Peace of Mind is a Thought Away: Mastering Your Thoughts with Meditation, Part I
This is Part I of a two part blog.
Continuing with the theme of teaching you how to master your thoughts which began in my last series of blog posts which started on April 14, I’d like to now briefly introduce you to a thought labeling meditation. I will lead you in this thought labeling meditation on my Friday Podcast later this week.
In this thought labeling meditation what you are going to do, instead of counting your thoughts, is to label them. So, if you find yourself having an angry thought during this mediation, rather than saying and feeling “I am angry,” which is like saying, “I am anger.” [Oh my goodness, what a statement to make!] No, rather say: “I am having an angry thought.”
As thoughts wander in and out, the idea, the point, is not to get caught up in them, not to identify with them. By the way, if you are really not noticing any thoughts while doing this meditation, enjoy the quiet and don’t try to find any to label. But if a thought does arise, just label it. Don’t get attached or identified with it.
Some labels you can use are: “planning,” “worry,” “desire,” “fearful,” “future,” “past,” “judgmental,” “self-judgment,” angry,” “critical,” “prideful,” “envious,” etc. [Don’t worry, I’ll repeat these labels during the meditation.]
You know all the “stuff” you get into. Just give the thought a name, a label and step back from it. By giving it a name, a label it somehow is no longer yours. It doesn’t attach to you. It is something outside of you. You’ve objectified it. You see it as separate from you.
This is Part I of a two part Blog.