Not Fighting or Feeding

The end result of meditation can be a quieter mind. But often when we pause to practice, we become acutely aware of how active the mind is. In those moments, the reflexive response can be to try to stop the thoughts, which proves futile and frustrating. Several images come to mind: the arcade game Whack-A-Mole where we try to hit the animal that pops its head up through a hole, only to have another pop up somewhere else; or the image of trying to stop a leak in a dam with ones finger, only to have another leak spring up.

Other times, a thought may arise and it feels so juicy and important that we feed it. Perhaps we’re engaged in Compassion practice, and we’re holding in our attention someone who is struggling, and just as we’re about to begin sending them a wish for an end to their discomfort, we have a thought about how we might help them solve their problem or about what it was that got them into that struggle to begin with. Our well-wishes are dropped on the side of the road and we’re off on a detour, foot on the gas pedal of thought.

Each of these ways of relating to thought (fighting and feeding) can convince us that we’re “bad meditators”, when really we just need to tweak our response. We can begin by understanding that the mind’s job is to generate thoughts. It’s nothing personal, it’s natural and normal. They are just blips of energy….. just ….. thoughts.

Next, we can dip into our bag of meditation metaphors and see if any of them helps us shift our relationship to our thoughts. Metaphors help concepts become more understandable, remind us of the universality of our experience, and inject a bit of humor and space into the moment. Some of our favorites are:

“Helium balloons on a warm summer day”: we can see them as non-threatening, amusing objects that will float away if we release the string.

“Catch and release”: thoughts are like fish on the hook of our attention, and we can let them go.

“Parade”: we can either try to watch a parade by standing in the middle of the street, being buffeted and bounced about, or we can pull up a chair on the curb and watch it all pass by.

“Stream”: same approach as the parade. We can attempt to stand the middle of a flowing river or we can sit peacefully on the bank.

What metaphors help you relate in a skillful way to thoughts??

May all beings without exception experience joy (and humor) in the exploration of their lived experience,
Your CMP family