For meditators, old and new, expert and novice, thoughts arise within the landscape of the mind. The difference is in how the experienced versus the novice meditator deals with these thoughts.
How we are with out thoughts when we meditate will determine, to a great extent, how our meditation can benefit ourselves and others. If we’re intimidated by thoughts, or have a difficult relationship with what arises within our mind when we meditate, then our ability to take our “meditative mind” into our daily life and integrate meditation into our life will be a difficult journey.
The whole endeavor of meditation is pretty useless if we don’t learn how to bring the meditative mind, our “wise mind,” into our daily life. The number one reason that we fail to gain stability in that mind is because we take out thoughts so seriously. We like our “good” thoughts, and we fear or try to avoid the “bad” ones.
So, how do we deal with our thoughts? Do we foster good ones and rid ourselves of bad ones? No. Not even close.
When we start to work with our thoughts, the main thing that we want to keep somewhere within our mind is that thoughts aren’t real. Right? After all, we can have hundreds of thoughts occur over the course of a day…or even an hour, and what happens to them? They arise, remain for a short while, and then disappear. So, thoughts have no actual power over us.
What makes thoughts seem “real” is the meanings that we attach to them. We think something good about ourselves and say, “that’s great!” We think something negative about ourselves and think, “what an idiot I am.” All the while, the thoughts just continue to come and go. What makes them persist in our mind is the afterthoughts or stories that we attach to them.
I’m sure that you get this, but here’s an example of how we can make a thought into “something.”
I’m walking down the street and I see a car that I really, really like. Let’s pretend that this car is also an expensive car and that I don’t have nearly enough money to ever hope to buy this care. See where I’m going? My thoughts:
- Wow what a nice car
- I wish I had a car like that
- That car must be really expensive
- I’ll never be able to afford such a nice car
- Why can’t I make more money
- Nursing is so pathetic! I work so hard, and for what? I’m not paid what I’m really worth!
- I should have stayed in computer programming back when I first started in 1979 instead of going into nursing
- Just think of my friend Sebastian, he makes so much money doing computer programming
- He gets to work at home
- If I worked at home I wouldn’t even have the space
- I wish I had a bigger home, but how could I afford a big home
- And, who’d take care of it?
- We’d have to hire a house cleaner and after all…..yada…yada…
GET THE POINT?
Yet, we do this all of the time. From one thought of a car, or person, or food, or job or…we can spiral off into an endless litany of thoughts and emotions. ALL BASED ON A THOUGHT THAT HAS ABSOLUTELY NO EXISTENCE IN AND OF ITSELF!
So, what do we do to deal with our habit of making thoughts into reality? Glad you asked. Have a look at the following key points and see if you can use them in your meditation practice:
- Thoughts aren’t real. Think about this, do thoughts really exist “anywhere?” Or, are they really temporary and fleeting?
- Thoughts have no actual power over us. How does something that doesn’t really exist have any power over us? If they have power, where does that power come from?
- It’s our afterthoughts or stories that make our thoughts seem real. Do you find yourself thinking about your thoughts? What does it take to stop doing this?
- Bringing our mind back to the present, returning to our meditative mind, is how we avoid being trapped by our thoughts. What happens when you practice meditating and return your attention to your breath or the present moment instead of following after thoughts?
- By relying on our meditative mind, we free our thoughts from our habit of making them “real” and allow them to return into the empty space that they came from.
Try working with these points in your meditation and then throughout the day and see what happens. To assist you in your practice, please feel free to download a PDF of these key points. Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts.
How do these tips work for you? Please leave a comment below to let me and others know what works and what doesn’t.
For more information on how to meditate, please see the Related Posts below. Also, don’t forget to download the free ebook, Can Meditation Change the Way that You View Your World?, for help with getting started in you meditation practice, and download the ebook, How to Work with the Four Distractions to Meditation to learn how to deal with some of the obstacles to meditation.
ALSO, visit the Media, page where you can find articles, MP3 tracks for downloading, and videos on the subject of meditation.
As always, please feel free to share your comments. And, as always, please feel free to contact me if you’d like to see additional content or other discussions on this site.
[…] Because we’re working with anger, this exercise may stir up some uncomfortable emotions; it’s meant to. Just be with whatever arises, as you have learned to be with the different thoughts that arise within your mind. […]