In my meditation this evening the visual came to me to imagine myself sitting in front of this large flat screen TV and what's playing on the screen are my thoughts. I am there watching my thoughts play out on the screen like a tv show. My thoughts would float out of my head and into the screen, and then I'd decide to either:
a. Continue watching
b. Change the channel
c. Mute the sound
We all know changing your thoughts isn't that easy. But what about turning the volume down all the way? Your thoughts still appear on the screen, but the sound is off. Now, while you may not like what you're watching, you can at least create some peace by not listening to it.
My thoughts tonight were on repeat. Recapping the entire day like a broken record. Nothing good or bad, just on repeat, which gets so annoying after a while. I wasn't able to "change the channel," but I was able to do two things:
1. Create distance between my thoughts and me and became the observer from afar.
2. By muting the volume, I was able to disconnect from my thoughts and find my way back to focusing on my breathing.
This might have been a silly way to direct my thoughts, but hey, it worked this time. That's one of the things that I love about meditation. Each practice is a little different than the one before. I've been meditating for a few years now and much more consistently in the past year, and it's endless. It does not get boring. Instead, I crave it and am always so thankful for having the time and the space to plug back into peace and stillness.
I'll let you know if any new techniques come to me in my future meditations. ;-)
With love,