Thinking

Thoughts

“Some of the worst things in my life never even happened.” ~Mark Twain

“Don’t believe everything you think” ~Bumper Sticker

Overview

The goal of Mindfulness Meditation is not to have an empty or silent mind. Though this might happen sometimes briefly, the goal of Mindfulness Meditation is to be present and aware. That means there will always be something to be aware of. In Mindfulness Meditation, thoughts come and go and you observe the process of this happening rather than becoming involved in the content of the thinking. Notice that you are thinking rather than noticing what you are thinking about. Notice that thinking is happening and observing the passing nature of our thoughts. As soon as one thought finishes it is instantly and effortlessly replaced by another thought.

There are two kinds of thinking:

• Observational Thinking – Noticing or observing that something is or is not happening. Sometimes it can be helpful to think of observational thinking as a single word such as: sound, silence, dark, light, temperature, feelings, thinking, etc.

• Discursive Thinking – The content of thinking, what you are thinking about, the specific ideas, stories, fantasies, or imaginings that are the content of thinking. Sometimes it can be helpful to think of discursive thinking as a sentence or paragraph or chapter or book of thoughts.

Observational thinking can slip into discursive thinking like this: You may be observing that you are experiencing sound. It can also be observational thinking to note that it is the sound of a human voice. It can be observational thinking to notice your positive or negative or neutral relationship to this sound of this human voice that you are hearing right now. At this moment you are noticing both the sound and your relationship to the sound.

Observational thinking slips into discursive thinking when you begin paying attention what the human voice is saying, when you get caught up in the content of the human voice’s words and meanings, or when you begin imagining who the person is or who the person is talking to or why they are talking the way they are (i.e. accent, volume, word emphasis, etc.). Even if it turns out that you are right about all these details real or imagined, you are involved in discursive thinking – the story about what is happening, the “why” of what is happening, the “who,” “what,” “when,” and “where,” of what is happening. When this happens, depending on where you are in your meditation practice, you can either bring attention back to the breath, to again anchor you in the present moment and stabilize attention or you may simply bring awareness back to observational thinking. Mindfulness is a exercise of maximizing Observational Thinking and minimizing Discursive Thinking. With continued practice eventually you will find most discomforts, pain, stress and suffering in life involve Discursive Thinking.

Formal Practice Instructions

For those people new to meditation start off with attempting a MEDITATE DAILYish for at least 5 minutes per day. Start where you can. What’s important is that you start, not whether you start “right” or are doing it “right” or “consistently.” You’ll need to MAKE time because you won’t FIND it. Our schedules, habits and reactions in everyday life will always seem more demanding and important than sitting to meditate. When first establishing a Mindfulness practice often people find it helpful to schedule it right after an activity you perform on a daily basis to help remind and cue you to Meditate. Begin with Mindfulness of Breath Meditation. Once you feel “settled”, let the focus of attention move from feeling the breath to noticing whatever thoughts are happening right now. You do not need to do anything about them. You don’t need to figure them out or make them go away. Let attention rest on whatever thinking is happening. Are the thoughts about the present, the future or the past? Are they fantasies? Are they about you or others? Are they evaluations and critical or judgment or appreciative? Are they “shoulds” or “coulds”? Are they agitated or rejecting or peaceful and accepting? Are they more positive or more negative?

Notice the quality or tone of the thinking that his happening. Is it loud or quiet, harsh or gentle, critical or kind, insistent or relaxed, certain or tentative, rapid or slow? Notice the energy of the thinking. Is it strong or weak? Does it pull you into its content? Does it leave you alone? Are you attracted to and interested in the content and do you go to it? Notice the tone and energy of the thinking and your relationship to it. Are you for or against it? Do you experience it as positive or a negative? Notice if there is any judgment about the tone of the thinking.

Resist judging the kinds of thoughts. Remember that mindfulness is about noticing, observing in a friendly, open and curious manner. You don’t need to do anything with, to or about the thoughts. Just notice. If attention gets caught up or lost in the content of the thinking or becomes stuck, gently bring it back to the breath. Focus attention on the breath until it feels “settled” again, then move the focus from feeling the breath back to whatever thinking is happening.

Informal Practice Instruction (Everyday Life)

Each day, while engaged in an ordinary routine or activity, devote 15 to 20 minutes per day for “being” with thinking rather than “doing” anything about it. Use a timer or some other reminder to begin and end. Notice and label the kind of thinking that is happening. What are the qualities of the thinking? Is the thinking that is happening related to what you are doing? What emotions do you experience in the presence of the thinking, what is your relationship to the thoughts? What physical sensations do you notice throughout the Body while the thinking is happening? Notice if and how the thinking is affecting whatever it is that you are doing at the present moment.

