mindfulness meditation: a beginner's guide

Mindfulness Meditation:A Beginner’s GuideVirginia Counselingwww.vacounseling.com

We each have hundreds of trains of thought every day

Our internal monologues are constantly chugging along, in our conscious minds or deep in our subconsciouses.

We’re planning dinner in the evening, thinking about an upcoming job interview, or ruminating about an embarrassing moment . . .

… all while we are supposed to be doing something else!

Our minds are our very own Grand Central Station,

and our thoughts are coming and going around the clock.

So how do we know which train of thought to take?

Many of us are in the habit

of taking the FIRST train of thought that pulls into our station.

We just get on board and ride . . .

. . . without even asking ourselves where the train of thought is going, or whether we want to go that way.

. . . and this can take us places we don’t want to be.

But would you just get on the first train you see at an actual train station?

Of course you wouldn’t!So how can you stop doing it with thoughts?

Mindfulness meditation can help to break this habit.

Mindfulness meditation is the practice of not getting on any train of thought.

Tip

Meditation can be done anywhere. You don’t have to be sitting like this. Some monks have been known to meditate in recliners!

You’re making a conscious decision to let the train of thought pass . . .

You identify the thought (I’m having the thought that…”) and then watch it pull away, without engaging it.

And REPEAT for every thought that enters your mind . . .

. . . good or bad.

Over time, this teaches you to detach from your thoughts. . .

. . .so you don’t get on the first train of thought that comes your way.

And when you find you have gotten on board . . .

. . . it will be easier to get off.

So you can focus on the things you want to.

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