There's a thought

There’s a thought… and there’s another one… - this is how my meditations often go. As well as the “There’s rather a lot of thoughts in a row and I was completely lost in it, believing it”.

Are you taking your thoughts to be true?

I often do. It's so interesting: I can see I can have completely opposite thoughts when there are different moods present, and at the time I'll take them both to be true. During meditation I notice many judging, measuring and comparing thoughts. "I'm breathing too fast or too shallow" "I shouldn't have so many thoughts" "my mind should be on the breath" - it's so interesting. And these thoughts can proliferate into "I should be better at this after all these years" to the painful identification thoughts "I'm a rubbish meditator". Haha!

And then at other times when the mind is settled and feels lovely and calm there can be the thought "This is going really well" which can hilariously proliferate into "I clearly have a natural ability for this" "I want to do this all day" "Perhaps I should live on top of a mountain" and soon I’m in a fantasy meditating on top of a mountain in a cave. All rather funny and interesting to notice what the mind does and just keep patiently, gently and persistently letting go of thoughts and bringing it back to the breath with a wry smile.

And when the thoughts do finally cease at least for a while, do you know it’s really rather blissful. Mmmm….

During yoga and meditation or any time we have more self-awareness we can practise a different relationship with thoughts. Noticing how fleeting they are, how insubstantial, gone in a flash. Seeing the process of how they build and proliferate and being curious with a sense of detachment. And a sense of humour here is very useful, in fact probably essential!
And be curious about how and where tension builds in the body with the thoughts, and as you let go of tension in the body thoughts quieten and have less pull to them. How interesting!

And for the painful thoughts - and sometimes they can be agonising - that you have seen so many times before it feels like they are completely true. Practise finding the body, breathing into it a few times and feeling the fullness, steadiness and strength of it and saying "NO" from the whole body. And you can put the thought through the three gates to see if you should discard this thought. Is it true? (And is it really true?)  Is it helpful? Is it kind? And if it isn’t mentally throw it in the bin!
And hold yourself very gently and kindly, because you do deserve this. No matter what your thoughts say.

After all, you don’t have to believe your thoughts. You have a choice.

“Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.”

~Allan Lokos