LESSON TWO
"I Commune With the Sublime"
Deepening the Practice
When Your Brain – Acts Like a Runaway Train!
Hopefully you are meditating regularly and daily and are starting to get the hang of it. It is becoming a priority for you. Continue to meditate as regularly as you can because you will only benefit from it if you do so. Just remember the three simple rules of meditation:
Don’t be hard on yourself if you miss a day here or there.
You are perhaps noticing how distracted you can become when you sit. Your mind might race to the next thing on your agenda – like composing a grocery list, planning a meeting, thinking of what you need to pack for a business trip – or some other such thing. This is normal. It happens to everybody.
Even the most experienced meditators become distracted. Some might say that it is impossible to avoid. But even if it isn’t easy to avoid, there are things you can do minimize the distraction when it happens, and in time you will be able to notice when you are inattentive and will be able to shift gears quickly.
You can always return to your mantra, or when you mind moves on to something else, simply say to yourself:
“Thinking”
It gently reminds you that your mind has gone somewhere else so that you can bring your attention back to your practice.
Another word you can use is:
“Wandering.” I often shorten it to just “wander.”
This word also reminds you that your mind lost its way and needs to be guided back gently to the practice of meditation. You might prefer another word or expression instead, or gently tapping your hand on your thigh. Whatever works bringing your attention and focus back is the important thing.
Try using either of these words to quietly prod your mind back to your meditation.
With practice, you can come back to your meditation more quickly and even effortlessly.
Some meditation traditions instruct its practitioners to simply observe the thoughts that pass through the mind. But to keep your practice as simple as possible, just use the words “thinking” or “wandering” when your mind strays or gently go back to the “I AM” mantra if that is working just fine for you.
Know that some days your brain will act like a runaway train, and it will be hard to rein it in. Don’t worry. Just practice. It’s not about having each practice become as “perfect” as it can be. Instead, it’s about creating long, important, and lasting changes in our life. That’s what a practice does. It changes us, from the inside out.
So, keep practicing, noticing your distractions, and bring yourself back and in time you will begin to notice very subtle changes in your life!
Reflection/Journaling Questions:
What are common distractions in your life? What helps you to lessen them?
Can you build whatever that might be into something regular in your life?
NEXT
"I Commune With the Sublime"
Deepening the Practice
When Your Brain – Acts Like a Runaway Train!
Hopefully you are meditating regularly and daily and are starting to get the hang of it. It is becoming a priority for you. Continue to meditate as regularly as you can because you will only benefit from it if you do so. Just remember the three simple rules of meditation:
- Trust your intuition
- Do not judge your practice
- Move at your own pace
Don’t be hard on yourself if you miss a day here or there.
You are perhaps noticing how distracted you can become when you sit. Your mind might race to the next thing on your agenda – like composing a grocery list, planning a meeting, thinking of what you need to pack for a business trip – or some other such thing. This is normal. It happens to everybody.
Even the most experienced meditators become distracted. Some might say that it is impossible to avoid. But even if it isn’t easy to avoid, there are things you can do minimize the distraction when it happens, and in time you will be able to notice when you are inattentive and will be able to shift gears quickly.
You can always return to your mantra, or when you mind moves on to something else, simply say to yourself:
“Thinking”
It gently reminds you that your mind has gone somewhere else so that you can bring your attention back to your practice.
Another word you can use is:
“Wandering.” I often shorten it to just “wander.”
This word also reminds you that your mind lost its way and needs to be guided back gently to the practice of meditation. You might prefer another word or expression instead, or gently tapping your hand on your thigh. Whatever works bringing your attention and focus back is the important thing.
Try using either of these words to quietly prod your mind back to your meditation.
With practice, you can come back to your meditation more quickly and even effortlessly.
Some meditation traditions instruct its practitioners to simply observe the thoughts that pass through the mind. But to keep your practice as simple as possible, just use the words “thinking” or “wandering” when your mind strays or gently go back to the “I AM” mantra if that is working just fine for you.
Know that some days your brain will act like a runaway train, and it will be hard to rein it in. Don’t worry. Just practice. It’s not about having each practice become as “perfect” as it can be. Instead, it’s about creating long, important, and lasting changes in our life. That’s what a practice does. It changes us, from the inside out.
So, keep practicing, noticing your distractions, and bring yourself back and in time you will begin to notice very subtle changes in your life!
Reflection/Journaling Questions:
What are common distractions in your life? What helps you to lessen them?
Can you build whatever that might be into something regular in your life?
NEXT