Free Yourself From Negative Thinking - 20 Minute Daily Insight

This meditation is an invitation to mindfully work with the overwhelm of negative thoughts that invade your headspace. A brief intro followed by meditation. Have a pleasant practice. (20-minute version)
Music by Chris Collins

Transcript

Welcome to The Daily Insight.

My name is Tomek and I'm a teacher here on Insight Timer.

I'm honored that you chose me as your guide.

Today's practice is about learning how to recognize and let go of negative thinking.

Find stillness amidst the chaos of the busy mind.

This meditation is designed to help you when you feel overwhelmed and trapped by negative thoughts.

You will learn how to clear your mind and once again feel yourself.

I wish you a pleasant practice.

Thinking dominates our daily life.

We became so good at it that even when we want to switch off for a moment,

We can't.

For most of the time we are not aware that we are thinking,

Circulating the same thoughts over and over again.

Research shows that up to 95% of our daily thoughts are repetitive.

Perhaps we are not as original as we thought.

Of course there's nothing wrong with thinking.

The problem begins when we start obsessing about something that happened to us.

This can go for hours and days,

Leaving us depleted and weak.

Interestingly enough,

This almost never happens with happy thoughts.

You remember last time obsessing about a happy situation?

There is no need to feel guilty.

This is the way we evolved.

For most of the time in history,

Protecting ourselves from danger was more important than thinking happy thoughts.

Happy thoughts did not help us to survive.

That's why part of our biological software is to worry.

Daniel Goleman,

Famous psychologist,

Puts it this way.

Brain is a very sophisticated instrument of survival.

In psychology this is being called negativity bias.

Using a metaphor of Dr.

Rick Hansen,

Another famous scientist,

Our brain is like Teflon to all positive thoughts and like a velcro to all the bad stuff.

Everything negative sticks and positive is forgotten as soon as it happens.

Does it mean that we have no choice?

Absolutely not.

It's up to us where we direct our attention.

Typical strategy when we feel overwhelmed with negative thoughts is to suppress them or distract ourselves by watching TV,

Eating,

Drinking and other unhealthy habits.

Although this may bring a temporary relief,

It doesn't solve the problem.

As soon as we stop distracting ourselves,

The negative thoughts return and we are back to square one.

Remember the saying,

What you resist,

It persists.

The opposite is also true and what you allow,

It eventually passes.

And this certainly applies to negative thinking.

A surprising way of clearing negative thoughts is to let them be,

Invite them,

Recognize them for what they really are,

Their thought patterns.

This may be difficult to understand and that's why today I'd like to guide you into meditation in which you can see it for yourself.

Begin by making yourself at ease.

Gently shift your awareness into your body,

Noticing every sensation.

Sit upright with dignity,

Softly looking ahead.

Drop your shoulders away from your ears.

Relax your jaw.

Soften your face.

Allow your eyes to close.

This is a wonderful place to start.

Now move your attention to your breath.

This gentle expansion and contraction of your entire body as you breathe in and breathe out.

Tune into this rhythm.

Feel it.

Embrace it.

Now reach out with your imagination.

You are sitting on the bank of a river.

A beautiful morning.

Sun on your face.

Gentle breeze.

As you enjoy the view,

Breathing the crisp,

Refreshing air,

Your mind begins to wander.

A thought,

An emotion shows up on your mental landscape.

A boat appears on the horizon,

Passing from the right to the left.

Your mind is ready to jump on board,

But you choose to stay and watch instead.

As the boat,

Thought,

Passes,

The river becomes still again.

Except for the gentle current moving forward,

Carrying the usual.

You rest in the light,

Enjoying your time,

Breathing in and breathing out.

Soon enough,

Another boat,

Thought,

Emerges.

And for a moment,

Your mind won't react,

Engage,

Judge.

But once again,

You choose to sit still,

Observe,

Respond with calm and kindness,

Honoring the turbulence of the busy mind,

Without getting attached.

The more boats,

Thoughts pass by,

The less you react,

Always bringing your attention back to the stillness of the present moment.

