Welcome to this meditation.
We're going to look at some of those intrusive thoughts,
Those uninvited visitors that show up in our minds without warning or permission.
And this practice isn't about stopping your thoughts.
You cannot stop them but you can change your relationship with them and that changes everything.
So let's begin.
Find yourself your seat in your comfortable position whether you're on a cushion or a chair or sitting up in bed.
Just arrive where you are and just feel the weight of your body.
Feel what's supporting you and feel like you've been held.
And just allow your breath to be exactly what it is.
You don't need to do anything with it.
You don't need to change it.
Your body's been breathing for a long time.
It doesn't need any intrusion or any.
It knows what it's doing.
Just let it be.
Allow your breath to be exactly what it needs to be in this moment.
And allow your body to relax.
You don't need to force it.
Just let your breathing.
Your body knows how to relax.
You just allow it to happen.
Allow your shoulders to relax.
Allow your face and your cheeks,
Your eyes,
Your tongue,
Your nose,
Even your ears.
And just allow your arms and your hands.
And the rest of your body just to relax into this moment.
Just allowing this moment to be what it is.
Allowing your breath to be what it is.
Allowing every muscle and every part of your body to be just what it wants to be.
So while you're just sat here now,
I'm just gonna talk you through how the thoughts work and the way I deal with my intrusive thoughts.
So your subconscious mind is constantly generating thoughts.
Sending them up like trains into a train station.
Some are nice and pleasant.
Some mundane.
Some deeply unwelcome.
And you didn't ask for most of them.
They simply appeared.
When an intrusive thought arrives,
Most of us react immediately.
We get annoyed.
We get frightened.
And we argue with it.
We try to push it away.
And in doing that,
We give it exactly what it's looking for.
We give it the attention it wants.
Your subconscious mind watches for two things.
Did the thought create an emotion?
And did the person go with it?
And that's all it cares about.
And it does not matter whether the emotion is positive or negative.
If the thought makes you angry,
The subconscious mind registers that as something important.
It thinks this must be a threat.
Better keep sending it.
If it makes you feel good,
It thinks this is rewarding.
Send more.
Positive or negative,
The message is the same.
This thought matters.
Keep it coming.
So imagine you're sitting on a platform in a railway station.
And the trains are pulling in.
Each train is a thought.
If one arrives you like,
Jump on it.
Enjoy the ride.
Take the driver's seat and go wherever you want.
That's your choice.
But if a train pulls in and it's not what you want,
You don't have to get on board.
You don't have to chase it.
You simply do nothing.
You see it,
You acknowledge it,
And you let it pass.
It's like someone handing you a sweet.
A child coming up to you and going,
Here.
You can say thank you,
Put it to one side and carry on.
And just because a thought turns up,
It doesn't mean you have to do anything with it.
There's no obligation.
You're not doing a deal with your thoughts.
And I think this is most important.
If a thought occurs,
If it turns up,
You don't have to do anything with it.
It really is that simple.
But it takes practice.
A great deal of practice.
Because we've spent a lifetime reacting to every thought,
As though our lives depend on it sometimes.
And over time,
When you stop giving the thought your emotional energy,
The subconscious mind gets the message.
It stops sending it.
Have you noticed when you do nothing with a thought for a while,
And then suddenly you don't have that thought for ages,
And you're like,
Oh I didn't think about that for a while.
That's exactly what we want to happen.
It doesn't happen overnight,
But gradually it learns this one is not needed.
And the train stops arriving at your station.
So let's sit back,
Allow the body to relax again.
Feel yourself sitting on the platform,
Relaxed and alert.
Just gently,
Quietly present.
The station is calm.
You are simply sitting and waiting.
With nowhere to go and nothing to do.
At some point,
A thought will arrive.
Just sit and wait for it.
So when it comes,
Notice it.
What kind of train is it?
Is it a worry?
A memory?
A plan?
A judgment?
Is it a visual thought?
A story?
Just observe it.
And now feel what it's like to choose.
You can board it,
Or you can let it sit and move on.
If it's an intrusion,
Practice doing nothing,
Absolutely nothing with it.
Don't push it away.
Don't get frustrated.
Just let it be there,
And then let it go.
Letting it go doesn't mean doing anything with it.
It just means moving on to the next thing.
No emotion,
No reaction,
Just quiet,
Steady presence.
Another thought will come,
See it arrive,
Recognize it,
And again choose.
If you find yourself accidentally climbed on board,
And you're three stops down the line before you notice,
That's completely fine.
That's not failure,
That's awareness arriving.
The moment you realize you're on the train,
This is the moment you can step off.
Return to the platform,
Sit down,
And wait for the next one.
And keep practicing,
Sitting,
Watching,
Choosing.
Some trains will be tempting,
Loud,
Dramatic.
Notice the pull,
And see if you can simply not respond.
Just simply be on the platform,
Not get on the trains.
You cannot stop the trains from coming,
But the goal is to sit with such quiet confidence that no thought can pull you off the platform unless you choose to go.
And you are not your thoughts,
You are the one watching them arrive and depart.
You have thoughts,
But you are not those thoughts.
And that awareness is always calm,
Always still,
And always free.
And really we're just training our minds to to say what thoughts we want to get onto,
And what thoughts that we want,
The thoughts that we enjoy.
The mind wants to please,
And stay here for a few moments just sitting,
Just breathing,
Just watching.
The more you do this in meditation,
The more you can do it in real life when a thought turns up.
Ah,
There's a thought.
Not today.
And now gently let's begin to come back.
To the five,
Take a slow easy breath.
Feel the room around you,
The temperature,
The surface beneath you.
Four,
Gently move your arms,
A small stretch if it feels good.
Three,
Wiggle your fingers and toes,
And feel the energy returning to your hands and feet.
Two,
Softly open your eyes,
And look around the room,
And let the world come back into focus.
And just take a deeper breath.
So it's just one,
Exhale,
And just land here,
Right here now.
And every time a thought arrives today,
As much as you possibly can remember,
Just go,
Hi thought.
I'm not gonna get on you now.
Yeah,
I'm gonna get on you.
I like this.
This is a nice thought.
I'm okay with this one.
And you slowly train your subconscious mind to give the thoughts that you want,
Just as a train pulling into the station.
And you,
Always,
You get to choose.
I'm Stephen Ware,
And thank you for your moment with me today,
And thank you for your support.
