This meditation is a thought-watching mindfulness practice,
A dedicated moment to examine what's going on in our minds.
The purpose of thought-watching is to get to know the mind,
To build awareness of the mind.
And for just a moment,
Let's reflect on why that's important.
Why build awareness of our own minds?
Why take a look at our thoughts?
Well,
When we don't look,
When we don't have awareness of our own thoughts,
We unwittingly and unknowingly allow our patterns and our impulses to take control.
Without awareness,
Our higher selves,
Our wise minds,
Lose control.
And our minds are powerful.
They are going to be powerful whether we turn our awareness to our minds or not.
So to build awareness of the mind requires practice,
And we'll spend the next little while practicing,
Drawing our awareness to our minds and the flow of our thoughts.
Our thoughts are always flowing,
Like water in a river.
So let's begin our thought-watching mindfulness practice.
Wherever you are,
Begin now by closing your eyes.
And take a deep inhale through your nose,
And exhale out your mouth.
Another inhale.
Exhale.
One more inhale.
Exhale.
And allow your breathing to become normal.
So imagine yourself on the bank of a river.
Get to know this river bank.
Look around at your river bank.
And imagine if there are any visible rocks in the river before you.
Notice the power of the water.
Is it a shallow stream or a rush of water?
Take note if the sun is out.
Look across the river and see the other bank.
And take a look at what's over there.
On the other side of the river,
Maybe trees,
Maybe rugged beauty or a curated landscape.
It's all good.
It's your river bank.
Take a moment to imagine your surroundings.
And no matter what it looks like in your surroundings,
Your river bank,
The river before you is ever-flowing.
The nature of rivers is to flow.
Just like the nature of our minds is to flow with a stream of thoughts.
So set your gaze on the river's flow.
Look down at the seemingly never-ending stream.
And perhaps it helps to imagine that there are leaves floating on the river's surface.
A physical sign of the movement and the energy of the river.
Okay,
Here's the practice part.
The practice is to turn your attention to your thoughts,
Simply noticing.
And as a thought arises,
Imagine attaching the thought to one of those leaves in the river.
And watch the thought flowing down the river.
Then,
As the next thought arises,
Place it on a leaf,
And there it goes.
Just noticing,
Just observing.
Now,
Thoughts could be words,
A sensation,
Like hearing a sound.
Whatever the thought is,
However it comes to you,
Placing it on a leaf.
And then seeing what arises next.
You might have the thought that you have no thoughts.
That your mind is empty.
It's okay.
Just awaiting the next thought that arises,
And simply observing.
And the same thought might continue to approach again and again.
Best you can,
Observe the thought and watch it flow down the river.
Maybe that same thought over and over.
Thoughts of resistance,
Like this is hard,
Or I don't like this.
Those thoughts may arise.
Watch these as they come and go.
Trying to stay with the exercise and observe what this experience is like for you.
I'll be quiet for the next little while,
And you won't hear my voice.
Just know that I'm here with you,
Quietly watching my own thoughts.
You're still in the exercise,
You're still observing thoughts,
And my voice is simply a cue.
In case you've gotten lost in your thoughts,
In case you've left the riverbank,
Maybe without realizing it or even intentionally,
I'm just here to remind you that you can return to the riverbank and watch your thoughts.
So we'll do this a little bit longer.
Still in the exercise and just mentioning here that right now,
You are building awareness.
And with awareness comes an ability to influence your own mind.
So you're practicing that right now.
All right,
Beginning to let go of this exercise.
And allowing the mind to let go of the riverbank image,
If you were still imagining that riverbank.
Just returning your focus briefly to your breath.
Observing the feeling of air flow in and out of your body.
And taking just a moment to reflect on your experience.
What was this experience like for you?
If it was difficult,
What was difficult about it?
What did you learn about your mind?
What did you learn about yourself?
Just by doing this mindfulness exercise,
You increased your mind's awareness.
Instead of having the mind run in the background,
Dictating how we float from one emotion to another,
From one activity to the next,
From one room to the next.
You brought your awareness to your own mind.
And with that awareness,
You are granted the power to make decisions.
You get to decide which thoughts are worthy of spending more time with.
Which thoughts we can let slip away without any further attention or energy.
You've just empowered yourself to have a little more influence.
And thank you for taking the time and for having the willingness to go through that experience.
It's my honor to have accompanied you.
And as you go about your day,
I wish you awareness,
Harmony,
And joy.
