Learn Mindfulness Day 3: The Wandering Mind

Today you’ll learn how to work with the wandering mind and not get pulled into the content of your thoughts so easily. Thoughts play a huge part in how we perceive the world around us and if left unchecked they can often take us down some negative paths. You’ll learn a meditation technique that will help you to get less caught up in thinking.

Transcript

Take a deep breath in, Breathe out and gently close your eyes and relax your shoulders, Your face, Your jaw, The little muscles around your eyes, Your eyelids, Maybe do a little smile as this can encourage our face to relax, Then allow your body to sink into the chair you're sitting on, And as you do this, Letting go of the day or morning you've had, And also letting go of any leaning into the future, Maybe a sense of wanting to finish this meditation so you can move on to the next thing in your day, Really give yourself permission to be here and now, Knowing that there's nothing you need to do right now, There's nowhere you need to be, Just sitting and breathing, An opportunity for non-doing, For just being, Now placing your attention on your breath, Feeling the air moving in and out of your nose, And each time you breathe out, Allow your body to sink a little bit more into the surface you're sitting on, And you can adjust your posture if you want to, Finding that comfortable position, So continue to focus on the sensations of your breath coming in and out of your nose, And sooner or later, Usually sooner, You might have found that your mind has wandered off into thoughts, Maybe a worry, A story in your head, Some daydreaming, Or maybe you're just thinking about what you want to eat next, And you might also notice an absence of thoughts, Whatever it is, Give it a label, Your label could be worrying, Judging, Planning, Or just thinking, And this is a way of not getting caught up in the content of your thoughts, Gently give it a label, Thinking, Thinking, Judging, Judging, Or maybe it's a story, Friend at work story, I've got too much to do story, Gently let it go, And then move back to your breathing, And this isn't pushing your thoughts away, When we do this they usually come back, We just allow those thoughts to be there, Notice them, And return to your breath, And do this each and every time your mind wanders, So continue to focus on your breath coming in and out of your nostrils, And again, If your mind has wandered off, Noticing that's happened, Give that thought a label, And then gently return to your breath, And now take a deep breath in, Breathing out, Gently open your eyes as we end this meditation.

Reviews

Wonderful. Labeling thoughts really works, and I especially appreciate the unguided segments. Thank you.

Thanks for the gentle guidance Andy 🙏🏻

I’m a long time meditator but still have trouble with thinking during my meditations. This track is great for addressing it without judgement and I plan to return to it often. Another winner from Andy Hobson. Thank you!