day 1
thought webs
the importance of focus
You can't stop the birds from flying back and forth over your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair. - S. Francis
thought webs
the importance of focus
You can't stop the birds from flying back and forth over your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair. - S. Francis
Today you are going to try one of the simplest forms of meditation there is. In the meditation you won't be attempting to go beyond your thoughts, fight against them, or experience anything in particular, but instead you will simply try to get a feel for letting them come and go without attachment. We are not our thoughts.
Our thoughts are only products of our mind. They pull at us and enchant us incessantly, trapping us in a mental word web. We feel as if we are one with them, as if we are our thoughts. Today, quite simply, you are going to question this belief.
Beyond all our thoughts but still within our minds, there is a quiet place, much as a busy city might have a tranquil park within its boundaries. To those living in the rush of city life, such a park may go unnoticed as they speed right past it without so much as a sideward glance. The busy inhabitants have no time to stop and explore. But for those who do, great rewards await.
Once today set aside about five minutes of your time to rest your body and mind. Don't expect too much. Don't even try to understand the purpose behind the exercise. You need not feel stress over anything in this practice. Don't worry about whether or not you are doing the exercise correctly. Just relax and do your best to apply the following:
1. Sit down, make yourself comfortable, and close your eyes.
2. Take several deep, relaxing breaths. Feel the air fill your lungs from the bottom up, holding it for a few seconds before you exhale in one long, extended stream.
3. Relax your body. Take a few moments to get a sense of relaxation in your muscles, letting all the tension drop away as if it were flooding out of you and into the air. Relax your neck and shoulders, your arms and hands, your chest, stomach, and back, and finally your thighs, calves, and feet.
4. Now think to yourself, "I think, but I am not my thoughts." This is your focus sentence. Use it as a focus for your meditation, repeating as often as needed to keep your mind focused on these words instead of the chatter.
5. Between repetitions of the focus sentence, try, as best you can, to observe your thoughts without interacting with them. For instance, if a thought about work occurs to you, you might be tempted to dwell on it or to follow its course to another related thought such as plans for the weekend, when you don't have to work. Instead, when you notice that you are engaging with a thought, stop, note the thought, and then return your attention to the focus sentence. Sometimes you will be successful and sometimes not; in either case another thought will follow. Just continue the process with each new thought.
6. Whenever you realize that you've forgotten about your meditation and have let your mind engage with a thought -- which is likely to be much more often than not -- interrupt your train of thought by repeating your focus sentence, more than once if need be. Think it clearly in your mind, focus on it, and then return to the attempt to let your thoughts drift by passively.Be calm and gentle but also very firm with yourself on this point. Continually redirecting your focus to the meditation -- letting thoughts rise and disappear -- is the whole point of today's exercise. The function of the focus sentence is just to remind you of your meditation. The function of the focus sentence is just to remind you of your meditation.
Our thoughts are only products of our mind. They pull at us and enchant us incessantly, trapping us in a mental word web. We feel as if we are one with them, as if we are our thoughts. Today, quite simply, you are going to question this belief.
Beyond all our thoughts but still within our minds, there is a quiet place, much as a busy city might have a tranquil park within its boundaries. To those living in the rush of city life, such a park may go unnoticed as they speed right past it without so much as a sideward glance. The busy inhabitants have no time to stop and explore. But for those who do, great rewards await.
Once today set aside about five minutes of your time to rest your body and mind. Don't expect too much. Don't even try to understand the purpose behind the exercise. You need not feel stress over anything in this practice. Don't worry about whether or not you are doing the exercise correctly. Just relax and do your best to apply the following:
1. Sit down, make yourself comfortable, and close your eyes.
2. Take several deep, relaxing breaths. Feel the air fill your lungs from the bottom up, holding it for a few seconds before you exhale in one long, extended stream.
3. Relax your body. Take a few moments to get a sense of relaxation in your muscles, letting all the tension drop away as if it were flooding out of you and into the air. Relax your neck and shoulders, your arms and hands, your chest, stomach, and back, and finally your thighs, calves, and feet.
4. Now think to yourself, "I think, but I am not my thoughts." This is your focus sentence. Use it as a focus for your meditation, repeating as often as needed to keep your mind focused on these words instead of the chatter.
5. Between repetitions of the focus sentence, try, as best you can, to observe your thoughts without interacting with them. For instance, if a thought about work occurs to you, you might be tempted to dwell on it or to follow its course to another related thought such as plans for the weekend, when you don't have to work. Instead, when you notice that you are engaging with a thought, stop, note the thought, and then return your attention to the focus sentence. Sometimes you will be successful and sometimes not; in either case another thought will follow. Just continue the process with each new thought.
6. Whenever you realize that you've forgotten about your meditation and have let your mind engage with a thought -- which is likely to be much more often than not -- interrupt your train of thought by repeating your focus sentence, more than once if need be. Think it clearly in your mind, focus on it, and then return to the attempt to let your thoughts drift by passively.Be calm and gentle but also very firm with yourself on this point. Continually redirecting your focus to the meditation -- letting thoughts rise and disappear -- is the whole point of today's exercise. The function of the focus sentence is just to remind you of your meditation. The function of the focus sentence is just to remind you of your meditation.
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