There are two common and interestingly opposite misconceptions about meditation.
1 – meditation is about stopping your thoughts.
2 – meditation is about thinking real hard.
Meditation is not about learning to “stop” your thoughts.
Humans are thinking creatures. We think a lot about a lot of things.
When we are busy DOING we may not notice how much we are THINKING.
When we slow down to just BE, then we are sometimes surprised by how much we are THINKING.
But when our thoughts are disturbing, or when they distract us from paying attention to a chosen focus of attention during meditation, we can become frustrated or discouraged. We may feel like we are not doing it right, or even that we CAN’T do it right. We may think that if taking time to settle and quiet brings these kinds of thoughts, we would rather stay busy!
Meditation is neither about intense mental work, nor about stopping the process of thinking. It is about noticing the thoughts that do arise, and then letting them go. With more experience in meditation, many people find that thoughts arise less frequently. But that is not necessarily the goal or intent. Rather, the goal is to release the habit of allowing one’s thoughts to take charge and demand control. We can learn to notice and observe a thought and not assume that the thought is truth or fact.
We can notice that certain experiences, such as places, physical sensations, time of day or time of year, or even a thought (a thought is a type of experience), will trigger a specific thought, which in turn leads to another specific thought. We often develop thought trains that run over the same track over and over. If this thought train becomes distracting, or worse, destructive…
we can decide to disembark that train and observe from the side. We can learn to observe our thoughts without allowing them to control or drive us. We can learn to notice a thought, and then turn our attention back to what we had set out to focus on during this particular time of meditation.
Many people will become frustrated with efforts to meditate because when they become still, thoughts that seem urgent arise. They feel that they need to take care of that issue immediately, or they feel the need to write down the thought so that they do not forget it. These thoughts are rarely true emergencies. Taking time to notice those thoughts and release them trains our minds to become less reactive. We may fear that we will forget a thought and then lose it if we do not write it down or address it as it arises, however most people find that the important thoughts will arise again. If you notice the same thought arising over and over again during meditation, this might be an indication that the thought deserves some closer attention and inspection.
We begin to spend time regularly in meditation, and begin to let go of our tight grip on the thought trains that seem to have such a tight grip on us. Then we begin to realize that we have some choices. We can decide when to get off the train. We can eventually learn to watch the train go by and not even get on. We may figure out that we have been hanging around the wrong station. We can follow the tracks that lead in the direction of our choosing.
Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.
Allan Lokos