Throughout the day, we think about 60,000 thoughts. Often times these are the same thoughts or variations of that we had the day before. If our thoughts were recorded and graphed, most of us would be astounded to see how many are negative in nature. Some are flagrant, “I look awful,” and some are not as obvious,
“Man, I really don’t have time for this meeting.” Others may start off as positive but get flipped fairly quickly, “We did a good presentation in the meeting, but I should have done a better job on reporting the numbers.” Negativity is an internal norm, so its as if we can only let only so much positive be created before we clamp it down.
When we focus our mind in meditation, inevitably we begin to have thoughts about how we are doing, “I can’t stop thinking about all the work I have to do.” It’s important to know that these thoughts are part of our conditioning. We don’t just turn off what has become so automatic for us in every other part of our waking lives. You also don’t need to take on more criticism of yourself by thinking you suck at meditation or that meditation is stupid.
Instead meditation can be a chance to become aware of what’s going on for you. It’s a time for you to create space to observe yourself from a little bit of distance. You don’t have to figure out why something is bothering you, just acknowledge, that you are having the experience of the feeling. That distance can be gained by asking yourself, “Where in my body am I feeling this emotion?” When it comes to thoughts, you can project them onto a screen. Again acknowledging what they are but not having to let them carry you away as you try to talk yourself out of having them or even worse having your mind go into scenarios that cause your feelings to escalate. Your inner dialogue in meditation may sounds like, “Ok, I see I am thinking about my presentation at work and wondering if I did enough research. I can feel my anxiety in my stomach, as if someone is jumping up and down inside of it like trampoline.” The mindful act of just being aware of the feelings and thoughts can prevent the emotion center of the brain from taking over and overwhelming your nervous system and mind. Through the practice, this allows energy within the brain to connect to other resources, like inner wisdom, creative problem solving and even objectivity.
To help facilitate your brain shifting in this way, after you acknowledge the feelings and identify your thoughts, think about placing them outside of yourself, at least for the time you have designated to meditate. Placing your thoughts onto clouds that float away and/or imagining your emotions turning into leaves that fall into a stream of flowing water, can be powerful practices that free you from the grips of your own ruminations. Another idea is to let the thoughts and feelings turn into shiny black stones that can simply be put into an imaginary basket you keep by your side. After meditation you can always return to the basket to look at the contents with a fresh perspective.
Register Today
NH’s 2nd Annual Mindfulness in Business Conference
Tues, Sept 9, 2014, 7:45 am -12:30 pm
Center for Health Promotion, Concord, NH
To register call 603-230-7300 or click here.