Invasive Thoughts

Stealthy Thoughts
Many times during the day, unpleasant thoughts from the past or worries about the future stealthily creep into our here-and-now. Without us being aware of it, we react to it by feeling agitated. This in turn translates into misdirected aggression against people around us - colleagues, friends, family and loved ones. The mental defilement eventually goes away without us even realizing what just happened.

It doesn't have to be that way. This meditation allows you to regain control and protect your bliss against unpleasant thoughts coming from the past or future.

Sequence

Anapana breathing meditation - always start the meditation session with Anapana to prime the mind in a meditative state. Click the link.
mountain analogy - imagine yourself to be mountain range. Immovable. Grounded. Massive.
passing clouds - imagine your thoughts to be drifting clouds. Emanating from nowhere, passing through your mind-space and dissipating into nowhere in full compliance to the law of impermanence
observing thoughts - now, I would like you to observe your thoughts. You are not your thoughts. You can step back and simply observe them come from nothing, drift and disappear into nothing. Your thoughts are not there to stay. Don't react to it. Just observe.
past - are your thoughts coming from the past? how many years in the past? And how often does it persist during the day? Is it unpleasant? Does it generate feelings of agitation? If it does, you've just reacted to it. Your breath becomes faster and shallower. This translates into misdirected aggression against people within your immediate space - your colleagues, your friends, family members and loved ones. The agitation continues until something else distracts you and you resume your normal demeanor completely oblivious to what just happened - you have given up your precious bliss by reacting to a nasty thought coming from the past.
future - equally as often, the thought could be coming from the future. Worries about a pressing deadline. Questions about not having enough when you get old. Apprehensions about not able to pay your bills.
empowerment - by catching your thoughts early enough to observe them, not reacting to them, they lose their control on you. You regain control and empower yourself.
already agitated - if you are already agitated when you catch yourself, when simply observing is not enough, what do you do? You focus on the breath. Air coming through your nose, through your windpipe, into your lungs...and you pause...and the air leaves the lungs, through the windpipe and out your nose. Like we just did in Anapana.
2 allies - you have 2 powerful allies - taking refuge in the breath and observing sensation without reacting to them. Cultivate and nurture them.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

ps - If you want me to participate and write about your yoga studio or your yoga practice, email me. For my complete yoga profile, you can visit this page: YOGA by Gigit