So question How do you navigate the line between analyzing and labeling I find that I'm overanalyzing which leads to more thinking which seems the opposite of what I'm trying to do with mindfulness If you're meditating on an object and this could be a physical object or it could be just the breath any anchor there is a Tendency to label it.
You know,
If you're working with the breath,
You might label it as cold as hot as tickly as certain sensations Our mind naturally labels things a label itself is a conceptualization of a bunch of stuff so I'm holding in my hand now a pen and I'm labeling it as yellow and shiny and Brand-name and you know certain other labels are popping up about the cheap quality of my pen that I'm holding labels are popping up naturally and As I dig deeper and as I get more curious about the object either the breath or the pen or whatever I'm working with More labels tend to pop up but those labels are themselves a thing that is happening in consciousness and Within each label if I'm looking at my pen right now,
And I'm labeling it as yellow Well,
It's not exactly yellow.
There is a depth to this that I can go into If I'm labeling it as you know markings of a manufacturer I can go into depth and really see specifically what it is I'm noticing that there are some numbers like what numbers are there then I'm like conceptually going Okay,
What is a number and that the idea of a number the label of a number pops up?
But on here I can see the number two when I think of the number two,
It's like oh,
That's my favorite number But then I really look at it and I just look at the shape of the number two So it's like I'm noticing that I'm labeling and then I'm pulling all of that aside and going okay What actually am I looking at right now?
There's a squiggle here.
There's a squiggle on this pen That my brain labels as two and I'm noticing that I'm labeling this squiggle as two But can I see the squiggle for what it is?
It's a line it's got a curve it's got a it's got a horizontal or Rather a diagonal line connected to a horizontal line I'm conceptually trying to describe the number two to you right now So my label has given me something to look into deeper every time you label You are grabbing something as a collective,
But you might be able to unpick that and see what that label is made of That's me being highly curious about those labels that are popping up I'm Mindfully looking and going oh my brains popped up a label.
I'm seeing that that's triggering Something in my mind what that label represents,
But what's actually happening?
Yeah in this moment There is a black marking upon a white background on my pen Let's look at it for what it is Well the label pops up.
I'm noticing the label is popping up.
I come back to the actual reality of what I'm seeing so label this the act of labeling is a Q or a trigger to go deeper and beyond it now.
That's quite a advanced practice,
And you will forever find yourself in some level of conceptualization Right because we're obviously looking at you in this case the pen at a certain level you go deep enough We're looking at you know the properties or the the molecular components of the ink that's on the plastic Etc etc you can keep going deep There's always going to be a conceptualization,
But at the level of our observation It's a black squiggle upon a white line contained upon a plastic pen So if you find yourself Labeling use that to find the component parts That's one approach The other approach if you feel like you're over analyzing you feel like you're thinking you go Analyzing thinking labeling take a breath and Relook at it again,
And just witness and notice and notice when your mind is labeling Going down that over analyzing passes all my brains doing that again Back to what I can see all my brains going again back to what I can see a couple of approaches there to help respond to that labeling analysis or over analysis feeling
