Foundations for Mindful Meditation Practice
First, a quick experimental activity:
Here is a meditation concept you must try for just one minute. It usually quickly dissuades anyone from doing meditation. But wait, don’t worry; be curious; you will get the answers here later. OK, let us start the one-minute meditation:
The task: Try not to think about anything for one minute in this meditation.
Close your eyes. Your time starts now. After one minute, slowly open your eyes, and don’t be critical or blame yourself for how your meditation went. Review how it feels.
It’s entirely normal for thoughts to drift during meditation. If you’ve ever meditated, you’re likely familiar with the experience you just had. The chances are that your mind wanders into various thoughts, with imagery popping into your head. This is a natural part of the process, so there’s no need to be too hard on yourself.
Have you ever noticed that your mind is constantly filled with thoughts and ‘mind chatter’? It’s a common experience for everyone. When you sit down to meditate, your mind naturally drifts into thoughts, and that’s perfectly normal.
The Object of Focus
In meditation, your object of focus to meditate upon is usually your breath. Meditation is simply this: regardless of what it is, you will not identify with the mental ingredients of your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, or outside distractions. Just observe them like a sightseer. Allow them to appear as you watch them and pass away without getting involved. Just be aware so you can see through the thoughts as the turbulence subsides and the murky waters settle. A Human being is a complex system, especially the mind, which is the fuzziest. I have observed that people are hesitant or afraid to explore their minds’ inner contents and experiences. They want to forget the stories or tuck them away somewhere in the back of their mind to avoid the pain. However, it’s essential to understand and come to terms with these experiences so they can be closed healthily.
And so, all meditation programs detail one condition, one attitude, or one facet of our mind, heart, Consciousness, and body’s ingredients with a commentary on that particular aspect of ourselves. Read on, and you will find the answers in this article. Then, you can follow it with the ‘Mindful meditation script’ article here to do the meditation.
Thoughts arise and disappear like clouds in the sky.
Meditation is a straightforward practice. You close your eyes and focus on an object, usually your breath. It’s common to find yourself getting caught up in your thoughts. This is perfectly normal, so there’s no need to be disheartened. The important thing is to be grateful for the moment of awareness when you realize your mind has wandered and gently guide your focus back to the object of meditation. In the following article, we’ll explore guided mindful meditation, which offers a step-by-step approach to the practice. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the steps, you can meditate independently without needing the provided instructions.
Life is dynamic, and vast amounts of information come from the surroundings to the body and mind every second. Based on the current data, the brain also repeatedly brings up past experiences and fragments of other information, which it might have stored consciously or subconsciously. The brain’s job is to bring forth all that information. The mind craves your attention upon the thoughts, and you start drifting into thoughts.
And that is the “mind chatter,” which never stops daily. Your thinking mind will jump back and forth with the thoughts that arise. That is why it is called the “monkey mind.”
If the mind is thinking, then who is watching the mind thinking?
Observe that when you meditate, your mind keeps wandering back to different thoughts, like what you have to do after meditation or at work, and so on. When you become aware of the wandering, you bring your mind back to the object of meditation. In such a situation, who is watching the mind wander and worry about work tomorrow? Clue, the thinker, is also a thought. Consciousness is behind the “I am…” aspect of you, and your body enables it all. Yes, this includes all of your life.
It was your mind watching your mind in the space of Consciousness.
The Secret is hidden between the Thinking Mind and the Observing Mind.
Recognize that you have two minds, the “Thinking Mind” and the “Observing Mind.”
Arising thoughts and thinking is a continuous process. So, we are not wholly in control of the “Thinking Mind.” It is the brain’s job to bring all the information to your attention for you to consider, decide, or let go.
Our “Thinking Mind” and “Observing Mind” work together, so we never paid attention to this detail. Most mental and emotional stress happens because we miss this detail when focusing on things as observers in thinking with Presence. Being aware of your “observing mind” is a different approach to going about your day-to-day life that eventually makes a difference in your quality of life. While considering your thoughts and thinking with “Observing Mind,” you feel grounded and calm, and it gives you control over them. Eventually, you feel at ease and peaceful anywhere and at any time. Understand the subtle difference between drifting and mind wandering with the thinking thoughts. Thinking improves when you are an observer, not drifting away from desires and emotions.
Your Presence in the Present is your real strength.
To truly embody mindfulness and be an observer in every aspect of your life, you must grasp the concept of Presence. ‘Presence is a calm, clear state of Consciousness that allows an open, curious, observant mode of mind. When you are consciously aware, you distinguish Presence by the sensed inwardness of the connection with the existence, eternalness, and the ultimate truth.’ Presence is a subjective personal awareness of being in the present moment, meaning right now. This understanding can bring about a profound shift in your perception and experience of life, making you more aware of your current state and the world around you.
While you continuously focus on the future, you live your life in the mind caught in a trap of thought overload. The vice versa also holds. Surprisingly, did you ever notice that when you go down memory lane, you do it only in the now? Likewise, as you ponder the future, you can think of it only in the present moment. In the advanced course, we will go into more detail about ‘Presence’ in the set on Consciousness.
The Present Moment
When focusing on the future or moving down memory lane, we are unaware of the present moment. We contemplate the next moment or the last moment and thereby miss out on the current moment. Unconsciously, we consider what lies ahead to be more critical or the memories to be more treasured than the present moment. We want to move out of the current moment as swiftly as possible, as if it is of no consequence, by aiming for a far-out outcome that is predominantly or progressively from habit. When you are aware of the current moment, you are an observer in its real sense. Understand the implications of thinking of the future or brooding on the past in the present moment. It affects the immediate reality of life. Life is always lived in the now. Your life involves only the present moment; the past is a memory, and the future is imagination with some planning. The whole description means that you can only live the totality of your life in the present moment, with complete Presence, one moment at a time. In the thinking process, you are not fully present in the current moment nor attentive to the immediate surroundings to fulfill your everyday needs.
Thinking of getting over the present moment to get to some other point in the future is to not live in the flow of life but to live it with struggle. Being in the moment as an observer enables your curiosity and wonderment toward everything in nature. Be true to your life by being an observer, aligning yourself with this moment by giving it your full attention. Presence is about seeing things in the present, even in the future.
You still look towards the future and plan. Still, life’s beauty is in curiosity. It is in the travel itself and not the destination. Thinking and observing both have a place to be effectively used in life. You are focusing on the present moment, and giving it your best guides you to the next beautiful moment. The future, when it comes, will go only at this moment. You can experience the future only when it comes to the now. Life is lived now, not in the distant future or memories.
The following article is “Guided Mindful Meditation for Daily Practice”
Mindful meditation is the foundational daily practice you will do because it will lead you into more profound meditation over time.
Photos Courtesy & by Simon Migaj, Jukan Tateisi, David Clode, and Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash