Dear Friends,
The guided meditation I’m sharing today is from Guy Armstrong.
https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/79/talk/18343/
(~30 minutes. Guided meditation starts ~5:30. No ending bell.)
The recording starts with just over 5 minutes of discussion on mindfulness of thinking.
Guy says we may have
“experienced thinking as something of an enemy because it is the one thing that carries us away from the present moment and causes us to be lost in past and future. … There’s certainly a danger to thought running wild, but thoughts are not a problem if we can bring mindfulness to them. They’re not the enemy. Mindfulness can be developed on a thought just as it can be developed on a breath, a sensation, a sound, or an emotion. Mindfulness doesn’t care what the object is. So thought can be a fine object for mindfulness.”
In Chapter 7 of Meditation and Relaxation in Plain English, Bob Sharples reminds us:
“It’s not easy to work with the mind in this way. Sometimes in your meditation practice you will experience the mind’s activities of thinking, judging, planning, or remembering as being extraordinarily insistent, even overwhelming. If it becomes too difficult, let go of the focus on the mind and return to the breath. … You should always be ready to return your focus to the breath, to compose and settle yourself with awareness of the breath in a kind, gentle and attentive way.”
Bob also says,
“The Buddha taught that our minds have been out of control, driven by karma and delusion, for millennia. It may take some patient, diligent meditation practice to begin to change that deeply entrenched pattern.”
I like this meditation from Guy because he invites us to play a “game” with thoughts. So perhaps you can bring a sense of playfulness and interest and gentle patience to this experience of mindfulness of thinking.
With best wishes,
Andrea G