You’re
following the breath and then you’re thinking
about how wonderful it is that you're finally
meditating and wondering what your friends will
think.
As you sit and place
your mind on the breath, the natural playfulness of
the mind continually arises. You’re distracted
by the movement of thoughts and emotions; the movement
of thoughts easily becomes a flood. You’re
wondering where you parked the car. You’re thinking
about how good a cookie would taste right now. You’re
thinking that you're sleepy and could use a cup of
coffee. These thoughts are little stories we're telling
ourselves. Most of them concern the past and future,
not the present.
Thoughts
and emotions can last a long time, but there’s
a moment when they run their course. At that
moment there’s a natural moment of
awareness, of mindfulness.
Before you know it, you’re swept away by discursive
thoughts and forget that the breath—not the
thoughts and emotions—is the object of our
meditation. When you notice that you’re thinking,
acknowledge it. You can, if you wish, label this —"Thinking." Whether
or not you label, when you notice you’re thoughts,
bring your minds back to the breath. In acknowledging
thoughts, we're recognizing the movement of the mind,
the wildness of the bewildered mind. We're training
in awareness of where we are and who we are. We're
training in being undistracted and focused. We're
training in being fully present.
Which meditation do you think is better:
Resting in total non-thought or discursive
emotional upheaval?
At this stage a certain
amount of thinking is inevitable.
You
can use that label “thinking” for
everything — emotions,
discursiveness, etc. “Thinking” and
come back to the breath. It's
a gentle and unbiased touch.
It's not like a kid
caught stealing cookies: “Bad
thinking.”
Applying the technique
and bringing your mind back to the
breath takes precision. Use gentleness
to keep the process neutral and light-handed.
You don't need to analyze or judge
a thought when it arises—or judge
yourself for having it. The contents
of the thought, whether it's about
the football game or our deepest, darkest
secret, are neither good nor bad. A
thought is just a thought. Chastising
yourself for thinking is also just
a thought.
So the instruction is
to see the thought as a distraction
and come back to the breath. This kind
of gentleness makes for a healthy meditation
practice.
In
Lesson 6 you will learn more about working with thought
in meditation.
When your peaceful abiding has been flooded by a
current of thinking, acknowledge this. Catch it before
it becomes an emotional torrent. Acknowledging it,
you allow the thought to dissipate, and you return
to the breath. You remember that now I’m practicing
meditation and remind yourself that this is not the
time to think about those things but to simply pay
attention to your breathing. Refocus your attention
and say to yourself, "Now I am placing my mind
on the breath."
In
Lesson 6 you will learn more about working with thought
in meditation.
