Well,
Hello everybody and welcome to your meditation with Yogi Phoenix.
This is part of our learning to meditate,
A simple daily practice.
And this is a biggie,
This is the big one.
Today's practice is about understanding distraction.
Many people believe that they simply can't meditate because their mind is busy or restless or full of thoughts.
You might have even said to yourself,
I can't meditate,
My mind won't stop.
But having a busy mind is not the problem or a problem.
In fact,
Saying you can't meditate because your mind is busy is a bit like saying you can't eat because you're hungry.
These are natural things for you to happen.
The second statement is silly,
But it brings home the point.
You're not broken.
The mind processes thoughts and produces them,
That's what it does.
Meditation isn't about stopping that,
It's about learning how to relate to it differently.
Today we'll practice that together.
So find yourself a comfortable place to be while we do this.
Lying on the floor or sitting on a chair or lying on your bed,
Whichever works for you.
Allow yourself to be relaxed,
Soft,
Let the shoulders soften,
Let the hands rest easy.
Gently close your eyes.
Lower your gaze.
Begin to notice the feeling of your body just sitting here,
Breathing,
Being supported.
There's nothing special you need to focus on.
The breath or the feeling of the body is enough.
Now,
As you sit quietly,
Thoughts will arise.
Memories,
Plans,
Commentaries,
Distractions,
Worries.
This is all completely normal.
Rather than trying to stop the thoughts,
Simply notice when they appear.
And you may like to notice where they appear from.
How they manifest in your mind and where they go to.
But you're not getting involved with them.
You're just simply allowing them to float over your mind as a cloud would over the sky.
But then,
At some point,
You're likely to realize that your attention has been pulled away by one of these fascinating thoughts.
Into thinking,
Remembering,
Or imagining.
When that happens,
Pause for a moment.
Just pause.
Gently acknowledge what's happening.
You might silently recognize thinking is happening or the mind is wandering.
Then,
Without judgment,
Without frustration,
Without the thoughts,
I'm not good enough,
I can't do this.
Gently return to attention.
Attention of the breath or feeling of the body simply here.
Just noticing.
Getting carried away,
Maybe,
And returning.
Again and again.
Each time you notice the distraction,
You're not failing.
You're waking up.
You are training awareness.
You are not broken.
You are learning.
Let this natural cycle of wandering,
Returning,
And returning unfold for a few moments.
No judgment.
No trying to be better.
No thinking how I should be.
None of that.
Just noticing.
Noticing the mind doing what it does.
Sit there for a few moments,
Resting in that awareness.
Resting.
Just resting.
Meditation isn't about having fewer thoughts.
It's about becoming less caught up by them.
About not being involved with them.
About recognizing they're not who you are.
Being able to choose.
Just noticing and returning over and over again.
And that's why this is a practice.
It's just another practice.
But it's well worth the effort.
Just staying here for a moment.
And as this practice comes to an end,
Notice how it feels to relate to distraction in this way.
Not as a mistake.
Not as something to get rid of.
But as a part of the path itself.
A wandering mind doesn't mean you can't meditate.
It means you're human.
And each time you notice and gently return,
You're practicing meditation.
Exactly as it's meant to be practiced.
You can bring this same understanding into everyday life.
Noticing when attention drifts and simply come back to what you're attending to.
When you're ready.
Just starting to come back now.
Coming back now.
And the practice of learning how to deal with distraction in meditation is over.
Thank you once again for joining me.
With much love from my heart to yours.
Have a fabulous day,
Yogi Phoenix.
