You may not think that becoming more aware of your thoughts is a good thing. The black dog makes sure that you’re painfully aware of the thoughts racing around your head and the last thing you want to do is pay more attention to them. What I have found though is that the understandable tendency we have to avoid unpleasantness, whether it’s thoughts or situations, actually causes our anxiety to grow. With more anxiety comes deeper despair and even more desire to run away from what’s bothering us. Like a child afraid of what’s in their closet at bedtime. The fear will remain until the light is turned on and mom, dad or the child opens the door all the way and plainly sees what they thought was a monster is really just shadows of some clothes or a toy or a product of their imagination.

Enter the miracle of mindfulness. Mindfulness is simply the intentional awareness of your thoughts and actions in the present moment and without judgement. With practice you learn to see your thoughts & experiences without all the baggage that we commonly attach to them. Your hyper-critical eye no longer judges you as a failure, you stop comparing how you feel inside to how someone else looks like from the outside and you can actually enjoy more because of your awareness of the moment.

Your morning cup of coffee tastes better when you are aware of its aroma, taste and warmth rather than thinking about what happened yesterday or worrying about what might happen later in the day as you gulp it down. Your interactions with your spouse, family, friends and co-workers are more enjoyable and meaningful when you are really present to listen to them when they talk to you. In short you really hear and see things just as they are without the coloring that comes with the dark, distracting glasses that the black dog wants you to wear.

Mindfulness fits right in with the anti-rumination strategy that I’ve talked about in other posts. When you become aware of negative thoughts and learn to objectively observe them, almost as though you’re a third party, then it becomes easier to stop them. “Ah, I’m thinking the worst will happen again. I’m stuck in my black dog thoughts. Thoughts that only cause me pain and discomfort. I choose to stop it!”

Awareness is the key followed by non-judgement. Becoming aware of your thinking helps you to stop it in its tracks. It’s not easy at first. It may even feel like you’re trying to force things or fighting with yourself. When you shine the light of awareness on the black dog it will hold on tighter at first, but just like a dog with a favorite toy when you relax your grip it will loosen its bite. With practice (repetition!) your mind will calm down and it will become more like gently reminding yourself, rather than a fight. Eventually that too will change to a calm awareness.

“‘I am breathing in and making my whole body calm and at peace. I am breathing out and making my whole body calm and at peace.’ This is how one practices.”

-The Sutra on Full Awareness of Breathing

So how do we begin? If you’ve never meditated you may want to start by setting aside 10 to 20 minutes once a day at the same time and in the same place. Sit on a chair that gives you good support. Keep your spine straight. Rest your hands on your thighs or hold them comfortably in your lap. Half close your eyes. Relax your belly and breath naturally & deeply. Count your breaths one through ten. When you reach 10, start over again.

You’ll be surprised by how often your mind wanders. That’s okay. Just notice it and go back to your breath. You’ll also notice bodily sensations. Take note of them and go back to the breath. Even an annoying itch will dissipate without you scratching it if you just practice observing it like you were a disinterested third party. What do you do if you loose count? Let it go and start over.

If thoughts of “This is boring.” or “I can’t do this.” or even “I don’t like this.” come up . . . let go of those too! When you practice putting down your opinions you’ll find your calmness and appreciation for life growing.

Be patient with yourself and the process. 10 minutes may at first seem like 30 minutes and 20 minutes more like an hour. Remember everyone has the same amount of time in their day and this is time well spent. Think of how much time you spend every day flipping channels, ruminating, surfing the interenet, etc. Everyone has the time to be quiet, relaxed, breath deeply and just watch the moment unfold.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 9:59 am and is filed under mindfulness.