourself,
And the sky is blue.
For instance,
I'm so overwhelmed with everything I have to get done,
And the sky is blue.
Adding a neutral thought after an emotionally charged thought can help you begin to see that a thought is just a thought.
Your thought and the thought and the sky is blue are equal.
It's only your relationship to the thought that matters.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Thoughts come and go.
You can also try imagining that your thoughts are like clouds passing across the open expanse of the sky.
Letting the wind blow them across the sky of your awareness with ease.
Or if you see pictures or visual images instead of thinking thoughts,
Letting them pass like a scene from a movie.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Staying with the breath until your mind wanders.
Then noticing and labeling.
And without judgment,
Gently returning your attention to the breath.
Staying with this meditation for as long as you'd like.
When you decide to end,
Start by shifting your body and taking a deeper breath.
Anchoring your attention in the present moment and opening your eyes.
Outside of meditation,
Remembering to watch for your common thought patterns throughout the day.
These are often the ones that create harm for you.
When they arise,
Saying hello to thoughts and associated emotions with kindness.
When you're able to label and acknowledge them,
You lessen their hold on you.
Take a breath and let them go as best you can.
Be well and savor every moment.
