Practice Notes: Thinking That Supports Meditation

And then to offer you, um, some little suggestions for this morning, if it might be nice for you.

And it goes along with what I've been teaching this week, uh, for the, uh, in the early m- in the seven o'clock in the morning, I've been teaching some on-online.

And that is to, uh, track and be careful for what your thinking mind is doing while you're meditating or you d-do walking meditation.

But not, uh, so much so that you have to feel like, or you catch your factor, you're distracted, and you're wondering off, and you have to let go of it, and then come back to the present moment.

Um, rather notice that what you're thinking about and no-notice the impact it has on you.

Is this, you know, is this like the, you know, it's so good what you're sta-thinking about, such a wonderful, perfect example of, of human thinking that really the New York Times should write it up.

Is it that great? Or you'd rather not that it sh-showed up in the news for everybody else.

It's rather maybe not quite what your best is.

Uh, the impact on you maybe is not so good.

It's just, get a sense, it's very rough, very approximately.

And then, and s- and then try to shift that.

Don't stop thinking, but s-shift that to have pleasant thoughts, enjoyable thoughts, instructing yourself in being mindful in the present moment.

And see if you can find some place deep inside of you, some deeper source of thinkings, not your surface reactive thinking, but some quiet, quieter place inside where thinking occurs, where you think with goodwill, you think, you know, what nice way.

So it could be in the New York Times.

[laughs] And, um, and then, um, and just give yourself instructions.

And it could be as simple as pay attention, be attentive here, now, here.

It could be, I wonder what's happening with my feet, the soles of my feet as I do walking meditation.

What happens if I really feel the sensations of my feet? Is there some way to feel those that would help me calm down or settle or, and not have to be so, so much reactive thinking? So the idea is don't try to necessarily get rid of your thoughts.

Just try to switch how you're thinking.

So your thinking is actually good for you, supports the meditation, and, and, and it's kind of guiding you to how to become calmer, more settled, more present.

So if what I said makes sense for you, you might experiment.

If it doesn't make sense, just forget what I said.