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How to overcome wandering thoughts?
Hello,
The biggest challenge in my mindfulness/alertness training is wondering thoughts, which I can hardly control. Do you have some practical tip to overcome wondering thoughts both during formal sitting/walking meditation and during daily life? With Metta,
Muditaa
The biggest challenge in my mindfulness/alertness training is wondering thoughts, which I can hardly control. Do you have some practical tip to overcome wondering thoughts both during formal sitting/walking meditation and during daily life? With Metta,
Muditaa
0
Comments
Thoughts will arise on their own; there's nothing you can do about that. This is the background process of the mind, that goes on 24/7/365. We train our minds to stay in the moment and not follow after needless distractions. To remain mindful. Some days will be good (few thoughts), some days bad. The point is always to notice and let it go; return to your meditation object.
To overcome wandering thoughts, we acknowledge them and decline to act upon them.
I hope this helps.
Namaste
What is your current practice? How did you learn how? What sort of techniques are you you using, and how long are your meditation sessions?
My generic advice is to begin the meditation session by counting your breath. This will cultivate a basic level of concentration. After a few minutes you can drop the counting.
I also recommend the practice of mental noting throughout the session, at least for beginners
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/mental-noting/
Regarding both counting and mental noting: They serve the purpose of "aiming" your attention. Therefore, count and note at the beginning of the breath and at the beginning of the mental distraction. Think of the count and of the mental note as a picture "frame" that you put around the thing to be observed. Also note that the mental counting and the mental noting has a "volume control" that you should experiment with.
Then yesterday I read an article which said that the goal is to objectify our thoughts so that we can see how they don't disturb the stillness of meditation. To become detached from them so we see there is no 'self' generating them.
It all depends on your experience with meditating. If you just start out it is rare to get a moment of inner silence, but if you just notice those short moments that is already a great thing.
So the best advice is keep practicing.
Second best advice is to find a good teacher or meditation book that appeals to you. There you will find techniques that you can try out to see if they work for you.
Third and worst advice is my experiences
I go against the major opinion in this thread that you should just keep watching the thoughts. Because those kind of thoughts you are talking about, that are uncontrollable and just take control of you aren't the ones you just let be and watch flow along in my experience. Because they take you along and it is hard to stand above those. Most of the time when I have those there is another reason like dullness, boredom, annoyance or whatever thing that keeps me from being aware in the present moment. Then I take a step back, find the cause, work on it and go on with my meditation.
If you don't know about the five hindrances as thought by the Buddha, you should definately read into those. Thoughts can be random chatter, but are usually generated by a cause. If you can find the cause, you can stop the thoughts.
http://www.abundancetapestry.com/five-hindrances-to-a-successful-meditation/
Again it depends on your experience.
Good luck! You'll be fine if you give it time.
For instance, according to your practice, that anchor might be breath-counting, body awareness, a mantra, a deity practice... whatever works for you.
Zen people often say that your thoughts are like clouds - no more significant than that. Another practice is to ask a question like a Koan "Who is it that is thinking these thoughts?"
In Tibetan practice we have visualisations, pujas (set words you chant), mantras... all skillful means to discipline the mind.
But don't sit there trying not to think - that is rather like when I was a kid and saw Star Wars, sitting at my desk at school, trying to move a pencil with "The Force". I was convinced all it would take would be sufficient concentration and then the pencil would move. It never did, and a few years on from beginning my practice, my thoughts still come, at random, as I'm meditating. The difference is, they rarely disturb me these days. Whenever I notice my mind wandering, I bring it back and return to the subject I intended to meditate on, whatever it was.
@muditaa,
It looks like you need some instructions and structure to your practice. It helps a lot to get an overview of the meditation practice before beginning.
I highly recommend "Mindfulness in Plain English."
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html
If you combine it with my previous link on mental noting, you should be ready to go.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.020.than.html
:om:
Long story short, let it come... let it go...
Muditaa]
Your mind wanders and is not under your control because this "mind" is not yours. Thoughts come and go of their own accord. The mind does what it is supposed to do ie. think. All you need to do is to observe these thoughts. They are impermanent, stressful and has no real essence.
Leave those thoughts alone and don't add anything to them. They will surely come to an end.
P
it vanishes before you grasp it
continue this
each moment you get is 'now'
I'm very impressed by so many warm-hearted help in this forum. Now I think I will do the following during my daily activities (practicing mindfulness of postures and details of activities) or insight meditation:
"...look at the thought in detail, where it came from (greed? aversion? conceit? ...), why it came to be (due to the delusions of "self" and "likes/dislikes"), [where it's leading (disturbance of mind), and how to end it (remove our attachments to the 5 aggregates and 6 senses ...)], and overall just give it a very thorough thinkingness, ... but I do not dwell on them... Long story short, let it come... let it go..."
Well during concentration meditation I'll:
"Leave those thoughts alone and don't add anything to them. They will surely come to an end."
"The thought that you want to enter jhana is also on your mind.. just see that thought and you don't have to force it. Just a light touch consider how you want to enter jhana. What is that. Let it be and speak its message to you. And then let it go."
Many thanks!
Muditaa
The muddy water becomes clear.
When the Buddha’s name enters a confused mind,
The confused mind attains to the Buddha.
http://www.cttbusa.org/amitabhacommentary/amitabha5.htm
Wandering thoughts are liken to muddy water while Buddha name is liken to pearl. The most expedient method is to replace these thoughts by attaching into this pearl. This pearl will naturally transformed into non attachment and non discrimination of inherent pearl
Patience will help improve meditation, and meditation will improve your patience. Patience and meditation can be likened to two hands. If patience is lacking, the hand will be dirty(an example), meditation which is the other hand can be used to wipe off the dirt. If our meditation is inefficient, patience will help in improving it. If both our meditation and patience is weak, both can be done together just like how two dirty hands rub of the dirt from each other.
@Wilfred: That's a nice quote, it reminds me of this quote:
Lao Tzu:
“Who is there that can make muddy water clear? But if allowed to settle it will later clarify. Thus it is that without moving you shall know, without looking you shall see, without doing you shall achieve.
http://www.triple-gem.net/Samma_Ditthi_02Nov07.pdf
When I was starting meditation, I wanted the most profound sounding answers to this question and did a heap of reading. It was useful, but I had these three simple tricks right from the start, yet did not realise how profound these very methods are. If you have a focus for your meditation then you have four points only to remember 1) object of focus, 2) become aware of thoughts as they arise and let them pass, 3) loosen if agitated, 4) tighten if sleepy or dull. That alone should have you moving along the nine stages of shamata.
Supplementary things, post meditation (when not meditating): ethical conduct helps with progress as well; learn/receive buddhist teachings and contemplate their meaning. If you don't expect much you will progress more, expectations can inhibit progress. And persevere!
Good luck, WK