Hello and welcome to today's meditation,
Mindfulness of Thoughts and Emotions.
You may do this meditation seated on a cushion or a chair.
So to get started,
Notice the point of contact between you and the surface below you.
Sink into it and allow yourself to be supported.
Start to lengthen the spine,
Clearing the way for your breath to flow in and out.
Let's take one deep breath in to start.
Inhale,
And pause at the top of your inhale,
Holding the breath,
Noticing the crown of your head,
And exhale.
Allow the breath to come down your spine.
Imagine it going out your tailbone.
Now you can allow your breath to return to its normal cadence.
Bring your awareness to the tip of your nose,
Being aware as the breath softly comes in and goes back out.
So our meditation today helps teach our minds to find inner peace.
Our minds can behave like a runaway merry-go-round.
Our efforts to control our thoughts actually push the problem deeper.
Through this meditation,
We will practice observing the thoughts.
This will clear what's weighing us down mentally and emotionally and train us to be more resilient in daily life.
So stay with your breath,
But now become alert for the next thought that comes in.
There's no hurry and no need to search for a thought,
But just simply waiting.
So sometimes I like to imagine that I'm waiting for a train,
Keeping my eye on the horizon.
And so once you notice a thought,
Start to observe it as if you're standing far away from it.
You might label it with a color or a size.
Notice the scale,
How big it is,
And if there's an emotional quality to it.
And notice if this thought has been present for one minute or for only a couple seconds.
And notice if the thought has remained or if it has passed.
And when you notice the thought is completely gone,
Come back to the breath and come back to that train station and wait for the next thought to enter.
Once you've encountered another thought,
Do the same process.
Notice the quality and scale of the thought,
Choosing a color and size.
See if you can estimate how long the thought has been with you.
Notice if by observing the thought,
It's already passed by.
Sometimes as we meditate,
Having a thought is followed by shame or frustration with oneself for allowing it in.
Know that these thoughts in meditation are like practice rounds before the real game starts,
Which is daily life.
If you notice any frustration,
Simply label it as a thought and use the same process,
Evaluating the color and the scale and the time.
Now we'll move on to emotions.
Just like we did with thoughts,
Be very still and scan your body for an emotion.
If something doesn't come to mind right away,
Observe feelings.
It might be a warmth in your chest,
A churning in your belly,
Or spinning around your head.
The term or label of the emotion isn't important.
Just observe the feeling like you're watching a train.
Notice if it's getting bigger or smaller,
Or if the intensity changes,
And how long it stays until it's gone.
Once the emotion has fully run its course,
Come back to awareness of your breath.
Let's do one more emotion.
Observe and notice what comes up.
You might scan your body to see if there's a feeling associated with it.
Consider the quality and the scale of the emotion and notice how long it stays with you.
If you find yourself distracted or fully wrapped up in a thought loop,
Anchor into the breath,
Saying in your mind,
In on the in breath,
And out on the out breath.
Thank you for meditating with me today.
Practice is now complete.
Start to bring your awareness back into your space.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
