Meditation is not about stopping your thoughts.
It's about noticing your thoughts without judgment and gently letting them go again and again.
My name is Lori Wald and for the next 10 minutes you have nothing to do.
Mindfulness is an awareness of your present situation as it is,
Not as you would prefer it to be,
With compassion,
With curiosity and with a whole lot of courage.
Lots of people tell me that they can't meditate because their thoughts are just way too fast and they have way too many thoughts.
So welcome to the human race.
We all have lots of crazy thoughts running through our head all the time.
Maybe you have your top 10 hit list of recycled thoughts,
Your favorite ones that keep going through your head over and over and over again.
But thoughts are not reality.
Like a photo of a tree is not the actual tree.
It doesn't have bark,
Doesn't have leaves,
You can't touch it or smell it.
The thought of your mother is not really your mother.
Thoughts are like little tyrants running around in our head and believe me,
They don't have your best interest at heart.
So when I don't know,
I'm not real tech savvy,
And when I don't know how to fix my computer,
What I usually do is I turn it off and then I turn it back on again.
And this reboot fixes almost every problem.
So mindfulness meditation practice is a reboot.
We're sitting,
We're trying to have a more constructive relationship with our thoughts and not let our thoughts control everything.
And to do this,
We just have to notice the thoughts and not engage with them and then come back to something like an anchor,
Like your breath or the sounds in the room.
So let's give it a try.
Find yourself in a comfortable yet dignified position.
No need to sit on a cushion on the floor with your back unsupported.
Sit where you feel like you can sit for the next several minutes.
Or lie down.
And see if you can find your breath.
Just notice the rise and fall of your belly.
Or the way your chest expands and contracts.
Or maybe even the whisper of air in and out of your nostrils.
Comes in cool and goes out warm.
We're focusing on this one aspect of our nervous system that we can control.
Breathing.
If it's easier,
You can focus on the sounds in the room that surround you.
Try to focus on the sounds without attaching a story.
And just come back to the anchor that you choose.
Again and again.
As you become distracted,
Which you will.
You can encourage yourself.
It's OK.
Try again.
I believe in you.
And as a thought distracts you,
Just notice this thought without engaging.
Just notice and let it go.
Hmm.
Isn't that interesting?
Oh,
I notice I'm feeling anxious.
I notice I feel tranquil.
Just notice.
No judgment.
Just gently let it go.
And start again.
Even experienced meditators have unruly thoughts.
You are not so different than anyone else.
Just start again.
If you find yourself lost and tangled in a thought.
What should I make for dinner tonight?
I forgot to do whatever it was again.
It will wait for you.
Just tell that thought you'll be with it when you're done and come back to your breath or the sounds in the room.
It's OK.
Start again.
You're going to get it.
I believe in you.
You can tolerate feelings of discomfort.
You can enjoy feelings of serenity.
Start again.
Losing focus is normal.
Just start again.
Just because you think it doesn't make it true.
We start again.
And now for the last minute.
Just stop trying.
And now for the last minute.
This is Lori Wald.
Thanks for meditating with me.
