Hello boys and girls,
My name is Anna and this meditation is about thinking.
You might have noticed that we think many many thoughts each day.
In fact,
Scientists estimated,
That means that based on the research they made that guess that there is about 70,
000 of them that we think every day.
What might be surprising for you is that most thoughts we think are repetitive.
This means that we keep thinking the same thing over and over again.
Isn't that strange?
Some thoughts are fleeting.
They might just pop in and pop out again.
Some thoughts are quite sticky.
They don't want to leave us alone.
They keep coming back and coming back even if you really want them to go away.
This is especially the case when you are emotional in some way.
For example,
When you are super excited about an upcoming party you will probably find yourself thinking about it a lot.
Or when you are nervous about an exam,
The same thing.
Sometimes those sticky thoughts make it difficult for you to focus on things that you need to do like your schoolwork.
In mindfulness we practice observing our thoughts.
Seeing what they are gives us some control over them.
For example,
It makes it possible for us to change what we think if we choose to.
And why would you want to change your thinking?
For example,
A thought might be making you feel sad,
Afraid or stressed.
So when you notice what it is that you think,
You might choose to bring something else to your attention just in that moment.
Or you might decide to look at the topic a bit differently to change your perspective.
Or you might simply make a decision that it's not a good time to think about it now and choose to come back to it a bit later instead.
So let's get started.
Make yourself comfortable sitting down or lying down,
Whatever feels better right now.
Dropping your back,
Opening up your shoulders to let your breathing flow.
Dropping your shoulders a little.
Re-softening and relaxing.
Straining your legs and arms or placing your feet on the floor.
Resting your fists.
Relaxing your fingers.
Gently resting your arms on your lap or alongside of your body.
And closing your eyes if you want to or just looking down.
Taking a deep breath in through your nose and breathing out through your mouth slowly and fully.
And again a deep breath in and a slow full out breath.
There is nowhere you need to go right now and there is nothing to do.
Just being here and breathing.
Filling your lungs with air.
Bringing your attention to whatever is going on in your mind right now.
What is it that you are thinking?
It might be about a conversation you had with a friend last week.
It might be about the trip that you are going to take in the next few days.
Or it might be about something that's happening right now.
For example that you are really feeling like some ice cream.
Whatever you are thinking it is okay.
Sometimes our thoughts do not make sense or have nothing to do with our reality.
But when we are being mindful we do not judge ourselves for our thinking.
We simply observe what thoughts come to pay us a visit.
It is a little like if you were watching colorful fish in a fish tank.
All different shapes and sizes just passing by.
We are just watching whatever is present right now.
It is okay to just observe your thoughts without doing anything about them.
There is no need to act or to change them or to stop them right now.
It is enough to just watch as if you were watching the fish swimming by.
Noticing how your thoughts might be changing.
You might be thinking something different now than you did a moment ago.
Just observing with curiosity.
Observing without making decisions whether the thoughts are good or bad.
Whatever the thoughts are is okay right now.
Thoughts are just the visitors that come and go.
Sometimes they stay too long and even when you don't want them to be around anymore.
When you want to quieten your mind you can always shift your attention to your body.
You might notice your chest filling up with air as you breathe.
You might notice your stomach going up and down with your breath.
You might notice your face and soften any tension that might be there.
As you pay attention to your body you might notice some sensations that are caused by the thinking.
Just relax your body and continue to breathe.
Getting ready to finish this meditation.
Just the last time paying attention to what it is that you are thinking right now.
Opening your eyes or looking up whenever you're ready.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Stay well.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
