This is a meditation on thoughts by Maggie Stevens.
Thoughts are the work of the mind.
They allow us to create,
Care,
And be joyous.
But they can also provoke fear,
Anxiety,
Or self-hatred.
It's important to remember that not every thought is true.
Some are reruns,
And others,
Well,
They're just fake news.
In this meditation,
We will focus more on the movement of thoughts and less on their content.
As with all meditations,
If I make a suggestion that isn't comfortable for you,
You are in control.
You can choose to turn off the meditation or move to an anchor like your breath or feeling your hands or feet.
So let's begin.
I invite you to take a comfortable position where your back is straight but not arched,
Not stiff.
You may be sitting on a chair or the floor or a cushion.
You may be standing or lying on your back.
As you take your position,
Have your spine straight and your body relaxed.
Take a few deep breaths in and out and let your body settle.
Feel the earth holding you close.
Let the weight of your arms and legs just hang from your bones like clothes on a hanger.
Settle in to your posture.
First,
We'll try a technique of noting the kinds of thoughts that are arising rather than paying attention to the content of the thought.
For example,
You may label a thought thinking or if you like,
You can be more specific,
Planning,
Worrying,
Remembering,
Daydreaming.
Just label it and then let it go.
You may find you have an entire string of thoughts.
It could be planning,
Planning,
Planning.
That's normal.
It's perfectly okay.
Just label them and then return to a wide open mind.
You may think of your mind like the blue sky,
Clear from horizon to horizon.
Clouds come and clouds go.
Some clouds stay,
But they're not the sky.
In the same way,
Thoughts come and go,
But they are not your mind.
As you feel your stillness,
You may think of a mountain.
Maybe it's one you visited,
Seen in photographs or imagined.
See how still the mountain is,
Rooted to the earth.
And above the mountain,
There are clouds in the sky.
They may be fluffy cumulus or wispy high cirrus or towering thunderheads,
But it doesn't matter to the mountain.
It just sits.
Sometimes the clouds dissipate.
Sometimes they drift away with the wind.
And sometimes they hang like fog on the mountaintop,
But the mountain is still.
Seasons change.
There may be torrential rainstorms,
Snow,
Ice,
Or even fierce winds.
This all comes and goes in its own season.
But the mountain observes it all and remains still and unchanged.
When our thoughts are insistent for our attention,
We too can be like the mountain.
We can observe them as they come and go,
And we too can be still and unchanged.
Where is your mind now?
Perhaps it was still like the blue sky.
Perhaps it got on a train of thoughts and left the station,
Taking you along with it.
We can always return to the wide blue sky or get off the train.
We can also see our thoughts like a waterfall.
Each thought's content is like one drop of water.
We can be overcome by paying attention to each individual drop.
But can you be aware of their movement,
The cascade of water flowing rather than each individual drop?
Our thoughts move past us in a rush,
With a lot of sound,
But really no one thought is more important than another,
Nor more distinct.
Now for a few moments,
Let's sit in open awareness of whatever is passing through your mind.
Now bring your attention back to your body and take a moment and think of a few words to describe your experience.
And any time,
You can do a meditation on thoughts,
Making your mind like the wide open sky or as still as the mountain.
Thank you for listening.
