what kind of thoughts do you guys get during meditation?

yangster58

Hello everybody. So during my past month of meditating, I have noticed that i never really experience "mind chatter". The thoughts that usually pop into my mind are tiny unintelligible images. Is it normal that I usually don't hear a voice in my head, both when meditating and not meditating? What kind of thoughts do you guys gets?

Dakini

No thoughts, for the most part. If random thoughts come up (it could be anything: my to-do list for the day, memories, worries, anything), I return to the breath.

Some people report that disturbing emotions or traumatic memories come up. Stuff can bubble up from the subconscious.

Welcome to the forum, btw.

yangster58

Oh.. I wish my thoughts actually had something to do with my day. Usually, i get random images of spongebob's face popping up in my mind. Thanks!

Dakini

That may be your subconscious telling you that you watch too much tv! haha, joke ^_^

Sabre

Really depends. The mind can do millions of things and it can change in the blink of an eye.

When I've had a busy and active day with a lot of thinking (Needed for study, planning etc.) the mind is more inclined to go on with that in meditation. This is often also not the case, but the mind may have more sensual desire, and images pop up like you stated. Usually it can get quite calm, though. But know that this also has different levels. You can be without thoughts, but still with sleepiness, sensual desire and restless.

Another thing that seems to be quite common amongst practicioners is that the mind will jump up again when it is being stilled. After say, about half an hour of meditation it is quite still, but suddenly its activity may increase again.

But again, the mind can do millions of things. When you think you have a solid practice because the mind is really peaceful for many weaks, it can suddenly surprise you by becoming overwelmingly restless again. So I can assure you, it will not always always be like this.

With metta,
Sabre

Danny_Ben_Ishay

I almost always have some song stuck in my head.
Sometime I can't help but having rational thoughts: about meditation, things I need to do and I want to remember, questions like: am I doint this right? how much more time? am I not wasting my time?...
Then there's random memories: images and people.
A lot of the times I don't know if I'm thinking or not. It's not at all clear. You only know for sure when you notice that for a while you havn't been watching the breath.
Is it like that with you guys?
Also, do you ever feel like you're not clearly carried away by the thoughts, but are able to both watch the breath and think random thoughts and feel feelings? What do you make of that? Do you try to surpress the thoughts in order to exclusively watch the breathing?

RichardH

It depends on what is going on in life. Sometimes odd things float up out of the blue.
Sometimes thoughts settle down and stop, like that pause between the out-breath and the in-breath. It ebbs and flows.

Victorious

Oh.. I wish my thoughts actually had something to do with my day. Usually, i get random images of spongebob's face popping up in my mind. Thanks!

Are you perhaps meditating with closed eyes? In that case I would recommend keeping them open but relaxed. slightly looking downwards...

/Victor

lamaramadingdong

"I wonder if there is any Chunky Monkey left?" "Did I pay my insurance bill?" "Why is there life?" "Is there a God?" Pretty much run the gammet. All just thoughts.

zombiegirl

Hello everybody. So during my past month of meditating, I have noticed that i never really experience "mind chatter". The thoughts that usually pop into my mind are tiny unintelligible images. Is it normal that I usually don't hear a voice in my head, both when meditating and not meditating? What kind of thoughts do you guys gets?

This is fascinating. I have a very clear and definitive voice in my head most of the time, very much like an inner monologue commentary from a movie. The only time I've experienced random unintelligible images is sometimes late at night when I'm about to drift off to sleep. My mind can sometimes feel like a TV set, flipping through random channels, just getting snippets of audio and imagery.

But in meditation, it's mostly like lamaramadingdong above me said. Random thoughts about my day or troubles or just whatever. But of course, has anyone said yet that the thoughts are not to be focused on and should simply be allowed to pass? I'm sure someone has said this... this is a Buddhist forum after all...

yangster58

Isn't focusing your attention on the thought and allowing it to pass both required for mindfulness? At least if you're not thinking about the thought while focusing

Tosh

This post will no doubt enter my mind at some point in my next meditation.

And when you next meditate, try not to think about onions. Yes, that's right, onions; don't think about onions.

Not the small onions with silver skins or the large brown onions with crispy skins. Just don't think about onions.

No onions at all, small or large, nor should you think about the Man from Onion Valley (Tsongkhapa); no onions, or anything onion related.

Got that?

weighted

Any sort of thoughts arise: what happened during the day, issues I'm dealing with, what I need to do later or tomorrow or next week. Sometimes very painful emotions, with no story line, just the emotions, pop up.

I find it usually takes me 20-25 minutes before the mind chatter and monkey mind calm down a bit.

weighted

And welcome! :wave:

Dandelion

I get random thoughts. Literally, it could be anything from the mundane, to something that has been bothering me. I have recently noticed some lovely feelings of nostalgia, very fleeting, from my childhood... stuff I'm almost 100% certain I would not have remembered otherwise if I hadn't been meditating, and in a flash it is gone again. I can't even remember what it was I remembered afterwards, other than it was a nice sensation.