Welcome to this practice.
Today we're looking at how do we manage the mind,
The overthinking,
The excessive thoughts that we may be experiencing from time to time.
My name is John and I'll be your guide here today.
First of all,
Finding a comfortable and relaxed posture.
Sitting upright with a straight spine.
If possible,
Both feet on the floor.
Your hands are gently resting on your lap.
Taking a moment to settle into your posture.
Connecting with your body and connecting with your breath.
Gently closing your eyes or lowering your gaze.
When we practice mindfulness,
We often see our thoughts as distractions that are taking us away from this moment.
And today we're going to start observing the mind,
The thoughts as they come and go.
When you feel calm and settled,
I invite you to start observing your mind.
What kind of thoughts are you experiencing at this moment?
Can you start labeling your thoughts?
You may start saying to yourself,
Thinking,
Thinking,
Worrying,
Judgment,
Daydreaming,
Daydreaming,
Problem solving.
Noticing the content of your thoughts and start labeling them.
It might really help you to visualize yourself in a movie theater and seeing your thoughts projected on a movie screen.
So you're sitting back and you're observing what is on that screen.
You're not getting caught up into the movie that you're watching right now.
There is a gap,
There's a distance between you and your thoughts.
Observing what kind of thoughts are popping up in your mind at this moment without any judgment.
Just observing them like you're watching a movie.
And do movie keep changes?
Sometimes it's a comedy.
Sometimes it's a tragedy.
Sometimes it's a horror movie based on lots of fear.
Whatever your movie is at this moment,
Please keep that in mind that you're watching the projection of your mind into a movie screen.
And you get to choose which thoughts you would like to believe into and which thoughts you like to discard,
Get rid of,
Not pay attention to.
Which thoughts are enhancing your life for the better?
And which thoughts are making your life miserable?
Remembering that you have the power to choose.
Noticing your thoughts as they come and go and treating them like clouds in the sky.
They appear,
Stay for a while,
And then they go away,
Often replaced by some other clouds,
By some other thoughts.
Now I'm going to invite you to visualize three boxes in your mind's eye.
They can be any shape,
Color,
Or size.
You will have one box for the past,
One box for the present moment,
And one box for the future.
And as your thoughts come up,
The invitation is to place these thoughts into the box of past or the box of future,
Making sure that the present box stays empty at all times.
Based on the content,
You're placing your thoughts either into the past box or into the future box,
Making sure that the present box stays empty at all times.
And if you're not sure which thought to place into which box,
Just place them into past or future and just move on.
Do not get caught up.
Filling up those boxes of the past and future and making sure that the present box stays empty at all times.
And if you get caught up in the thoughts dream,
That's absolutely fine.
Simply notice that you're caught up in your own movie and bring your attention back to the boxes,
Classifying your thoughts,
Putting them into boxes,
And making sure that the present box stays empty at all times.
As we come closer to the end of our practice,
Taking a few deep breaths down to your abdomen and exhaling with a long sigh,
Letting go.
Let's do this two more times.
Deep breath in and letting go.
And final breath in and out.
Trusting in the unfolding of life in each moment.
As we slowly come back,
Moving your body gently,
Opening your eyes if they've been closed,
And setting your intention for today,
Whatever it is for you.
How would you like to show up in your relationships,
At work,
With your friends?
What will be your intention for today?
I look forward to connecting with you again very soon.
Have a wonderful day.
