As you start your meditation practice, you may find yourself judging yourself. I know I did. I would have the following thoughts:
“Why am I still thinking? I shouldn’t be thinking during meditation.”
“I must be doing something wrong.”
“This meditation doesn’t quite feel right. I must be doing it wrong.”
“I have too many things to do to be sitting here with my eyes closed.”
The list goes on of the thoughts that came up during meditation. And don’t get me wrong. I still have thoughts that come up during meditation. But I’ve learned through mindfulness, that you need to accept those thoughts for what they are and watch them go by without judgment. Don’t sit and dwell on those thoughts. And don’t beat yourself up.
The truth is our minds are always moving. They just need something to focus on. And whether you believe it or not, our mind is only capable of doing one thing at a time. So you just need to find something for your mind to focus on during meditation. That focus can be on your breath, a mantra, color or sound. Just pick something to direct your focus to when you thoughts start coming back.
I will talk more about mantra meditation in a future blog post. Just remember, relax and enjoy the practice of meditation…without judgment.
