Branding Thoughts

These days it seems that what we hear and what we see might not be congruent. We hear about violent acts perpetrated on innocent people. I cringe when I hear about the attacks on senior citizens. It disgusts me when I hear about violent acts motivated by bigotry or hate. Then we see people ignoring these things. It seems that everything goes and anything is game.

I try to eliminate these horrible events by meditating in a quiet place. I try to focus on the moment. But during a session of serene meditation a thought filters in and disrupts my stillness and calmness. Luckily I have learned to brand these thoughts and bring awareness back to my breath. I do not want to think about anything at that point.

The idea is that during mindful meditation you take your time to notice your breath. It is important to catch those thoughts, good or bad, and send them off as soon as you can. Brand them immediately. Tell yourself here comes another thought that needs to move on for another time.

Breathe, breathe, breathe. We need to do this more often these days. Many of us are nervous, apprehensive, maybe too connected to the negative scenes we see on the TV.  We need to learn to be present and still more now than ever.  We must not let us be swept away by thoughts. We need to develop a new relationship with thoughts.  We accept them at some point but not during your mindful meditation. The healthy practice is to realize that thoughts are ¨impermanent and insubstantial¨.

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