Hello and welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is J.
Chodhagam.
In today's meditation,
We will be focusing on working with an overactive mind.
Let me start with a story.
The Buddha was once traveling through a forest.
He was thirsty and asked his disciple to fetch him some water.
The disciple went to the river and noticed that a bullock cart had been just crossed the river.
He came back and said that the water is dirty.
Thirty minutes later,
The Buddha asked him to go back.
He went back to the river and noticed the water is still dirty.
Then after half an hour,
The Buddha told him to go back yet again.
This time he sees the water is clear.
He fills it in his urn and brings it back to the Buddha.
Through this simple lesson,
The Buddha taught that all you need to do is give it time and the mud will settle naturally.
Then you can see clearly the mind works in the same way.
You don't need to do anything.
Give it time.
Be still.
And your mind will become clear.
Practicing quietening the mind is not difficult to begin.
Find a quiet place to sit.
Turn off all sources of distraction as much as possible.
And give yourself a chance for thoughts to calm down.
Focus your attention on a chosen object.
Breath is a simple choice available anytime,
Anywhere.
Watch your breath.
Watch the rising and falling of your stomach.
Inevitably your mind will wander as you do this.
Each time it does,
Gently bring it back to the object of concentration.
Like a butterfly that returns again and again to the flower.
In the freshness of the present moment,
Past is gone.
The future is not yet born.
And if one remains in pure mindfulness and freedom,
Disturbing thoughts arise and go without leaving a trace.
This is a simple exercise to quiet the mind.
When you give a tree to a monkey,
The monkey goes up and down till he becomes tired.
Then he finally rests.
And in that resting,
Insight awakens.
Notice the speed of your thoughts have already slowed down.
Watch your breath.
Watch the rising and falling of your stomach.
Each time your mind is in a state of calm,
Each time your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back to the object of concentration.
Like a butterfly that returns again and again to the flower.
Notice your headspace is beginning to clear.
This is a first step towards experiencing pure consciousness without content.
You are beginning to realize it's not just some sort of a spiritual theory.
Anyone who takes the trouble to stabilize and clarify their mind will be able to experience it too.
It is through this unconditioned aspect of consciousness that we can transform the content of the mind.
Gentle practice,
A little each day.
Bring the butterfly back to the flower.
Avoid letting your mind jump again and again to the trigger of overthinking.
You are beginning to conserve precious energy.
Your mental landscape is becoming peaceful by letting go of any projections of distorted reality on people or events.
You don't allow yourself to enter the vicious circle of getting carried away by the stories projected by the mind.
You are getting relief from the addiction of this disease.
Now you can dissociate from your thoughts and look at it with mindfulness.
That which is aware of overactive mind is not overwhelmed.
You can see that overthinking is just a bunch of thoughts.
It is nothing more than a product of your mind.
Instead of being the overthinker,
You understand that you are not the overactive mind in the same way that clouds are not the sky.
Keep your attention upon it.
If you stop adding wood to a fire and just watch,
The fire will die out.
Likewise,
Overthinking will vanish away without being forcibly repressed or allowed to explode.
There is no question of not experiencing emotions.
It is a question of not being enslaved by them.
Let emotions arise,
But become free from their afflictive components such as distortion of reality,
Mental confusion,
Clinging,
And suffering for oneself and others.
During this meditation,
You are also cultivating basic human qualities.
Such as attention and compassion and new ways of experiencing the world.
What really matters is that you give yourself time to gradually change.
Little by little,
You will become less impatient,
Less prone to anger,
Less torn between hopes and fears.
It becomes inconceivable to willingly harm another person.
You are developing a propensity towards altruistic behavior and better deal with the ups and downs of life.
There is great virtue in resting from time to time in pure awareness of the present moment.
Then you are able to go back and refer to the state when afflictive emotions arise so that you do not identify with them and are not swayed by them.
This gets easier with practice until it becomes quite natural.
Whenever the mind goes into overthinking,
You learn to recognize it right away.
If you know someone to be a pickpocket,
Even if he mingles in a crowd,
You will spot him right away and keep a careful eye on him.
Children and adults on secure services murderer victim Watching self-respose Ignorance Continue to watch your breath.
Watch the rising and falling of your stomach.
And each time your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back.
Like a butterfly that returns again and again to the flower.
Avoid letting your mind wander.
Avoid letting your mind jump to any triggers,
External or internal.
That which is aware of an overactive mind is not overwhelmed.
You understand that you are not the overactive mind.
There is great virtue in resting from time to time in pure awareness of the present moment.
Notice how you feel right now.
Thank you for joining me in this practice.
Thank you for watching.
