Meditation Basics - Thoughts
If you’ve been listening to the poggie for any length of time you’re probably aware of my love of meditation. I’m an absolute novice, and I really do suck at it, but what I’ve learnt over the past 12 months is that this is completely OK. The benefits of meditation remain, even on those days where my mind simply will not stop fighting me, and it’s those benefits I want to focus on over the next three weeks.
So I’ve invited my mate Kevin Janks from Centred Meditation back for the next three Monday shows, and together we’ve designed three different meditation mini-practices for you. These practices go back to the basics, and each episode focuses on one key topic, that, over time, will allow you to create a well-rounded practice. The three weeks will cover:
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- thoughts
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- emotions
- present moment awareness
Each episode will begin with a brief introduction from Kevin on the topic we’re exploring, followed by a short guided meditation centred on the week’s topic, allowing you to put in to practice what you’ve learnt.
After the three weeks are finished I’ll also create a separate playlist for just the meditations (without the introductions) so you can dive right in to your practice once you understand the focus of each week’s practice.
Which brings me to this week’s focus: thoughts.
This is the biggest obstacle many of us face as we begin to meditate. Our thoughts are constantly butting in to the peace we’re trying to create as we sit down and “empty our minds”. As Kevin explains in this week’s episode though, it’s important to understand that our thoughts are distinctly separate from ‘us’, and thinking? Well, it’s just what our brain does.
The key takeaways from Kevin’s mini-meditation lesson:
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- We are not our thoughts, even though we’re the ones who make them up (which is really more reason not to take them too seriously!).
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- We have a choice as to how we interact with our thoughts.
- In everyday life, start to notice the thoughts passing through your mind, without trying to change or wish them away. Just notice their transient nature and how they are not you.
Take a listen to the episode below and I’d love to encourage you to practice this brief guided meditation every day this week before we move on to explore our emotions next Monday.
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Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode.
Or you can listen to the show directly, simply by hitting the Play button above. Enjoy!
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