I subscribe to Yoga magazine as I find the articles both interesting and practical and often relevant to my coaching sessions. Recently I read an interesting article on meditation myths. I am trying to incorporate meditation into my life and find it a real challenge to still my thoughts (as do most meditation novices).
It is very frustrating when you feel you can’t control your mind and all these random thoughts keep rushing backwards and forwards for no logical reason. We expend far too much energy on thoughts of the past (which is now history), worrying about the future (which we really have very little control over) and so why do we do it?
I was coaching a client a few weeks ago, who by her own admission, expends too much mental energy worrying about the future. She is not alone as we are all guilty of such practice. I shared with her what I had read in Eckhart Tolle’s book – A New Earth – that we only ever live in the present and that even when we get to the future it is still the present…therefore surely the only thing we ever need to focus on (notice I haven’t used the word ‘worry’) is the present?
So I wanted to share a tip with you that I got from the article on mind mastery meditation to help you stay in the present. Instead of trying to fight your thoughts away and feeling annoyed that there are so many of them; rather just observe them floating by as if they are all on clouds just passing by.
I found this does two things – firstly it takes the pressure off of having to be good at meditation (if you are meditating but you can practice this during your normal day when you become aware of your thoughts or find yourself worrying).
Secondly, it gives us the ability to take a step back and watch our minds, instead of being our minds. When ever we go away on holiday we get perspective on our lives as we have stepped out of our day to day. This little practice will help you to keep perspective and to be more in the present moment.
Happy cloud watching…