Dear Friends,
Google “how many thoughts per day”, and you’ll find quite a few articles claiming it’s somewhere between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts! If that’s accurate, that means there’s about a thought per second.
I remember one of the first times I tried meditation. I had this idea that, “I’ll just sit here and be quiet and calm.” You might guess it wasn’t… and you’d be right! 🙂 I had no real idea until that point about how busy my mind is.
“It’s what minds do.” That’s one of the reassuring phrases I hear in Jeanne’s guided meditations.
In MBSR Every Day, Goldstein and Stahl note:
“When you begin to bring mindfulness to thoughts, one thing you notice is some kind of “self-talk” going on …. Over time, we notice how mood distorts the thoughts in one direction or another. When we’re in a good mood, the frequency and intensity of the negative thoughts lighten. … And when there is more emotional distress, the negative thoughts become more intense and frequent.
“But like all things, these mental formations have a life span, appearing and disappearing. Bringing mindfulness to our thoughts not only helps us become more familiar with the way our minds automatically operate but also frees us from having these thoughts dictate who we are and what we believe.”
A little later they say,
“Just intentionally being curious about how your mind works and even labeling certain categories of thoughts widens the space between awareness and the thoughts themselves. In that space is where your choice and freedom lie.”
Here’s a short 5-minute, in which Dr. Elisha Goldstein demonstrates Sitting with Awareness of Thoughts.
https://elishagoldstein.com/videos/sitting-with-awareness-of-thoughts/
I’ll close with this Buddha Doodle…
https://www.facebook.com/BuddhaDoodles/photos/a.326558857436762.74417.324136871012294/910497812376194
With best wishes,
Andrea G