So in this first round of working with thought,
I'm going to give two metaphors.
You can see whichever one resonates more.
One is something like that game Whack-A-Mole,
Where the thing pops up and you like pop it on the head.
It's one way to work with it.
The other would be like a cat and a mouse.
So you are either the player,
Your awareness,
Right?
It's the player or the cat,
Right?
And our awareness is being directed to the mind,
To thoughts.
You just want to see if you can catch it when it arises.
Like a game,
Like real life cat and mouse,
You won't catch them all.
But just try to see.
And I know the first time I did this it was a little confusing to me because I'd be like,
Is that a thought?
Because sometimes thoughts are static a little bit.
And you can just notice that.
And then I'd say,
Oh,
Is that a thought?
That's a thought.
And so that's why I'm saying be playful,
Be loose.
This is a,
I'm just trying this,
Just trying to see.
So we'll do this for the next five minutes.
Just seeing if you can catch the thought.
See it once it arises.
And also I'll say sometimes when we return our attention to thoughts,
To the mind,
It might get really quiet.
And that's OK.
It might not be quiet at all.
That's OK too.
So let's just play our game a little bit.
And if this feels too hard or if the mind gets too tight,
You don't have to do it.
OK.
Perfect.
Inviting a receptive,
Open,
Curious attitude.
Reminding yourself that you're already here.
Sound is already being known.
Sensations are already being felt.
Just dropping into that.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
Then we'll try our next experiment.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
We'll practice like this for a few more minutes.
So this time that we work with our thoughts,
We're going to use the metaphor of looking at the night sky,
Looking for shooting stars.
And your thoughts are the shooting stars.
And just like with those shooting stars,
How you can notice their intensity,
Their color,
How long they last,
You can notice similar qualities with your thoughts.
Their flavor,
Their intensity,
How loud they are.
How strong they are,
How strong their pull is.
And like when we're looking for shooting stars,
We don't just keep looking at where the star just was.
We settle back.
Let our attention be very wide.
So let your attention,
Let your awareness be wide,
As wide as the night sky.
And see if you can see any of these thoughts.
Again,
Treating them like shooting stars.
If you feel stressful,
You can just let this practice go.
But if you're curious about it,
Please try it for the next few minutes.
Again,
Letting your awareness be as wide as the night sky.
And your thoughts are like shooting stars.
Watching them appear and letting them go.
And just like with those shooting stars,
Let your awareness be as wide as the night sky.
And just like with those shooting stars,
Let your awareness be as wide as the night sky.
And just like with those shooting stars,
Let your awareness be as wide as the night sky.
And just like with those shooting stars,
Let your awareness be as wide as the night sky.
And just like with those shooting stars,
Let your awareness be as wide as the night sky.
And just like with those shooting stars,
Let your awareness be as wide as the night sky.
And now letting this practice go.
If you feel like it or you can keep doing it.
Settling back.
And now letting this practice go.
And now letting this practice go.
And now letting this practice go.
And now letting this practice go.
And now letting this practice go.
And now letting this last experiment,
Working with thought,
Letting your mind be wide.
Letting your awareness be as spacious as possible.
And again,
Turning your attention to thought and asking yourself,
And this isn't an intellectual exercise,
What is the experience of a thought?
How is thought experienced?
Feeling it,
Experiencing it.
It's not thinking about thought.
It's what is the experience,
The arising and passing away.
So if you feel inclined,
Let's practice like this for a few more minutes.
Again,
Letting the awareness be as wide as you can and receiving the experience of a thought.
And in all of these practices,
Remembering to be gentle with yourself and really patient.
Working with thoughts isn't easy.
At least it wasn't easy for me.
So keep practicing.
Letting this experiment go.
Just going to do two or three more minutes of practice.
And then beginning,
If you can renew your commitment to being present,
To opening up to whatever is happening right now.
And also accepting your practice as it is,
However it is right now.
Okay.
And as our practice period comes to an end,
I'll ring the bowl.
Seeing if you can stay with the sound,
Start to finish,
Noticing when the sound ceases.
Okay.
