Bringing your mind back from thoughts.
Now in this meditation,
I'd like you to pray please bring kind awareness to why you chose this topic.
How your navel,
Chest and head feel when you reflect on this topic.
The emotions that you can associate with these visceral feelings.
The positive or negative impact of any stories you believe regarding your thoughts in meditation.
And remembering the fact that many others are feeling very similarly about this as you.
Bringing awareness to how you might feel with increased awareness around this topic.
And when you can apply increased mindfulness to this in your every day.
Now thoughts are a part of everyone's human experience.
You don't need to push them away in order to practice.
But by learning to bring your mind back from its thoughts,
That is the practice.
But how do you let go of thoughts once they've already pulled you in once you get carried away in them.
This meditation offers one way to unhook yourself from those thoughts and simply let them be.
Without pushing the thoughts away or denying their presence,
You can be aware of the thinking mind while remaining unattached.
Settle yourself into a seated posture and close your eyes if that's comfortable for you.
Notice the energy in your mind and your body.
And as you come into a period of mindfulness practice,
You may notice the energy of your day resting in your mind and your body.
Your mind may be active,
Your body may feel worked up,
Or you may notice a bit of lingering anxiety.
Let's think of a shaken snow globe with all that energy swirling around.
And as you rest,
As that snow globe comes to stillness,
Those little snowflakes fall gently,
Gently to the ground.
And think of yourself as a snow globe.
Every snowflake as a thought.
When you come to rest,
Those snowflakes float down to the ground.
In this way,
Watch as each one of your thoughts snowflakes falls to the ground.
There's no need to force yourself to calm down.
Just let it happen slowly and organically.
Let it happen.
Now let's bring attention to the breath in your body.
You're using one spot where your breath is felt easily.
It might be the center of your chest,
Your abdomen,
Shoulders,
Or even your nostrils.
Observe the physical sensation of the body breathing.
Observing your breath for a few moments.
Just bring the mind back to your breathing when it wanders.
And let's stick with the snow globe visualization.
Every time your thoughts begin to rise up,
Just watch as they slowly,
Slowly settle back down.
Shouldn'tops Now,
Beginning to open your awareness to include your thoughts and your general mental state.
Now,
Instead of returning to your breath when your mind wanders,
Notice what your mind is doing.
You might notice yourself planning,
Daydreaming,
Figuring out,
Or replaying past experiences.
Whatever you observe your mind doing,
Just let it be.
When you recognize a thought,
What happens?
You don't need to encourage the thought,
But you also don't need to push it away.
Allow it to be and allow it to go on its own.
See if you can watch the passing of the thought as it follows its natural trajectory and leaves the mind.
When one thought leaves,
Awareness comes back to the breath.
Patiently wait until another thought arises it.
Notice it.
Watch the thought.
Feel the emotion of the thought.
And once again come back to the breath.
What is the knowledge I have versus the thought I have?
Notice when you're lost in thought or when the mind has wandered.
The mind has wandered for some time.
If any self-judgment arises,
Notice that just as you would any other thought.
That's all it is.
Self-judgment is another thought.
You can always return to your breath for a few moments to ground yourself back into the practice.
Watching as those snowflake thoughts settle to the ground of your snow globe.
Now releasing your latest snowflake thought.
Bringing attention back to your breath inside your body.
Again,
Choosing one spot where your breath is felt pretty easily.
It might be the center of your chest,
Your abdomen,
Shoulders,
Or their nostrils.
Witness the physical sensation of your body breathing.
Remembering that this is a great practice to bring in every day,
Even if it's just for a thought or two,
A minute or five.
Taking the time to cultivate the awareness behind your thoughts.
Holding the snow globe.
The awareness observing the snow globe and the snowflakes as they settle.
If your eyes have been closed,
Go ahead,
Blink them open two or three times using the transition between your internal world and the external world.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your practice and a part of your day.
Until next time,
I hope you have a wonderful day.
