麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Dr Steve Taylor, author on psychology and spirituality.

Good morning.

Many years ago, I decided to learn meditation and went to a local Buddhist centre. After one of the sessions, I had a one to one with the teacher, who asked me how my meditation was going.

鈥淣ot very well,鈥� I responded. 鈥淓very time I meditate my mind fills up with random thoughts, and I can鈥檛 seem to slow them down.鈥�

To my surprise, the teacher said, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 good. It鈥檚 a sign that you don鈥檛 identify with your thoughts. You can watch them pass by, as if they鈥檙e a process. But the process isn鈥檛 you. Buddhism is all about realising that you are not your thoughts.鈥�

Every day thousands of thoughts pass through our minds 鈥� most of them random associations about the past or future, or daydreams about people or places. Some thoughts make us feel positive, others make us fill anxious or depressed. A thought about your upcoming holiday will give you a boost of happiness. A thought about an upcoming work presentation or a past argument will tinge your mind with negativity.

But our mood doesn鈥檛 have to be determined by the content of our thoughts. You don鈥檛 have to listen to your thoughts at all. When negative thoughts enter your mind, you can smile at them, ignore them. You don鈥檛 have to take them seriously. You can let them pass by without attaching yourself to them.

Here are some reflections on the restless, chattering voice inside your head:

One day you鈥檒l stop listening to the voice inside your head
with its constant murmurings of discontent
its fearmongering thoughts of the future
and its questioning of every choice you make.

Without the fuel of your attention,
the voice will become more hesitant
will stumble and slow down, leaving space
until eventually the voice inside your head
will be no louder than a whisper, like a gentle breeze
that seems to be part of silence.

Blessings.

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