Relief From Negative Thinking

This meditation offers you a break from compulsive thinking, and a way to deal with a stream of negative thoughts. Tomek will begin by explaining the ways we harness counter productive thought patterns, before delving into a lovely mindfulness and breath practice. Particularly useful when you are under a lot of stress.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

Thank you for joining me in this meditation created for all those who seek a relief from negative thinking.

Kogito Ergo Sum,

I think therefore I am,

Became a fundamental element of Western philosophy and the foundation upon which we built our modern civilization.

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 is 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.

Do you remember last time when you were obsessing about something happy?

No need to beat yourself up though.

This is the way we evolved.

For most of the time in history,

Protecting ourselves from danger was more important than having 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.

Thinking is a very sophisticated instrument of survival.

In psychology this is being called a negativity bias.

Using a metaphor of Dr.

Rick Hansen,

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

Thinking 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.

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 you to guide you into meditation in which you can see it for yourself.

Begin by finding a comfortable position.

Sit with your back straight,

But not rigid.

Allow your breath to flow freely.

Your feet resting on the floor,

Giving you support,

Centering you.

Your hands in your lap.

Allow your eyes to close.

This is your starting point.

Check in with yourself and ask yourself,

How are you feeling right now?

It may feel pleasant or not pleasant.

It is what it is.

Start here.

As your body settles in,

Notice your breath.

Notice how your breath flows in and out of your body,

Regardless of the situation.

Connecting with your breath is the starting point of this exploration.

Think of your breath as your best friend,

Always there,

Not judging.

And in the same way as you would do with your best friend,

Start listening.

Breathing in,

Fresh,

Cold air comes in through your nostrils.

Comes to your chest,

To your belly and then on the way out through your belly,

Chest and nose.

As the inflow of air comes in,

Your chest rises and falls.

Your belly expands and contracts.

Your entire body reacts to this simple action of breathing.

Within the breath,

Find a point to which you can hold on.

Perhaps it is the sensation at the tip of your nose.

Perhaps it is the fact of expansion and contraction of your chest.

Or perhaps you can feel your breath in your belly as it rises and falls.

Once you find that point through which you can observe your breath,

Stick with it throughout this meditation.

Now that you made a connection with your breath,

Allow yourself a moment to be with it.

And as you do it,

I'm sure you notice how the attention to your breath competes with the stream of thoughts.

Recognize that process of thinking.

Thinking is like a stream next to you,

Always present.

That stream however is not you.

That's not who you are.

If you are very present,

You may notice the change of thoughts.

One thought pattern appearing,

Staying for a moment and then passing away.

I'd like you to notice how attached you are to the content of these thoughts.

As you notice the process of thinking,

Some of those thoughts may be perceived as pleasant and some of them as unpleasant.

Imagine yourself sitting on the bank of the river,

Observing boats passing by.

Every boat has something to offer.

Some boats are smaller,

Some boats are bigger.

But one thing that they have in common is that they come and go.

And so you sit on the bank of the river,

Breathing in and out,

Observing those boats,

Observing those thoughts coming and going.

Because there's nothing wrong with it.

And sometimes you find yourself jumping on one of those boats and you start exploring,

Perhaps even joining the party on the boat.

But then you realize this is not what you want to do.

And also gently and calmly you get yourself back to sit on the bank of the river and return yourself to simply watching and noticing.

As you sit and observe the boats coming and going,

You feel calm and content.

And there may be a time when you find yourself on the boat and you don't know how you got there.

Without analyzing or trying to find out how,

You simply bring yourself back.

And once again,

Enjoy the view of the river and the boats passing by.

Thank you.

And now it's time to return.

You become aware of the environment around you.

Become aware of the chair that you're sitting on.

Become aware of your body.

Feel your feet resting on the floor.

You feel your hands in your lap.

Hear the sounds.

See the bright and dark spots in front of your closed eyes.

And finally,

Add some movement.

Wiggle your toes.

Move and stretch your fingers.

Also gently tilt your head to the left.

Feel the muscles stretching on the side of your neck.

Tilt your head to the right.

Back to the center and take one deep cleansing breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

And when you're ready,

Open your eyes and welcome back.

Thank you for taking your time to meditate with me.

The meditation you just did may help you to disidentify yourself from the thinking process.

Only in times when you feel overwhelmed,

When negative thoughts dominate your life.

Thank you for listening and meditating with me.

I wish you a wonderful day.

Reviews

This is such a powerful technique—it has really helped me. Thank you!!

Tomek is an excellent teacher. Love, "some boats are bigger...", yes they are and we just need to allow them to sit in the dock till they're ready to go.

Nice meditation, thanks.
But it would be good to go further and refocus towards more positive thoughts.

Dear Tomek,
Thank you soooooooooooooooo much for this wonderful meditation. It is one of the best meditations I’ve ever had!
It helped me to review what I had learned about thoughts and then brought me fast to the solution and right way to behave them! I am feeling much better!
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💐

Tomek is the most effective guide I have ever listened to.

Made me aware of my compulsive thinking. Thank you.

A good explanation and experience that my feelings are important to recognize. There is a reason for feelings, which need to be experienced and accepted without judgement to discover their purpose. With breathing, it allows a pause, and the awareness of choice; the awareness that every situation , every feeling, and every thought will pass. I can make the choice to move forward. This is a process. There’s nothing magical about it. This meditation is a good reminder of the process that happiness is always available, yet through the experience of life negative things or negative feelings happen. The importance of a pause is I have the choice what to hold onto, and the ability to allow the negative feelings to pass. Also the knowledge that every situation changes with the choice I make to work with it to move forward towards a positive experience.

A great tool you have shared for now and the future in times of overwhelm and negative thoughts. Thank you

Beautiful, gentle and peaceful. Exactly what I needed to move some energy. Thank you!

So powerful that I want to hear it a few times. 😎🦋🙏🏻

Dear Tomek, I found the visualization of sitting on the bank of a river and watching the boats (my thoughts) come and go, very helpful in getting rid of my negative thoughts.

With gratitude and love,
S

This is a meditation I come back to. I appreciate the boat analogy and Tomek’a guidance.

A nice guidance for awareness of thoughts. Thank you, Tomek! 🙏

One of the best meditations for intrusive thoughts that I’ve found. I was able to return to the shore much earlier during and after the practice.

I had a truly fantastic experience with this meditation. It not only helps clarify your thoughts but also brings a profound sense of calm. Thank you so much for this wonderful practice.

Love the boat analogy. Ive Lways heard clouds or leaves floating. But the boat, you can get in and out, get "attached" to the thought. And I want to practice just gently coming back to the shore. Not berating myself for having gotten into the boat.
I cant be kind and compassionate to myself yet, but I can be neutral.

Thank you! I'm grateful for this short but intense moment. Perfect and precious! 🙏🏼

Wise words! Negative thoughts are overwhelming when they appear and even though I’ve meditated for years now, they still annoy me . I loved the term “ negative thoughts are like Velcro “ This is so true. Thankyou T I shall endeavour to sit by the river and not jump on the boat . ❤️🙏🏽

It's like leaves on a stream but using a river and boats instead of stream and leaves. These are helpful meditations to defuse from your thoughts.

Amazing 🙏 Every single time your meditations do me good! Thanks for your soothing, calming and helpfull meditations 🤗❤️🙏