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Insight Meditation
Most of us are captivated by our thinking mind, and absorbed in an endless chain of thoughts. And, while thinking may be a wonderful ability, too much of it can drive us crazy.
Our obsession with thought can make life into an endless treadmill that exhausts and depletes us. And we can’t seem to stop ourselves from doing it.
Consider all the ways that you try to escape from the turmoil of your thoughts. You may numb with alcohol or drugs, distract with entertainment or pleasure, practice extreme sports, take prescribed medication, or try to override the internal chaos by adhering to fundamentalist beliefs.
"Our obsession with thought can make life into an endless treadmill that exhausts and depletes us."
While these coping mechanisms can offer a reprieve from the cacophony of your mind, they are temporary fixes. Once their effect has worn off, your thoughts come rushing back more chaotic than ever.
It makes no sense to escape the effects of compulsive thinking by trying to shut down your mind. This only results in dumbing you down and diminishing your power. It is throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water. This is why it has never worked and only makes you more agitated in the long run.
"It makes no sense
to escape the effects
of compulsive thinking
by trying to shut down
your mind."
There is a time-tested solution for the problem of an
over-active mind. It is the ancient practice of meditation
from the 2,500 year old Buddhist tradition.
The key to this is discovering that your mind has a capacity that is much greater than rational thought. You have an innate ability to simply be aware, which enables you to be fully present in each moment. And in this state of presence, your mind is quiet, the meaning of life is surprisingly self-evident, and you are truly content.
"your mind has a capacity that is much greater than rational thought."
When you turn your attention away from thought, and focus on an immediate
sensory experience instead, you begin to feel the infinite field of awareness that is
the source of life itself.
Eventually, you recognize yourself as an integral part of that field. And the stress and anxiety that come with feeling alone in the world simply melts away as you realize your inherent connection with everything around you.
"the stress and anxiety that come with feeling alone in the world simply melts away as you realize your inherent connection with everything around you."
Insight Meditation is the practice of sustaining your attention on a sensory experience, instead of a thought. You learn to hold your attention on a simple repetitive sensation such as the body’s natural breathing.
This awakens your senses, concentrates your energy, and focuses your mind. Doing this repeatedly, your mind becomes steady and you begin to see things in an entirely new way.
This practice enables you to experience things as they are, not as you think they are. It connects you to reality in a profound way that eases chronic anxiety and enables sustained clarity and contentment.
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