And you continue gazing,

Accepting all the boats that come to your view.

And then,

Another boat,

Thought,

Comes to your attention and once again,

Gently but firmly,

You keep your gaze on the river,

Let them pass by.

You may not be able to stop the boats,

Thoughts,

From coming,

But surely you can let them pass.

Let them for what they are,

Just visitors,

Passing by,

Never staying for long.

There's a comfort in the fact that everything is temporary.

Negative thoughts will stay only as long as you engage with them,

Giving them power to persist.

When your mind disidentify itself with negative thoughts,

You may experience moments of peace and stillness.

Sometimes it's not easy to do it,

But that's why I am here to help you,

To be by your side.

And every time you feel lost in negative thinking,

Taken over by the current,

I'm here to be your guide and bring you back.

And now,

It's time to return.

Begin by recognizing the place around you.

Notice familiar sounds.

Notice your feet resting on the floor,

And your hands in your lap.

Reconnect with the sense of touch.

Change all your physical senses.

Now let us add some physical movement.

Start by gently wiggling your toes,

Moving and stretching your fingers.

And slowly tilt your head to the left,

Feeling how the muscles stretch and flex in your neck.

Tilt your head to the right,

Observing the tension of your muscles.

Bring your head back to the center.

And take one deep cleansing breath in through your nose,

And out through your mouth.

Wonderful.

I hope you enjoyed this journey.

You can use this visualization every time you feel overwhelmed by negative thoughts.

You can always return,

If only for a moment,

To the same river,

To the same landscape,

And find comfort in the stillness that resides there.

For now,

I thank you for listening to this meditation.

It was my pleasure to be your guide.

I wish you a wonderful day.

Reviews

A gentle calming meditation experience. Thank you for doing this one.

Dear Tomek, your meditation was extremely helpful. I intend on going back to it regularly.

With gratitude and love,
S

Wonderful meditation for calming the mind. Thank you 🙏🏼

Thank you for keeping this daily insight. I loved that series and I remember this one. I have it in a list of my favorites. It’s rather perfect. Good prelude, good guidance, just the right music, good length of independent practice.
I vacillate between negative thinking and creative thinking but finding the deep silence remains elusive. Thank you for your help. I continue…

The explanation prior to the start of this beautiful meditation is so beneficial to provide understanding on negative thinking and will be really helpful to so many people.
Thank you.

Thank you so very much! ❤🙏 You are the best in healing those of us with anxiety. I am truly grateful

Thank you Tomek for the reminder of the negative bias of the mind on the reasons why that is.
As well the simple practice to connect with ourselves to re-ground.

Great, calming start to the day. Thank you, Tomek. Just love your talks and meditations so much!

Thank you Tomek for sharing this lovely meditation

I loved the boats on the river and just watching them thank you, this really resonates 🙏💫💛

Thank you Tomek for reaching out your hand of kindness and understanding in this beautiful offering 🙏

A nice place to get away from negative thoughts. Thank you!

Thank you Tomek for blessing us with your time and teachings!🙏

So lovely. I feel so peaceful and relaxed. I hope your day is beautiful. Thanks 🙏🏻 💕

This is one of the most beautiful meditations i have done.

Love soothing sound of your voice . I’m enjoying your meditations most days 🙏

I feel so calm and relaxed having listening to this meditation and free of negative thinking.

Thank you for your guidance and support along my journey to practicing mindfulness!
I find it difficult to visualize as I struggle with striving and trying to hard, which causes dis-ease, resistance and tension: So I am usually only able to sit with following my breathing to allow my thoughts to come and go without judgement of my expectations for any particular meditation haha. Your sessions have been a great opportunity for my personal growth and learning on what works for me at any moment in time. Much appreciated and many blessings and thank you to you 🙏

Loved this.
I really enjoy your guidance Tomek.
I’d love an advanced meditation from you with a short 5 min or so introduction followed with 30 mins (or more) of music/sound only. I always continue after your meditations finish myself anyway, would be nice with sound. 🙏🌻

Geest thank you!