Wandering thoughts can be part of the meditation. Then there is no such thing as distraction! Just as important, with this noting thoughts mindfulness practice we can get increasingly clear on understanding the nature of thought, distinguishing it from bodily sensation, and becoming aware of what we are actually thinking. All this gives us a leg up on the sometimes confusing swirl of thoughts and feelings that happens in some of our emotional states.
Using your body like it’s a dish satellite receiving the sensations of the body! Just beautiful, Alan! I’ve started going through all your podcasts and I am loving them! My mind is still doing its thing and many thoughts keep showing up when I try to meditate but I feel they are more manageable than when I started doing this. I am not at that point when I can say there are no distractions but I am getting there or so I think! And until then, I will try to keep in mind what you said: wandering thoughts can be part of the meditation.
Great! Distraction is also part of the meditation.
Avery Jackson
I’m trying to focus on the body and not try to answer all the questions that keep coming to mind – that part about taking a cross to Dracula was pretty funny but it does illustrate a point. I will do my best to avoid that and not focus on what comes to mind but on breathing and feeling the body.
yeah when we try to label or recognize thoughts we can sometimes bring an attitude like we are catching a monster, which is giving thoughts too much importance.
Katy Smith
Wow! This was incredibly helpful for me to find a mindful stillness during meditation. I am often fighting off thoughts during my meditation practices, but to realize that thoughts are part of the meditation is a really good thing for me to be aware of!
