Mindfulness Practice – Awareness of Thoughts

“We have approximately 80,000 thoughts each day. Unfortunately, tomorrow, 90% of our thoughts will the same as the ones we had today.”
Deepak Chopra

Generally we are so busy thinking that we are rarely able to catch ourselves in the process. The mind may go blank when we confront it directly and it will wander off on another subject altogether whenever we try and hold it focussed.

To become aware of thoughts we need to be relaxed, not trying too hard, and not expecting that all our thoughts will be important.

Look to observe the every day kind of thoughts. You may find that even in a short span of time the mind is considering many things. Multiple layers of thought appear to be occurring: processing a conversation we had earlier, wondering what’s for lunch, engaged in day to day tasks and problems, remembering, remembering almost anything…

The practice this week is not to delve into the past and dig up mental skeletons; if these come then let them come and let them go.

The aim this week is to make contact with and discover the flow of thoughts. It doesn’t matter what they are.

Remember to place yourself as the observer of this flow; aim to be disentangled from the thoughts. If you do get caught up in a particular line of thought then simply let it go; it will have other opportunities to arise.

If you become exhausted from all this thinking then take it easy – focussed effortlessness is the goal. If you feel out of your depth them let the whole thing go and return to awareness of the body, the senses, breathing. Return to the practice when you are ready.

Discover the space within you that is able to observe any thought, any action, without being caught up in it.

It will take time, but begin simply, even if only for a moment, some time today, catch yourself thinking.

 
This text is taken from Yoga With Attitude by Swami Vimalratna.
The book is available from the Yoga Association of Victoria and Satyananda Yoga Academy Australia.