There's a common misconception around mindfulness meditation that basically the goal is to empty your mind,
To have a blank mind,
To not be thinking.
And perhaps this might be an advanced practice or something that enlightened masters will attain.
But the actual practice of mindfulness meditation isn't the hunting of that space.
The act of mindfulness meditation is to observe reality as it is for what it is right now.
And that reality could quite possibly involve thoughts.
In fact,
I'm certain of it.
When you sit down to meditate and a thought arises,
That is a part of reality.
The thing that is observing,
The sounds,
The breath,
The anchor,
Whatever it is you're trying to observe,
Is also there to observe the thoughts that arise.
So if you find yourself meditating and a thought pops up,
Don't be discouraged.
Don't judge yourself as having a quote,
Bad meditation session,
Or that you're doing it incorrectly.
No,
When a thought arises,
Notice it,
Acknowledge it,
And then gently return your focus back to the breath or whatever meditation object you've chosen.
That's the act of meditation.
The act of meditation is observing what is arising in consciousness,
Both internal to the body and external.
Thus,
When you notice yourself getting distracted,
The act of noticing is the meditation.
That is the goal.
So perhaps after this talk,
You sit yourself down,
Get into your meditation posture,
Do a little bit of calm breathing and set yourself up,
And then just simply observe the anchor that you've chosen,
The breath,
Vision,
Sounds,
Sensations,
Whatever it is.
And when you notice a thought coming,
Just observe that too.
You know,
You're changing the focus of your anchor to the thoughts.
And that's okay,
Because you're observing reality as it is for what it is right now.
Those thoughts arise.
How big are they?
What are they about?
How strong are they?
Is there an associated feeling in the mind or in the body?
Observe them coming and observe them going.
It's like watching cars on a freeway.
They appear,
You notice them,
And then they keep going.
That's the goal.
It's about not stopping the movie.
It's about observing things and listening and watching and seeing them pass.
What you don't want to do is latch onto them and hold onto them and fall into them.
Because the difference between an internal sensation and an external sensation is that you can't hold on to the vision of the car.
It comes and it goes.
But it's very easy,
Or it's easier rather,
To fall into the feeling that arises,
The memories that arise,
Jealousy,
The anger,
The resentment,
Whatever that pops up,
And just sit in that space and let it become you.
That's not what you want to be doing in the session.
You observe it,
But you're detached from it.
You're over here and the emotionality or whatever feeling arises internally is over there.
You're watching it.
You're observing it.
And eventually it will pass,
Provided you sit and watch.
You're not pushing against it.
You're not pulling away from it.
You're not pulling it into you.
You're sitting in your meditation space,
Observing your thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions as they arise,
And then letting them go.
So I invite you,
The next time you're meditating,
Sit down,
Get yourself ready,
Choose your meditation object,
Set the timer,
And begin.
And when a thought arises,
An emotion,
A feeling,
A memory,
Treat it like any other sound stimulus or sense stimulus.
Acknowledge it,
Accept it,
Observe it,
Then gently let it go and return your focus back to your anchor of choice.
And in that way,
You're not forcing the meditation and the mindfulness.
You're simply allowing things to come as they come.
Remember,
Our goal isn't to empty the mind.
It's not to have no thoughts or emotions or feelings or anything like that.
It's to simply observe what is arising as it arises.
Have a great day.
