Working With Thoughts To Create Inner Silence And Calm

We start with a brief but thorough body scanning exercise to relax the body and steady the breath. In each of the following sections, students and practitioners will be given 1 minute of practice time at the sections' end. Feel free to pause in the silence if you want or need more time. In the first section, we focus on external stimuli through our five senses and aim to be an impartial, silent witnesses to these experiences. In the next section, We become aware of internal stimuli - our thoughts - as they appear at random, as we allow them to come and go, merely observing them. In the next section, we focus our effort into creating and disposing of thoughts. And then we become aware in the next section of spontaneous thoughts, before finally shifting our awareness to the inner silence between our thoughts. We close with a few deep breaths and by returning our awareness to the body.

Transcript

Hello,

Everyone.

This is Jonathan.

In this session,

We will work with our thoughts to experience states of inner silence,

Peacefulness,

And calm.

Let's get started.

First,

Find a comfortable sitting position with your spine straight,

The back of your neck long,

And the shoulders over the hips.

Let your hands rest on your knees or your thighs or in your lap.

Take a deep breath.

And as you exhale,

Gently close your eyes.

And before we begin,

Let's plant a seed of dedication by internally repeating this phrase.

I am prepared for inner silence,

And I will remain still and dedicated to the goal of experience inner silence throughout the entire practice.

Now,

Let's relax the body.

Think of your feet and relax your feet.

Relax the ankles,

The shins,

The knees,

And the thighs.

Relax your hips,

Your belly,

Your lower back,

Your upper back,

And your chest.

Relax the muscles of the hands and your fingers and your palms and in your wrists.

Relax your forearms,

Your upper arms,

And your shoulders.

Relax the neck and the muscles of the face,

The jaw,

The cheeks,

The eyebrows,

And the forehead.

And for a moment,

Just sit in this relaxed state,

Being aware of the relaxed body.

And now,

Become aware of the various external stimuli through your five senses.

Observe the different sounds,

Smells,

Tastes,

The sights behind your closed eyes,

And physical sensations on the surface and inside the body.

Observe these experiences without attachment and without judgment.

Do not try to change them,

Push them away,

Or sustain them.

Simply observe and accept.

If you have a reaction to these experiences,

Acknowledge the reaction and continue observing.

Continue observing and accepting with your full awareness.

And now,

Observe the difference between your senses,

What you sense,

And you,

The experiencer,

Sensing them.

Be a silent witness to your experience.

And as you continue to practice,

Allow a feeling of calm and tranquility to develop in your mind.

And practice this for one minute,

Observing your senses,

Your reactions to them,

And the difference between the two.

Simply observe and accept.

Now,

Move your awareness to internal stimuli,

To your thoughts.

Become aware of your thoughts as you allow them to come and go.

Do not try to stop them.

Do not try to sustain them.

Become aware when a thought has arisen into your awareness,

And without judgment,

Allow it to go.

Positive thoughts and negative thoughts remain a silent,

Impartial witness to your thoughts.

And for one minute,

Simply sit and observe your thoughts without judgment,

Allowing thoughts to come and go.

Now we will create and dispose of our thoughts.

Bring to mind anything that you want to think about.

Create any thought,

Good or bad,

Comfortable or uncomfortable,

Serious or funny.

And stay with this thought for a few moments.

Then remove it by visualizing the action of pushing the thought up and out through the top of your head,

Through the crown chakra.

Now create another thought.

Stay with this thought again for a few moments,

And then again,

Push it up and out through the top of your head.

If a spontaneous thought arises,

Become aware of its existence and push it too,

Up and out,

And create a new thought in the silence that's left behind.

And continue for one minute this process of creation and removal of thoughts,

Going at a speed that is comfortable for you.

And you will have one minute to practice.

Now stop the process of creating thoughts and allow your thoughts to appear spontaneously and at random.

When you see a thought has arisen into your awareness,

Simply push it up and out through the top of your head,

Through the crown chakra.

And for one minute,

Continue this process of becoming aware of arising thoughts and of pushing them up and out.

You will have one minute to practice.

Now become aware of the inner silence between the thoughts,

Between the removal of the last thought and the arrival of the next.

Observe and experience the inner silence between thoughts.

When a thought has arisen into your awareness,

Recognize its existence and simply push the thought up and out.

And become aware once again of the silence between the thoughts.

Observe and experience this silence.

This is the peace and silence of the quiet and thoughtless mind.

And for a moment,

Continue this practice of observing and experiencing the inner silence between thoughts.

You will have one minute to practice.

Now take two deep and conscious breaths.

Become aware again of the body.

Feel the weight and pressure of the body against the floor or the chair.

Become aware of your feet and hands and shoulders.

And when you're ready,

Take another deep breath,

Exhale and gently open your eyes.

I hope this practice has helped you to experience a little peace and a little calm that comes with the experience of the thoughtless mind and the silent mind.

Thank you for joining me and we'll see you again soon.

Bye bye.