95. Overthinking and Awareness of Thought Meditation (Depression and Anxiety Coping Skills Podcourse)

November 29, 2023

In this meditation, you'll learn to connect with the observer within, the part of your mind that can step back and simply observe your thoughts. This is a powerful antidote for overthinking. It may seem challenging at first, but with practice, it becomes a powerful tool for mindfulness and self-awareness. And don’t worry if you feel distracted during this meditation… the goal of this meditation is to actually realize that you are the thinker. Your thoughts are creations of your mind and they only have power if you give it to them. This practice helps you embrace your role as a powerful co-creator of your own experiences and emotional reactions.

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Episode Transcript

Welcome to Joy Lab!: Welcome to the Joy Lab podcast, where we help you uncover and foster your most joyful self. Your hosts, Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek, bring you the ideal mix of soulful and scientifically sound tools to spark your joy, even when it feels dark. When you're ready to experiment with more joy, combine this podcast with the full Joy Lab program over at JoyLab.coach

Henry: I wanna set up this meditation by giving you a little bit of a description for how I imagine doing this as you're sitting. The goal of this meditation is to be able to identify with the part of your mind that is able to step back and observe. So this is very hard for people who have never done this before.

It's a, it's a hard concept initially. But once you've done it and once you have had the experience of identifying with the observing self, you're going to find it much, much easier. And then with practice, you'll get better and better at identifying your thoughts. So here's how I imagine this happening.

Picture yourself sitting along the banks of a river. And you're just sitting there quietly, observing. This is your observing self. And on this river, you'll see things float by from time to time. Sometimes it's just a piece of wood or something that maybe isn't very interesting. But other times it's something that really draws your interest.

You really think it's important. So you're just sitting here observing, and these thoughts are floating by, and you are staying. Or at least you're trying to stay on the banks of the river. Now, what you'll find is that something will come along that seems so interesting and so compelling that you actually leave the banks of the river, you get in, you latch onto it, and you're swept downriver with it.

That's fine. That is just what happens, especially when you're starting. However, when you see it, when you realize that you are no longer present. You're no longer, you know, sitting and observing. That your thoughts have carried you away, then just recognize that, maybe say quietly to yourself, " my thoughts have carried me away," or whatever you'd like.

And then bring yourself right back to sitting on the bank of the river and watching again as this stream of consciousness passes in front of you. Now sometimes when you do this, you'll find that your mind seems really blank, that there's not much happening. You don't have, you don't seem to have thoughts that come along.

If that happens for you, that is absolutely fine. It's normal. It's probably desirable because it means that your mind is at rest. You have a quiet mind at that moment. There will be other times where your mind is anything but quiet. Perhaps it's so full of thought or activity that you really have a hard time, you're struggling to stay focused on something as subtle and nuanced as thought. When that happens, you might need to do something more physical.

Maybe you need to go for a mindful walk. Maybe you need to do something that gets you grounded in the moment through some physical touch or warmth or something soothing. But if you can try to stay with it because this will pay off so much when you really develop the capacity to be able to sit and observe your thoughts.

Henry: Let's begin the meditation.

So I just invite you to sit quietly. Try to set up a time when you're by yourself. Won't be interrupted. You may sit on a chair. You may lay down. You can sit on a cushion. Whatever you're most comfortable with.

And if you'd like, you can allow your eyes to close and just let one hand rest in the other or both hands rest upon your thigh.

If you're able, breathe through the nostrils.

Allowing the breath to draw you deeper and deeper into this moment in time.

Really let yourself notice the breath.

There's nothing else you need to do right now. There's no place else you need to be. Just allow yourself to be fully here.

See if you're able to keep your, your mind's focus on your breath for three complete cycles of breathing.

And you can always return to your breath throughout this meditation or really at any time, to bring yourself back into the present. It's a very good way to get yourself grounded again.

So now imagine that you are that observer sitting by the banks of the stream.

Just watching what arises and what, what passes in front of you.

There is no need to remember the thoughts that arise. There's no need to figure them out or understand them. This is simply about observing.

When thoughts arise, it sometimes is helpful for people to just to see and maybe tell yourself what they are. For example, this is a memory, or this is a fear, or this is... about the future. If that's helpful to you, you can certainly label the thought, or you might just say, this is just a thought.

Notice again where your mind is. Are you still just sitting and quietly observing whatever's going on in your mind, or have you been drawn away?

And if so, there's no need to judge that. It's actually really helpful to Notice, and to bring yourself back. It really is bringing yourself back to the moment that makes this kind of practice so helpful.

And just check in with yourself again to see if you are still present, still able to observe, and if not, just invite yourself to come back. To align with your observing self. And just to see the nature of your. Inner experience. No judgment, just to observe it as it is.

Whenever a thought arises, if you can see it as a thought and let it go; just see it, maybe label it as a thought and let it go; then you can hold yourself in this moment and the thoughts will have very little power over you. Very little influence. They're just thoughts.

And bring yourself back again to that place of observing. Just seeing what is. Seeing what is at this moment within your own mind.

And then bringing your awareness back to your breath. Let your breath invite you into this moment again. Back into your body, back into the space you occupy.

And end with just a moment of gratitude to yourself for taking the time to be with yourself in this way.

95. Overthinking and Awareness of Thought Meditation (Depression and Anxiety Coping Skills Podcourse)

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