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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello there. Welcome back to our meditation together. One of the perennial difficulties that all meditative practitioners experience, no matter what tradition or method they come from, is the fact that we are always dealing with our thoughts. In a previous session, we talked about thought as the background babble of noise continually generated by our consciousness.
In the Christian contemplative tradition, we speak of this movement of thoughts as the logismoi, the thoughts that are like mosquitoes. Most of the time, through distraction or the noise of the world, we're mostly unaware of this background babble. But the moment we try to come to stillness, to quiet, to centeredness, these thoughts can seem to be even louder or more present.
The secret, of course, is simply to notice them but not to grasp them. One of my great meditation teachers used to speak of centered meditation as being like sitting at the side of a train platform, watching the trains coming in and going. The trains are our thoughts. They arrive and there's nothing we can do about their arrival.
Chapter 2: What challenges do we face when working with our thoughts?
They leave and there's nothing we can do about their leaving. Our task is simply to sit and observe. And as Brother Bruno used to say to us, for God's sake, lads, don't get on a train. So today we will deal with these distractions again, reminding ourselves of how to be with them, how to let them come and let them go. keeping the doors open, keeping the trains running. Let's begin.
Gently invoke your ritual gesture to mark this time of meditation. Settle yourself on the chair and allow the bell to remind you that this time of practice is beginning. arriving once again into a stable, open position that allows the breath to be free, the back relaxed, the body settled. Taking a moment to simply draw our attention to the breath.
Aware of the breath as that anchor within us that connects us always to the present moment. Aware of the movement of the breath in the body even as we choose stillness. The inflation and deflation of the lungs. The pumping of the heart. the oxygenation of the blood within our veins, everything part of the great cycle of breath.
Chapter 3: How can we recognize thoughts as background noise?
Breathing in and breathing out.
Gently choosing this practice for the next 10 minutes or so. Settling into stable sitting. watching the rise and fall of the breath. And as we breathe, we may notice that already our thoughts are more present to us. As soon as we try and focus, they begin to intrude. They seek an audience with us. Some of them may be associated with the problems or issues of the day that we're dealing with.
More likely, random thoughts arise, spurred on by the subconscious, the imagination, and the stimulation of the senses. As we notice them arise, we inwardly smile. It is okay It is as it should be. It is human to have thoughts, remembering always that we are never morally responsible for any thought that arises. We are only ever morally responsible for what we do with those thoughts.
And so no matter what the thoughts are, we do not characterize them as good or bad, positive or negative. They are simply thoughts. And so using the anchor of the breath, we remain gently attached to the present moment, watching the rise and fall of the thoughts. watching their movement as they come and as they go.
If at any stage we find ourselves becoming attached to a thought or weaving a narrative around a thought, we smile, let go, and return to the breath, feeling the physical sensation of our breathing feeling its ebb and flow rise and fall.
If a thought seems to be a solution to something, or a sudden remembrance of a thing we have forgotten, it's okay to simply jot that down somewhere, as long as we return immediately to the breath.
Breathing in and breathing out. Breathing in and breathing out. Not grasping or holding or desiring, but loose, relaxed, calm.
Observing the thoughts and realizing that we are not our thoughts. We are more than our thoughts. The thoughts come and the thoughts go. Like clouds around a mountain.
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Chapter 4: Why do thoughts seem louder when we seek stillness?
The mountain is solid. The weather changes. But the mountain simply is. Sitting like the mountain. Feet solid upon the ground. Back calm and relaxed. Body gently holding the consciousness within. Thoughts or emotions coming and going, coming and going. But looking past the thoughts and being with the present. Resting in the present as the place of encounter with divine love.
Resting in our own being. resting in the rise and fall of the breath. If any particular thought appears attractive or disturbing or producing any kind of emotional charge or buzz, we simply notice, smile, and return to the breath.
I have thoughts.
But I am more than my thoughts. And gently beginning now to move the awareness back to the body. Noticing any sensations present within the body. Temperature, touch, smell, sound. And noticing that as we move our focus to these anchors, usually the thoughts begin to recede a little. As the capacity of our awareness begins to be filled by other things.
Chapter 5: What is the significance of the train station imagery in meditation?
Gently drawing our awareness to our feet upon the floor. and holding the intention that we would notice our thoughts but not be attached to our thoughts as we move through the day. The thought, I think, is not who I am or what I am. It is merely a thought. Begin then gently to move the fingers and the toes
Knowing that the time of formal meditation is ending, trusting in the insight gained, and allowing the sound of the bell to draw you back to the activities of the day. Thank you for being with us today.