Come and see the show!

When we begin a meditation practice we may sit in stillness and silence. Very soon we may notice something going on; the mind will want to behave like a restless puppy not wanting to risk anything approaching boredom!

Next we may notice ourselves getting carried away and there is no guessing where we may be going. We had no idea that meditation was going to be like this! We observe the chaos and clutter of our busy minds. It's like discovering a zoo, or a circus inside our own heads! We are invited to take the best ( the only) seat in the theatre of our own minds.

In the scramble for our serious undivided attention it is always the difficult, uncomfortable, dramatic thoughts that take centre stage.

Our habitual way of dealing with this leads us to get stuck on these uncomfortable thoughts, giving them energy. We believe they are reality, we believe that they are truth, we believe that they have real substance and power. We feed so much energy into these thoughts that they seem to have a power that cannot be resisted. But this power is what we ourselves have created and given them. A thought left alone has no force or power.

When we do the work of observing what is going on, recognising that reactive habits may be unhelpful and there is another method which involves choosing a response from a safer, healthier, more reliable and grounded standpoint, then meditation ceases to be boring and becomes liberating.

We start the practice. We continue the practice. We practice some more. The restless puppy takes some training. We can enjoy being patient because we soon begin to notice the rewards.

What is meditation?

If you want to understand the mind, just sit still and observe it.