Find a comfortable position.
Let your body settle into the chair beneath you.
If it feels okay,
Gently close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Take a slow breath in,
And a slow breath out.
Do that once more,
In through the nostrils and out through the open mouth.
You might allow your breathing now to return to its natural rhythm.
There's nothing you need to change,
Just notice.
Bring your attention to physical sensations in the body.
Notice where your body makes contact with the chair or floor below you.
Feel the weight of your body being supported.
If you notice tension anywhere,
Simply acknowledge it.
No need to relax it or fix it,
Just notice what's there.
Now,
Bring your attention to the sensation again of your breath.
You might notice air moving at the nose,
The rise and fall of the chest,
Or the movement of the belly.
Choose one place where the breath feels most noticeable,
And let that be your anchor.
As you stay with the breath,
Thoughts might arise.
This is normal.
The mind produces thoughts the way the lungs produce breath.
Rather than trying to stop thinking,
The practice is to notice when a thought appears.
When you become aware of a thought,
Gently name it.
You can use simple labels such as planning,
Remembering,
Judging,
Worrying,
Or simply thinking.
Say the label silently and once.
After naming the thought,
Bring your attention back to the breath.
Not to push the thought away,
But to shift where your attention is resting.
Thought,
Label,
Return to breath.
This cycle may happen many times.
You may notice that you get caught in a thought before realizing it.
You might follow a story for several seconds or even minutes.
When you notice this,
Acknowledge it without criticism.
The moment you realize that you were thinking,
Is the practice working?
Silently name the thought,
Thinking,
And return to the breath.
Begin to notice patterns in your thinking.
Do certain types of thoughts appear often?
Planning,
Self-evaluation,
Replaying conversations.
You don't need to analyze or solve anything right now.
Just recognize some patterns.
See if you can't notice the moment a thought begins.
Where does it seem to begin with or come from?
Does it arrive fully formed or build gradually?
Notice how the thoughts end.
Do they fade out?
Do they get replaced by another thought?
Let your role be that of an observer.
Not a participant.
If an emotion comes with a thought,
Tension,
Frustration,
Calm.
Notice the physical sensations that accompany it.
That could be tightness or warmth,
Pressure,
Movement.
Label the emotion if that feels helpful,
Then return to the breath.
Throughout this practice,
There's no goal of emptying the mind.
The aim is to develop familiarity with how creativity and thinking work.
Each time you name a thought and return your attention,
You're strengthening your ability to notice thoughts without automatically following them.
As the meditation comes to a close,
Broaden your awareness to include the body as a whole,
The breath,
And any sounds in the environment.
Thoughts may still be present,
But you don't need to do anything about them right now.
Take one slightly deep breath in and exhale.
When you're ready,
Gently move your fingers and toes.
Open your eyes if they're still closed.
In closing,
Remember that you can carry this skill into daily life,
Briefly naming thoughts as they arise and choosing where to place your attention.
That is our practice.
Namaste.
If you enjoyed this meditation,
Your donations help support it and support our practice together and are greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
