(upbeat music)
- Today we're going to work
with one of the most common obstacles in meditation,
which is an overactive mind.
And we're gonna go through how to actually be with thoughts
as opposed to trying to push thoughts away.
So when you're ready,
go ahead and find a comfortable position
and then just gently allow your eyes to close.
And we can start with a few deep breaths.
Breathing in.
(instructor inhales)
And breathing out.
(instructor exhales)
Breathing in.
(instructor inhales)
And breathing out.
(instructor exhales)
Allowing the shoulders to drop.
Letting go of any tension or tightness in the body.
Allowing the muscles in your face to soften and relax.
Just letting go of any unnecessary tension.
Setting up this good foundation for mindfulness practice.
And we can also invite some equanimity,
what we practiced yesterday.
And again, just set the intention to not react to anything
with craving or aversion,
to not push anything away
and also not try to grasp onto anything,
but just to let things come and go as they are.
So just setting that intention for this practice.
And then allow your attention to come onto the feeling
of the breath.
Practicing your mindful breathing.
Just asking yourself with your eyes closed,
how do you know that you're breathing?
What movements or sensations in the body
tell you that the body is breathing right now?
And really bringing your attention
to these physical sensations.
Seeing if you can stay with the movement of the breath.
Just following the rising and falling movement.
And today, we're going to practice mindfulness
of thoughts as well.
So when you notice yourself thinking,
we can first acknowledge it.
And then instead of bringing your attention
back to the breath,
just allow your attention to stay with the thoughts
for a moment.
And you can visualize the thoughts
as if they were clouds in the sky.
Understanding that your awareness is like the vast blue sky,
this open expanse.
And all the thoughts and emotions and feelings
are just clouds floating through.
So each time you notice that you've gotten lost in thought,
just take a step back and recognize, oh, another cloud,
another thought.
And then of course, you can always bring your attention
back to the breath
whenever you are not sure what to do next.
Just feeling the rising and falling
of the belly or the chest.
Again, noticing when thoughts are present,
not judging yourself for being lost in thought,
practicing that equanimity, non-reactive awareness,
and then just acknowledge thinking.
Just another cloud floating through.
And this thought will pass.
This thought is temporary, impermanent.
And bring your attention to the present moment.
Reminding yourself that the mind was made to think
and to wander.
So it's not doing anything wrong.
It's not a sign that you're doing the meditation wrong,
or that you're a bad meditator.
It's just the mind doing what it does.
Just the mind thinking.
So see if you can just notice it.
Ah, right now it's like this.
And when you notice a thought,
when you realize that it is like a cloud floating through,
see if you can then turn around and ask, what is awareness?
If the thought is a cloud, what is the blue sky behind it?
Asking yourself, what is this awareness
onto which thoughts appear and arise?
And just feeling that open space of awareness.
Again, returning your attention to the breath
whenever you get too lost in thought.
And we can also send some gratitude to the thinking mind,
knowing how important our mind is
in terms of getting us through the day.
And so sometimes we get frustrated with the mind
that doesn't shut off,
but ultimately knowing that everything the mind does,
it does because it's trying to help us.
The mind is trying to make us happy.
And so just sending some appreciation.
Saying thank you to the mind for doing what it does,
even if sometimes it's a little misguided.
And then to end this meditation, we can take a deep breath.
So breathing in deeply.
(instructor inhales)
And breathing out slowly.
(instructor exhales)
In your own time, just gently allowing your eyes to open.
Reconnecting with the room.
Starting to bring some movement back into your body.
Now you know how to work with thoughts and emotions
in meditation practice.
Tomorrow we'll be working with how to deal with distractions
in the environment.
I'll see you tomorrow.