There are many misconceptions about mindfulness and one of the most common ones is that we are expected to empty our minds from thoughts. Based on this assumption, many people give up mindfulness way too soon, thinking: “My mind is too busy, I can’t meditate”.
In fact, mindfulness doesn’t mean getting rid of thoughts. Our minds will always produce thoughts, images, memories, daydreams, run endless to do lists, fantasize, plan. There’s nothing wrong with all this.
Instead, mindfulness helps us cultivate a different relationship with our thoughts. Instead of trying to push them away, we simply observe them as discrete mental events, coming and going, passing like clouds in the sky. In this way we create some distance from our thoughts to see them more clearly. In the process we develop a non-reactive, wiser attitude to our thoughts. We are better able to discern which ones to follow and which ones to simply let go.
One of the first discoveries people make when they start meditating is how easily our minds get distracted. However, the wandering mind is not the enemy. It is the “gym equipment” which we work with to practice and train our attention. We learn that we can always return to the breath or other anchors in the body to bring our minds back into the present moment when we notice that it’s been lost in thinking. We repeat this noticing and coming back to the here and now with curiosity, kindness and without judgment towards ourselves and the wandering mind. Through consistent practice we discover that thoughts are not facts and that we are not our thoughts, which brings a sense of freedom, choice, and peace of mind.
Author: Ralitsa Ivanova