Two mornings ago I woke up, washed my face, brushed my teeth and headed for my meditation cushion. I set the timer, closed my eyes and started meditate.

Not even 1 minute into it and my head started producing an incredible number of different thoughts, ideas, considerations… I was jumping into the past, projecting it into the future, only to move back to the past… oh, I lost focus, I’m breathing in now, I’ll stay focused now… why am I so unfocused today, I even woke up early for this… oh I lost focus again, …

Has this happened to you as well? I think so, this is very common.

It is normal for our mind (and brain) to create thoughts. To the point that it is not really possible to have an empty mind.

Yes that’s right: it is not really possible to have an empty mind! If you are an experienced meditator, you may live short glimpses of an empty mind. But not more than these.

The point is that having an empty mind is actually not the point!
When you meditate thoughts are allowed!
When you meditate your mind will still think.

 

The mind secretes thoughts like the salivary glands secret saliva. 

 

I often joke with my clients and say that if they have an empty mind, they should go and see their doctor as there might be a big problem with their brains!

 

Practising meditation is NOT about having a blank mind, with no thoughts. It is about what to do with the thoughts. 

Also, it is not about pushing your thoughts away or feeling guilty because you are thinking. It is about acknowledging the thoughts and letting them go.

 

When I meet people and I tell them that I teach Mindfulness Meditation courses, many say How nice! I’d love to be able to meditate, but it is not for me. I have an active mind. I tried and meditation is not for me. 

In reality everyone can meditate. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.


Practicing Mindfulness Meditation means developing a skill. It is proper mind training.
If the mind has been trained to be unfocused, you can now train it to be focused.

Why should you do this? Everyone has their own WHY, but I think that knowing what scientific studies have discovered is very inspiring. At least it is for me.

To name only a few of the benefits, people who meditate:

have more grey matter in their brain,
are better able to focus
they have better memory,
they are more productive,
they procrastinate less
they are more resilient to stress and bad moments
…
but more than anything, they become aware of what their inner voice tells them all the time!

In a moment like the one we are currently living, this is a very important skill to cultivate.

I find that is helping me to be more resilient. To accept moments of uncertainty and stress, and to let them go after having properly acknowledged them.

SO what can you do if you meditate and the mind gets very busy with thoughts:

1- Sit (a chair is perfect! you don’t need a cushion). Set a timer on your phone, place the phone on the ground and close your eyes.

2 – Choose what you’ll be meditate on. Meaning: choose where you’ll place your attention to. You can place it on anything as long as it is something happening at the present moment. It can be sensations in a part of the body (e.g. the sensations at the tip of the nose), the spontaneous inhales and exhales of the body breathing, a mantra that you silently repeat. Or you can even just watch the flame of a candle and only focus on the flame, without attaching any meaning to it.

3- At first the attention will stay on the chosen object of focus, but after a few moments a thought will pop in the mind. The attention may get seduced by that thought and soon you’re lost in a story.

4- You become aware that you’re not focusing anymore! NO PROBLEM. Remind yourself that in that moment you’re aware and present, because you noticed this. Smile internally and simply return your attention to the focus. Without any judgment of what has happened.

5 – The attention gets seduced by other thoughts! NO PROBLEM! you’re again experiencing a moment of awareness, smile internally to that and return the attention to the focus. You may need to return the attention to the focus 100 times every 2 minutes. THAT IS OK!

If you have an active mind I hope you’ll try this.
Meditation practice is not staying, it is returning!

 

To a healthy, strong and free mind,

Laura