Welcome to daily mindfulness,
Mindfulness of thought meditation.
I'd like to invite you to take a moment to find a dignified and easeful posture,
Allowing your eyes to close or simply soften your gaze.
As we settle in,
Bring your attention to the breath,
To the inhale and exhale,
Noticing the rise and fall of the chest and belly.
Centering into the body with each in-breath and letting go of any tension with the out-breath.
Feeling renewed and revived with each breath.
I invite you to open your awareness to the entire body being supported by the space you are in.
Feeling you are right here in this moment,
Letting yourself be just as you are.
As you settle in,
Stay with your breath and your body in this moment.
Now I would like to invite you to shift your attention from your breath and body to the thoughts that are arising,
Persisting and dissolving away in your mind.
Take some time and just notice what is here.
You may want to get curious about your thoughts.
Investigate whether you think in images or words,
Whether your thoughts are in color or black and white.
Are they loud and strong,
Soft or subtle?
Focus and gently name the thoughts as they are without getting involved or hooked by their content.
Planning,
Imagining,
Judging,
Longing,
Wishing.
What are you noticing?
You may even notice emotions that accompany the content of your thoughts and you may notice how they feel in your body.
Just remember,
Thoughts are just thoughts.
They will arise and dissolve.
There is nothing to hold on to.
You may even begin to feel how pleasant it is to let go of thinking,
To let go of thoughts.
You may ask yourself,
Who or what would I be or how would I feel if I no longer believed these thoughts?
If you find yourself lost in the content of your thoughts,
That's okay.
Just gently return to your breath and become the observer,
Noticing the rise and falling away of thoughts,
Just like your breath.
We are going to spend two minutes observing our thoughts using metaphor and images.
I invite you to imagine your mind as a vast and open sky and thoughts are simply clouds,
Birds passing through the open space.
Nothing to hold on to.
Just watch the cloud of judging or the bird of longing pass by,
The flock of thoughts flying across the sunrise.
Or you can imagine that you are sitting on the side of a stream,
Watching your thoughts float by like leaves or ripples in the stream,
The burgundy maple leaf of worry arriving and floating away.
See if you notice any settling or slowing down of thoughts.
You may begin to notice the space between the thoughts.
Please be gentle with yourself if you realize that you are getting caught up in thought.
Gently and compassionately return to being the observer,
Naming and watching the thoughts dissolve.
I invite you to offer yourself gratitude for your mindfulness practice today.
May I continue to look deeply into my mind,
My heart,
And my body.
May I see things and meet things as they are.