Open Awareness

“The suffering and stress that mindfulness practice is meant to help address is less about how things are and more about our relationship to how things are. Fortunately freedom is not as much about what is happening in the world or within us, but more about how much freedom we have in relating to what is happening.” -Gil Fronsdal

Theory

Often, the start of a Mindfulness Meditation begins with focusing on bringing attention to the breath, feeling the physical sensations of breathing, and using them as an anchor for grounding Awareness into the present moment. When attention inevitably drifts away, is drawn away or gets lost or caught up in something else, the attention is gently brought back to focusing on the anchor of your choice. With practice that strengthens and stabilizes attention and an increased ability to notice what is happening without getting lost in it, you can begin to let the attention move or float to whatever calls it without necessarily returning focus back to the breath. The breath can always be used as an anchor to the present moment, or you can practice Open Awareness (sometimes called Choiceless Awareness).

With Open Awareness, you let the focus of attention move or float to whatever calls to it. You explore it with openness and curiosity. If you get caught up or lost in it, you gently move the attention away from that and let it float until it becomes interested in something else. This is called Open Awareness because it is open to whatever without getting lost. It is sometimes called Choiceless Awareness because it feels as if the attention goes wherever it wants to go, not directed by us. No focus is chosen by us. With Open Awareness you might notice "everything" all at once, or this specific thing, then that, then another. Within your awareness you may notice:

• breathing happening, sensations in the body happening, emotions happening, and thoughts happening, and,

• the quality of the breathing happening, the quality of sensations in the body happening, the quality of emotions happening and the quality of thoughts happening, and,

• our relationship (pleasant, unpleasant or neutral) to the qualities of and happenings of breath, sensations in the body, emotions and thinking, and,

• that all of these are interrelated and always moving, changing, transforming – alive.

Practice

Begin with Mindfulness of Breath Meditation. Once you feel “settled”, let the focus of attention move from feeling the breath to open, choice-less awareness. Let attention go to whatever calls to it. Remember to pay attention to whatever it is you are thinking, feeling or sensing. Be open. Be curious. Explore. Whenever the attention gets lost or caught up in whatever it's focused on, you can either:

Disengage the attention from whatever has captured it and let it float to whatever else calls to it.

OR

Bring the attention gently back to the breath. Sustain it on the breath until the attention feels focused and stable, then let it go again to whatever calls to it.

If the attention returns somewhere it's been before, be sure you don't just become lost in it. Explore a different aspect of this "same" place. For example, if attention keeps returning to the content of thinking, a story or scenario playing out, when you disengage attention and it returns, then bring the focus of attention to another aspect of thinking. Instead of the content of the thinking, the story or scenario, focus on a quality of the thinking such as the intensity or duration or emotions happening at the same time or physical sensations happening at the same time. If the attention doesn't feel "free" or "floating," then bring it back to the breath and use the sensations of breathing as the anchor to the present moment.

Discomfort, Pain & Stress

“There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life.” – Tara Brach

“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” ~ James Baraz

Theory

Discomfort, pain, & stress(DPS) are more than just physical sensations felt throughout the body. More often than not our experience of these unpleasant sensations are heavily influenced by thoughts and emotions which further amplifies the intensity and duration of the suffering . Mindfulness may be used to change one’s relationship to (DPS) either by decreasing the subjective experience of the unpleasant stimulus or by increasing your tolerance to (DPS).

Shinzen Young in his book, “Natural Pain Relief”, provides a mathematical equation illustrating this concept.

Suffering = Stimulus (Discomfort, Pain, or Stress) x Resistance

For example consider someone with slight pain at a level 1 who resists the unpleasant stimulus at a level 10, the person will experience suffering that equates to a 10. Now consider someone with chronic pain at a level 10 but they resist the pain at a level 1 that person’s suffering will equally equate to a 10. But what happens when someone doesn’t have any resistance or their resistance is at a level 0. As we have learned in basic math anything multiplied by 0 equals 0 or no suffering at all. Play with the equation. Plug and substitute different numerical values in the variables to gain insight on how you may be exponentially increasing or possibly decrease the amount of suffering in your life. Try to always keep in the back of your Mind the old wise saying, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional”.

Practice

Begin with Mindfulness of Breath Meditation. Once you feel “settled”, let the focus of attention move from feeling the breath to any physical sensations of discomfort or pain.

• Focus attention on the painful or uncomfortable physical sensations.

• When attention moves into emotions or thinking, bring attention back to the physical sensations.

• Notice the specific location(s) of the physical sensations.

• Notice the specific contour(s) or shape(s) of the physical sensations.

• Notice if the sensations are stable or changing.

• Find the central location of the sensations. Notice sensations just a bit to the right or left, above or below that central location. After awhile, notice sensations just a bit to the right or left, above or below of those sensations. Continue noticing sensations further and further away from the center. Notice if you observe any type of resistance to the (DPS) and if so is it possible to make a subtle mental shift of moving towards acceptance to let go of any resistance.