Observing Thought - Meditation

When we meditate, over time, we learn to observe our thoughts and not to get swept away by them. This meditation hopes to help the meditator re-center, re-balance into the present moment through breath.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to mindful meditations with calm, the bleep down. As always,
I'm your guide, Michael Bechameire. Today we are going to
ride the waves. Let's get started. As always, we have
a mindfulness quote to help us head into our meditation

(00:29):
with some intent, and today the quote comes from Jean
cabat Zen and it reads, you can't stop the waves,
but you can learn how to surf. I like that
quote because if you change the word waves with thoughts,

(00:50):
and you can't stop your thoughts, you can learn how
to deal with them. I guess is the way you
could say that. So that's what we're trying to do.
When we're met meditating. We are literally just trying to
observe our thoughts. And we recognize the thoughts aren't going
to stop coming. We can't control what happens. It is

(01:12):
just a matter of learning how to coexist with them,
observe them, be free from them, use them to our advantage.
So that's what we're doing when we're trying to meditate.
So we're going to do that today. Go ahead and
get yourself comfortable. You can either sit down or lie down.

(01:34):
As always, the key is to become comfortable. Take a
moment and slow your breath, lengthen your breath, relax your
body from head to toe. Maybe do a quick scan
of your body, release any tension you're holding in your
shoulders or jaw, or your left foot wherever, and start

(02:02):
slowing and lengthening your breath. And with each exail, you
are allowing yourself to become heavier and more relaxed. Maybe

(02:23):
scanning your body a little bit longer from head to toe,
really examining noticing the sensations in and around your body.
Maybe feeling the weight of yourself pressing up against your
seat or mattress if you're lying down, really feeling yourself

(02:48):
in this moment. And we talk about it a lot
when you're meditating. The trick isn't to silence your brain.
That's not going to happen. Your mind thinks. That's what
the mind is there to do, and it's going to

(03:10):
do that. It never stops. What we do practice and
meditation is observing those thoughts, recognizing them for what they are,
not letting them define us, control us, suck us down
any unproductive rabbit hole, recognize them and move on, go

(03:37):
back to our breath. So let's do a few moments
of that long slow, deep breath in and else. You
continue on with this practice for a few minutes. As always,
at some point you will recognize that your mind has

(04:01):
wandered and is thinking, and you've lost track of your breath.
Just recognize it for what it is. Return to your breath,
and that itself is the meditation. That's where the mindfulness
comes in. Is not from stopping your mind from wondering,
but from when you recognize your mind has wondered and

(04:25):
you come back to your breath. That's the mindfulness. That's
the practice we're doing here. So let's continue for a
few moments breathing in and else.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
N no must a us instant us one must us.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
Okay, In our last few moments together, we're gonna take
another few long, slow, deep breaths in and out together,
breathing in and out. We're gonna do that two more times.
Breathe in and out. Make this last breath the longest,

(17:31):
deepest breath you've taken all day, in and out, really
empty the lungs. Keep exhaling. Congratulate yourself for another meditation practice,

(18:04):
for taking a few minutes to yourself to rebalance and
reset to place yourself to practice being present and in
this moment, right here and right now, and when you
are ready, you can open your eyes and go about

(18:27):
your day, not mistake. That's it for this time, uncom

(18:54):
to bleep down. If you like this meditation, please feel
free to send us an email, post a comment, hit
us up on Instagram or TikTok, where we're posting a
lot these days. We'd love to hear from you. Once again,
I'm Michael Beckamaia reminding you to please calm the bleep down.
We'll see you again soon. Thank you for meditating with us.
Be well, have fun, and no mistake