Managing Thoughts With Mindfulness

This session guides you through basic, effective techniques for developing mindfulness. New to the practice and not sure where to begin? This easy-to-follow introduction is an excellent starting point. Intermediate practitioners may enjoy using this practice (on and off the cushion!) to find some space from the ever-thinking mind, and spiritual veterans might like to revisit these building blocks to see what new things await discovery. Namaste!

Transcript

Hi,

This is Ron Levine from Mindfulness in Blue Jeans,

And this is Managing Thoughts with Mindfulness.

I'd like to go through a brief exercise before we begin the actual session.

It's optimal to be in a quiet place where you won't be disturbed as you're doing this,

But if that's not possible right now,

That's okay too.

We're going to go through a quick series of steps focusing on each of our senses.

Take a few moments to soften your gaze with your eyes opened or closed,

And focus on a particular object.

Even if your eyes are closed,

You can still focus them and look at the insides of your eyelids in front of you.

If you're looking at a particular object,

Softly observe it.

Take the next few seconds to observe everything that you can notice from a visual aspect about whatever it is that you're looking at.

Now let's shift our focus to sound.

What are we hearing right now?

Are we hearing something that's happening outside?

Something that's happening inside?

Perhaps we're hearing silence.

Whatever it is that we're hearing,

Let's just observe that.

Notice it exactly as it is.

Now let's shift our attention to what we are smelling.

Is there an odor in the air?

Pleasant,

Unpleasant,

It doesn't matter.

Just noticing if there's anything there.

Or maybe we're just noticing the sensation of the air coming in and passing out through our nose or our mouth.

Now let's move on to taste.

Are we experiencing any kind of a taste right now?

Whatever it is,

Let's just observe it.

Simply notice your sense of touch.

What are you feeling?

If you're sitting,

Perhaps you're feeling your legs up against the chair.

Or perhaps you can touch your fingertips together and observe those sensations.

Let's just look at that for a few seconds.

So I have a confession to make.

I did say that we were going to go through that exercise before we started the actual session.

The truth is we did just practice a form of mindfulness meditation.

My reason for phrasing it the way that I did was because when we think of meditation we often come up with all of these grandiose mental pictures,

Beautiful sunsets,

Being out on a beach,

Being very peaceful,

Perhaps a guru on a mountain top.

That's a lot of pressure.

Mindfulness meditation is extremely basic and it's extremely simple.

In fact one of the things that makes it so difficult is keeping it simple.

So this was a way to establish a baseline for our mindfulness practice.

It's really just that basic.

It's that ordinary.

But practiced consistently and developed in the way that we'll begin shortly,

It can have extremely profound effects.

The reason I went through this specific exercise is because it helped take us out of our minds.

Now it's a little bit funny to think of mindfulness meditation being practiced as a way of taking us out of our minds.

Here we are calling it mindfulness.

But it's a matter of what we're being mindful of.

I often like to say that nobody starts a mindfulness meditation practice because their life is great or perfect.

And usually what's keeping one's life from being great is ourselves,

Our thought patterns.

We as humans have this incredible gift of abstract thought,

But unfortunately a lot of the time we use it in unskillful ways,

Ways that create our own suffering.

Mindfulness meditation helps us break that self-inflicted,

Self-perpetuated cycle of unskillful thought that makes us miserable.

And one of the ways that we can do that in practice is by coming to our physical senses.

By focusing on our perceptive experience,

We begin to gain some breathing room from our thought experience.

Thoughts are real,

But they're not always true.

Practice is simply observing the present moment just as it is so that we can see clearly.

We accept that some experiences are unpleasant without getting caught up in them emotionally or trying to push them away.

It's simple,

But it's not easy.

But it gets easier with practice.

So let's begin.

If you are seated in a quiet area,

It's recommended to have your hips higher than your knees,

Keep your back straight,

Not tensed.

If there is tension,

That's okay,

Just observe it.

You don't need to add any extra tension or hunch your shoulders.

Imagine that you're being suspended from the ceiling by a string that's attached to the top of your head.

Sitting comfortably,

But alert.

You could be on a cushion,

You could be sitting in a chair,

Whatever is comfortable.

Once again,

Close the eyes gently,

Or allow the gaze to soften and look downward towards the floor.

