Noticing thoughts without being lost in them

👉 Your life is whatever you pay attention to, and you can choose what you pay attention to, but it doesn’t seem that way when you live life on autopilot, lost in your thoughts!

💭 Mindfulness has helped me to notice my thoughts without getting caught up in them and to return my attention to whatever it is that I want to focus on.

💪 Meditation is the training ground for this.

🧠These images show the thoughts that appeared when I sat in meditation. Many of these were repeated over and over again.  When thoughts arise in meditation I acknowledge them, label them and then gently return my attention back to my focus, which in today’s practice was my breath.

⭐ By doing this I have space around the thoughts.

⭐ The point isn’t to get better at meditation but to notice the patterns of my thinking and to develop the capacity to return my attention to whatever it is I am focusing on in daily life, without getting caught up in my own judgments, living avoiding discomfort or to only live in the future.

⭐ In the last image replace ‘breath’ with whatever it is you’re focusing on, whether that’s the person you’re have a conversation with, the sounds around you as you walk, the piece of work you’re trying to complete or another focus of your attention during a meditation practice etc.

The benefits are huge and, to name but a few, they include:
✔️ Better relationships
✔️ Improved focus and concentration
✔️ More self-awareness
✔️ Better decision making
✔️ Increased productivity
✔️ More empathy
✔️ More able to understand others’ perspectives
✔️ Lower stress levels
✔️ More resilience