So in this meditation I'm going to guide you through a mindfulness of thought meditation.
As usual,
Let's start by finding a position that is comfortable yet alert.
You can close or half close your eyes and you're going to want to bring your attention inward.
Start with taking in three deep breaths and let's use Thich Nhat Hanh mantra.
Breathing in,
I am home.
Breathing out,
I relax.
Breathing in,
I am home.
Breathing out,
I relax.
Breathing in,
I am home.
Breathing out,
I relax.
As you release your breath,
Feel the tension in your body relaxing.
As we usually do,
Let's take note of our body sensation.
How does the body feel?
Is there places of tension?
Is there places of content in the body?
Now bring your attention to your emotional landscape.
What can you feel today?
Are the emotions pleasant or unpleasant?
Are the emotions disappearing when you bring your attention to them or are they staying or changing?
If it's being quiet,
You can focus on your preferred focus point,
Your breath or your body.
Now we're going to move toward our thoughts,
Our mind and we're starting to include them into this process.
In the same way as you were doing with your body sensations and your emotions,
You're going to want to bring a gentle,
Kind attention to your thoughts.
What are you noticing there?
You can name the experience of thinking with a very gentle,
Non-dredging tone.
Thinking,
Thinking.
Or you can be more specific with the type of thinking that is happening.
You might be planning,
You might be reviewing some events in the past,
You might be list making,
You might be remembering,
Imagining,
Judging yourself or others or blaming.
You don't have to follow the stories that your mind is offering you.
You're here only to notice them without feeding them,
Without getting rid of them,
Just offering your kind presence to them.
Like if you were listening fully to a dear friend,
Your attention half of them and half on the rest of your body and emotions.
You don't have to figure out why these thoughts are here,
What they mean,
How long they will be there for,
Just notice them.
Notice that you are here,
Meditating,
Present and aware of these thoughts.
Once they're pulled less and return to your breath or your focus point and just wait there until the next thought appears.
You might notice some repetitive thoughts.
Sometimes these thoughts are fueled by emotion underneath them.
So you can prompt a little bit more,
What am I feeling now?
If it's clear that there is an emotion underneath and it's very strong,
Just be aware of the emotion like we did in previous meditation,
Name it,
Observe it,
Observe it disappear.
And then try and go back to the thought to see where it's at.
Otherwise continue acknowledging different thoughts.
See that you've become aware of them and watch them fade.
Sometimes there will be so many thoughts at once that you just can't even see through.
Try and pick the one that shouts the loudest at you and follow that one leaving the other ones in the background.
Just knowing that you will go back to them.
See that one unfold.
What's happening with that thought?
Can you be with it?
And then pick the next one and the next one.
Little by little you will see that this cloud of thought will just dissipate.
I am now going to ring the bell.
Experience the experience of hearing and then come back to the room that you're in in the present moment.
Thank you for your practice.