This time we'll begin with the breath.

Observe the quality of the breath.

Not in a judgmental sense,

Just seeing how it is.

Remember we're not trying to attain some kind of transcendental state,

We're not trying to relax,

We're simply observing what's happening.

There's no need to shape or control the breath.

We're inquiring.

Is it long?

Is it short?

Is it deep?

Is it shallow?

Does it seem to change with each inhale and exhale,

Or is it relatively consistent?

We're just asking.

We're just noticing.

Feel each breath rise and pass away.

Perhaps begin to notice the gap in between each inhale and exhale.

Breathing happens automatically.

We don't have to do anything.

See if you can observe the breath coming and going on its own.

Allow your body to do what it knows how to do,

Without interference.

Thoughts,

Images,

Sounds,

These all might come up.

They probably will.

They'll probably come up very quickly.

That's okay.

As they come up,

We notice that they came up,

And we come back to the quality of the breath.

We might have to do that over and over and over again.

That doesn't mean you're practicing incorrectly.

That is the practice.

Right now,

That is your practice.

Practice and come back.

There are a couple of techniques that I find helpful when trying to maintain my focus on the breath,

But thoughts keep arising.

One is to focus the gaze as we did earlier.

Even if your eyes are closed,

You can still focus on the blackness in front of you.

Maintaining what is called a Drishti gaze,

Paying attention and focusing on what is in front of you,

Can help reduce the rush of mental pictures that your mind will often present when you're trying to make space.

Another technique that I use sometimes is thinking of all of the thoughts that come rushing by as being on a huge conveyor belt,

And realizing that I can allow them to simply go by without picking each one up and holding it and turning it every which way and trying to look at it from every angle.

We can simply let them go by.

And if a really critical,

Shiny thought happens to come by on that conveyor belt and you really feel like you need to pick it up,

It'll come back again.

As we conclude,

You might reflect upon how you feel now compared to when we started.

How has your mindset changed?

How has your relationship to what you're feeling changed?

Which techniques or concepts resonated with you?

What did you find helpful?

Which ones might you be able to take off the cushion and into daily life,

Where the real fruits of the practice grow?

This is Ron from Mindfulness in Blue Jeans,

And thank you for sitting with me.

Reviews

Thank you . That was very helpful . Simple but not easy as you said ! Much love and gratitude ❤️🙏🕊️

Brilliant. Ron teaches how to be mindful from the very beginning steps. I was missing this context as mindfulness on this platform is presented in many ways most often not actually teaching the methods to get to mindfulness but instead starting off smack dab in mindfulness, with minimal direction. If you are a beginner this course may be highly valuable for you.

Very good introductory pedagogy and tips for beginners. Very good teacher and nice voice. I wish it could be longer to give more silent time if I may suggest it . Thank you 🌺 for yr generosity .

Just what I needed. Although I’ve men meditating for many years I use a mantra and this is different. The senses and the breath are always available to use as a focus. I’ll do this again.

Very calming voice 😌 kept my attention well. Brought me back easily when my mind drifted. Thank you 😊

Great track to practice mindfulness. I feel lighter and calmer. Thank you 🙏

Nice refresher for me after falling out of practice. Thanks

The space in this meditation are perfect. Directions clear. I am calmer now and more centered. Will take conveyer belt and breadth awareness into my day. Namaste

Sadly I no longer have a beginners mind, but this was excellent as a back to basics, clear concise well produced meditation with moments of silence. Excellent with a podcasty sort of vibe!

Thank you, Ron ✨🌎🌿🦋🧘🏻‍♀️
Starting my weekend with a wonderful mindful meditation
Be safe!

I found this particular meditation very helpful. All of the things that have been bothering me are now on the conveyor belt in my mind. It was very informative and enjoyable!

Very informative and enjoyed refreshing the techniques! Thank you 🙏

Great explanation and experience of mindfulness meditation. Thanks so much Ron!

The perfect amount of instruction interspersed with periods of silence.

I liked that.
It was simple and helpful

Even though I have practiced and taught mindfulness for many years I am very appreciative of your gentle approach. Thank you!!!

Great introduction to mindfulness meditation. Thank you so much

Very good thank you

Thank you for the timely reminder.
Always good to refresh, to revisit, hear and listen to something new about the old 🙏