It is estimated that we have between 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day! That is a lot of thoughts to stop, clear or manage!
However, meditation and focused attention are not about having a clear, thought-free mind.
We are not trying to stop or fix our thoughts and emotions or to force them away.
We are aiming to change the way we relate to the thoughts and feelings that show up in our mind. We do this by not attaching to the them.
One way to manage the busy mind is to imagine our thoughts as fluffy white clouds. See any thought that pops into your mind as a cloud in a beautiful blue sky… and just let it drift by.
As your thoughts come and go and do not engage with any of them. Allow them to float away. By not attaching to the thoughts, you can step back to become an observer.
You might prefer to see your thoughts as traffic flowing through your mind?
Some thoughts keep returning so perhaps you could see these thoughts as taxis? You can choose whether to catch a taxi or let it pass by. By not getting into the taxi, you let that thought go, you do not attach to it..
And why do we want to let this endless stream of thoughts go and not engage? One of the reasons is WE ARE NOT OUR THOUGHTS and WE ARE NOT OUR EMOTIONS!
Try this: Close your eyes for 20 seconds and count the thoughts that pop into your head.
How did you do? At least one thought right? So, if you can COUNT your thoughts you cannot BE your thoughts.
Our thoughts and emotions come and go. They are temporary. But they do a great job of dictating our whole day and often ruin our attempts at maintaining a peaceful mind.
As we relive scenarios over and over, our mind rides a rollercoaster of emotions. Thoughts become feelings and we get stuck in worry, stress, anger and frustration.
So what are we if we are not our emotions?
WE ARE AN AWARENESS – A STATE OF BEING!
We are this ‘awareness part’ of ourselves – a part of us that is always there. It is permanent. And we find it within. In the stillness. In the quiet. When our chattering mind stops chattering! And when we become the observer.
Some say this part of us is pure love. It is what we already are, regardless of the external part of us, which is temporary. We are a spark of the Divine. An energy that can never disappear – which we know is backed up by science.
So let’s practise being an observer of our thoughts. Let’s practise being this awareness part of ourselves. And as we disengage with our thoughts and stop our thinking activity we begin to meditate instead! Hooray!