In this day and age, being mindful of your thoughts is an important ability to have. It is because we often treat thoughts as if they were the truth. Each passing thought and assumption may cause us to behave differently toward ourselves and others.
Therefore, we must pay attention to our wandering minds in the present moment. A brilliant way to practice is through meditation. These types of mindfulness exercises can be helpful in reducing stress[1] and making us pay attention to our thoughts with a gentle curiosity. Before we dive into how to practice mindfulness and meditation, let us learn more about what it means to be mindful of your thoughts.
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What Does It Mean To Be Mindful Of Your Thoughts?
Psychology shows that the mind wanders and processes a wide variety of positive and negative thoughts. These create emotions and beliefs that some may carry for the rest of their lives. Noticing these imaginative thoughts at the moment will create awareness and control over our thinking.
There isn’t a better way to explain these thoughts than a metaphor given by monks. They think of their thoughts as pages written on the river. As soon as a person takes notice of a particular thought, the one after it comes into the picture.
Meditating and noticing these thoughts, bodily sensations, and other feelings can help reduce stress and anxiety. While this may sound simple, many people have difficulty thinking about their thoughts. There are various techniques, like mindfulness meditation, that can help us focus and be aware of our thoughts.
How Can I Practice Mindfulness Of Thoughts?
To practice awareness of thoughts, people should first focus on their well-being. Take a few minutes out of your life and meditate on how you are feeling. Beginners should take their time and set their perspective on life non-judgmentally. Sit down in complete silence and begin by taking a deep breath.
Take control of your breathing and pay complete attention to the thoughts flowing through your head. For example, think about past or future events and your relationships with family, friends, or other people. Having a clear awareness of our thoughts teaches us more about our brain and body.
Enough people in this world have made wrong judgments about themselves or others. That is why, during mindfulness meditation, a person should look at their feelings or suffering without having assumed anything regarding those situations.
It is crucial to accept yourself and the community around you in order to learn to practice mindfulness of thoughts. There are a couple more exercises, like guided meditation, that can prove helpful to others trying to live in the moment.
Different Ways Of Practicing Mindfulness
While meditation is pretty useful for increasing awareness of thoughts, there are different ways to exercise the mind and enhance the feeling of being aware of our surroundings. This technique also benefits those who want to focus on their health and have control over a specific thought.
Notice The Nature Around You
A brilliant way of calming yourself before beginning meditation is to observe your surroundings. Look at the clouds in the blue sky, feel the effects and impact of the air flowing by, or hear the birds chirping. This reduces stress and brings a sense of calm to our heads.
Those that don’t have a pleasant environment around them can close their eyes and take a short breath first, processing images of trees and a river in their heads. This thought can help calm nerves and begin mindfulness meditation. It is also a valuable technique for those who struggle to sleep properly.
Take A Moment To Notice The Feeling In Your Body
Before beginning meditation, take a moment to do a complete body check. Start from the bottom of your toes and slowly move up until you finally reach the top of your head. Take a while to think about how you are feeling. This exercise helps us be more conscious of our health and frees us from any burdens that may hinder mindfulness during meditation.
Breathe In And Begin The Stream Of Thoughts
After being thoroughly prepared, invite the domain of emotional thoughts and feelings to take center stage in the domain of awareness. Here, the idea is to think of these thoughts as pages flowing through a river. Take a deep breath and let every thought flow through your head as calmly and smoothly as possible.
Remember that these are just thoughts, not facts. Don’t start believing a thought, and instead, look at it neutrally. This technique is essential for learning about the truth and lies in each thought that enters our minds. The more you practice this mindfulness-amplifying exercise, expect to gain a significant amount of clarity in your decisions, actions, and the actions of others towards you.
Learn How Thoughts Fabricate Your Belief
During meditation, start thinking about how thoughts affect our views, ideas, and stories and how easily they change our beliefs. To do this, experiment with past scenarios and try to remember how certain words could affect our thoughts during these situations. Realize that you don’t always have to believe or get caught up in these thoughts.
There are plenty of benefits to paying attention to the reality of a particular thought. It can bring more clarity to your life and free you from negative thoughts that could happen in the future. After completing this or other forms of meditation, let go of the thoughts with another deep breath and open your eyes.
This can be practiced regularly by anyone, including children, to learn to listen more to each passing thought. Even better, this can help make our beliefs firm in certain situations in life and promote a more decisive attitude.
Conclusion
Having mindful thoughts can help support our goal of being a better version of ourselves. There are plenty of engaging exercises to practice this ability. It will help us distinguish our thoughts and beliefs and assist us in building resilience towards stress, anxiety, and similar detrimental side effects of poor mental health.
Moreover, people can practice them early in the morning or at night before sleeping. For example, after having dinner, go to your room and meditate on your thoughts. Evidence shows that taking a few minutes can help make a difference in your life, so begin the journey today and don’t hesitate.
