Hello.
Welcome.
This meditation is called How to Stop.
Overthinking.
Take a moment to sit and relax.
Now quietly notice what is present right where you are sitting.
Notice your body.
And any sensations arising within or around it.
Are these sounds or sights familiar to you?
Are you consciously aware?
That you are breathing.
And what surface are you sitting on?
Now return your attention to the mind.
What thoughts are appearing?
Apart from those associated as a result of my questions.
Observing your thoughts can reveal a lot.
Especially how the mind is incessantly in motion.
The mind thinks.
That is what the mind does.
But notice something potentially life-changing.
A thought can arise and instead of the old unconscious pattern of following these thoughts,
Stop for a moment.
You do not need to follow them.
You have a conscious choice to break an old habit.
There is some truth in saying the mind has had a free reign through your thinking.
Has virtually held you a prisoner for all of these years.
With no apparent escape.
Now there is relief,
As you will see.
A thought can appear,
But this time you are aware.
Now stand back and let it be.
You don't have to be involved with it.
You don't have to become entangled.
Let the thought remain where it is,
Unaccompanied.
Maintain your awareness of where you are within your immediate environment.
Now notice.
When you simply let thoughts be.
The thoughts may still be present.
But you are no longer unconsciously engaging with them.
Be aware of this.
Now when another thought arises,
You notice it?
Let it pass.
Repeat this conscious letting go again and again.
You're not attempting to stop your thoughts.
You are simply not participating in their stories.
And when you do that,
You are not giving the mind more to do.
Notice what happens when you don't follow,
When you don't engage.
There is all of a sudden a space.
A stillness.
A pause.
Between one thought and the next.
Especially noticeable.
Is this stillness when you breathe?
Between one breath and the next.
Rest in that space momentarily.
You will soon become very familiar with it.
Remember.
Remain observing the movements of the mind without looking for anything more than what is in your immediate awareness.
Notice through this newly focused awareness,
The simple fact that you are now more present and aware.
In the immediacy of now.
The mind will always think.
That's what it does.
That will never change.
What will change is your awareness.
Of the thoughts as they arise.
If you begin to notice any particular thought that is not relevant to what you are involved in,
Then let it go.
Return to what is current and the focus of where your attention lies.
Right now,
There is only this moment,
Quietly here.
And you will come to be wiser in noticing overthinking is not created by the appearance of a thought.
It is created when attention continually follows thought.
So let thoughts come and let thoughts go,
Without any of them being a distraction.
Simply remain present.
Remain aware of the immediacy of now,
Your breathing,
Hearing,
Feeling,
Sensations.
Remind yourself to ignore any irrelevant thoughts.
Remain here.
Open.
Aware of this newfound silence and peace.
And notice how little effort is actually required.
For quiet and calm to be more present.
In your life.
Now,
This meditation is pointing towards the live free weekly meditations by the same name.
How to stop overthinking.
Which is an open invitation to all who choose to attend.
Where we look closer in ways of how to overcome overthinking.
This video also accompanies the video title,
How to Stop Overthinking,
Live Meditation Session.
Where I have listed by dot point as a reference for all the main areas in our lives where overthinking may be an issue.
Also,
As a reference within my playlist on my teacher's page,
There is a heading called A Return to Your True Nature,
And here there are dozens of links to content on my page which further supports this subject.
