In this guided meditation,
I'll show you how thoughts arise in the mind as either visual images that seem to be projected onto a mental screen,
Or auditory sensations,
Such as the inner monologue.
By practicing this technique,
You will teach the mind to disidentify from thoughts,
And in so doing,
You'll be less likely to get lost in the thought stream.
You will learn how to step back from thought activity and become the witness.
This is extremely useful if you are prone to rumination or anxious thought patterns,
And even if you're not struggling with those issues,
Being able to notice thoughts as empty mental phenomena rather than being lost in the story the mind is telling is a great skill to have.
This skill is known as metacognition,
And it's something that you can develop with practice.
Thoughts are never a problem in meditation,
Regardless of the technique being used,
However,
In this meditation,
They are particularly useful.
To use a software analogy,
This technique makes thinking a feature of the meditation rather than a bug.
Often when people meditate,
They find thoughts to be a nuisance,
Like a bug in a piece of software,
Something to be fixed.
But in this guided meditation,
Thoughts are an opportunity to gain insight into the nature of the mind.
They're a feature that enhances the meditation experience.
So without further ado,
Let's dive in.
Take a comfortable sitting position.
Ideally you'll be sitting upright,
Awake and alert,
Yet relaxed.
Your eyes can be open or closed for this meditation.
If they're open,
Try to defocus the gaze.
You can also transition between eyes open and closed if you feel sleepy,
Zoned out,
Or confused at any point.
It's no problem.
All you have to do is relax and follow my instructions.
So let's start by taking three slow,
Calming deep breaths together.
Nice big deep breath in through the nostrils.
And slowly breathing out of the mouth.
Very good.
And let's try that again.
Nice big deep breath in through the nostrils.
And slowly breathing out of the mouth.
Maybe you're already feeling some relaxation in the body.
And one more time,
Nice big deep breath in through the nostrils.
And slowly breathing out of the mouth.
And as you breathe out,
You can let the body go limp and loose and relaxed.
And now let the breath find its own natural rhythm.
You don't breathe,
The body breathes,
And you can allow everything to be exactly as it is.
Let's start by finding your anchor.
This will be where your attention rests most of the time during the meditation.
I will give you some options and you can decide what works best.
The important thing is to make your anchor in the body somehow.
The most obvious option is the breath.
Maybe you can notice the sensations that arise in the belly or the chest as you breathe.
Maybe you can notice the expansion and contraction of the belly.
Or maybe you can notice how the belly and the chest flow together like a wave.
Or maybe the breath shows up in a different way for you.
What can you notice?
You don't need to try too hard with this.
You're just being gently aware of the sensations that arise as breathing takes place.
Or how about another option?
Keep your mouth closed and breathe exclusively through the nostrils.
If you do that,
Can you notice the gentle flow of air at the nostrils?
Maybe you can notice how the air is colder on the way into the nostrils and warmer on the way out.
Can you notice the gentle caress of air on your lips as you exhale through the nostrils?
Or if the breath isn't working for you,
You can work broadly with body sensations.
Just allowing yourself to feel into the body.
For example,
You might feel the touch of air on the skin,
Clothes on the body,
The chair supporting you.
Or maybe some tingling and subtle vibration.
What can you feel in the body?
What could be your anchor point that you can keep coming back to?
I'll give you a moment now to find your anchor.
And you can always change it later,
So there's no pressure to get this right,
To get this perfect.
Just make sure your anchor is in the body somehow.
Very good.
Okay,
Next,
Let the anchor go and become aware of the space in your mind where visual images normally arise.
To do this,
You might bring to mind the face of a loved one,
Or a pet,
Or a treasured possession.
It doesn't matter what you think of,
Just try to bring a visual image to mind and notice where it arises.
Does it feel like it's in your head,
Above or behind your head?
Or maybe behind your eyes,
Or just in front of your eyes?
There's no right answer,
This will be different for everyone.
Just get a general sense of where visual images pop up for you.
And when a visual image is there,
In your mind,
What's it like?
Is it static or moving?
Is it sharp or vague?
Is it superimposed in some way?
We'll call this area image space,
Because it's where visual images pop up in the mind.
I'll give you a minute now to get a general sense of what image space is and where it is.
And don't worry if it's vague,
That's normal.
Very good.
Okay,
Now you can let that go and become aware of the area in your mind where verbalised thinking takes place.
Again,
This might be vague,
But give it a try.
You could say the word hello in your mind,
And notice where you're hearing that.
So try that now.
Is that happening inside your head?
At your ears?
Around the mouth or the throat?
Or does it seem to be everywhere?
There's no right answer.
Just get a general sense of where auditory thinking arises.
We will call this talk space.
And I will give you a moment now just to feel into that and get a sense of what talk space is like for you.
Very good.
Now,
You can let go of that and take your attention back to your anchor point in the body.
That might be the breath or body sensations.
It's up to you.
Stay with your anchor.
You don't need to try hard or struggle.
Just be gently aware of the sensations arising at the anchor point as best as you can.
If it helps,
You can use the label feel to help you stay tuned into the anchor point.
And you would gently repeat that word to yourself like this.
Feel.
Feel.
Feel.
Feel.
You might choose to say that on the exhale in a rhythmical way if you're using the breath.
It's just a way of keeping you on track and it's completely optional.
So I'll give you a minute now to try and become absorbed into your anchor point.
Tune into your anchor point.
Get as close to it as you can.
Stay with it.
Very good.
Now,
Stay with the anchor point as best as you can,
But see if you can also notice when and where thoughts arise.
And see if you can notice if they're visual images popping up in image space,
Or if they are auditory sensations,
Such as your inner monologue,
Arising in talk space.
If you notice a visual image in the mind,
You can use the label see to show that you caught it.
If you notice an auditory activity in the mind,
You can use the label hear to show that you caught it.
And then always return to the anchor point.
Stay with the anchor point.
We're not getting tangled in thoughts.
We're not analyzing thoughts.
We're just noticing whether they're a seeing experience or a hearing experience,
And then going back to the anchor point and staying with the anchor point as much as possible.
And if there are no thoughts arising,
It's no problem.
Just enjoy being with the anchor.
It's okay to be late with noticing thoughts and labeling them.
That's normal.
Just be late with the label and then return to the anchor point.
Very good.
Stay with the anchor if you can,
But also see if you can notice when thoughts arise,
And also notice whether they're visual or auditory.
Don't get lost in the content of thoughts.
Don't become identified with the thoughts either.
Don't think of thoughts as your thoughts.
Treat them as impersonal,
Just empty phenomena.
Try that now.
Stay with the anchor.
Put all your attention into the anchor.
But every now and again when you're pulled into thoughts,
Is it see or is it hear?
Quick label and back to the anchor.
I'll give you a few moments to try that now.
Very good.
Okay.
Now we will bring this meditation to a close,
But you are welcome to continue if you wish.
