Let Your Light Shine by Ali Smith & Atman Smith & Andres Gonzalez

Author:Ali Smith & Atman Smith & Andres Gonzalez [Smith, Ali & Smith, Atman & Gonzalez, Andres]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

Next Thought Meditation

After growing up meditating as children, Ali and Atman’s meditation practice stopped after their parents’ divorce. Uncle Will knew he was pretty much starting from scratch with their practice. The first meditation he showed them was the next thought meditation. Most people fight with their minds during their meditation practice and try to block out thoughts; this has the opposite effect and actually makes more thoughts come. The mind has natural stillness there; you just have to know where to find it. Sit in a meditative posture with your back, neck, and head aligned.

Begin by doing deep rhythmic breathing.

With each breath feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed.

Now that you are relaxed, allow your breathing to slow to a nice, easy, natural rate, one that is effortless and just goes on its own.

Now bring your focus to your mind. You are going to start by watching the thoughts that are flowing through your mind. Watch them like you were watching a movie or TV show. Don’t judge them or take ownership of them, just be the witness and watch them. Do this for a couple of minutes.

After doing this for a couple of minutes, whatever thought is in your mind, allow it to reach completion, then watch for the next thought to form. If another thought pops up, see that one, without ownership or judgment, let it pass, and then watch for the next thought to form. Just keep repeating that process. A thought arises, you see it without ownership or judgment, let it pass, and watch for the next thought. Just keep watching for the next thought.

Do this for a few minutes, then gradually bring yourself out of the practice.

The first time Ali did this practice, he walked over to Uncle Will with a confused look on his face and said, “Uncle Will, I think I broke the meditation.”

Uncle Will said, “What?”

Ali repeated, “I think I broke the meditation, Uncle Will.”

Uncle Will started laughing and said, “How the hell can you break a meditation?”

Ali said, “Well, I was watching my thoughts and then when it came to an end there was nothing there, it was an empty space. So I put a thought there because there should have been a thought in my mind. Then I watched that one to the end, and when I watched for the next thought there was a blank space again.”

Uncle Will, still laughing, said, “That’s what was supposed to happen. There is space between your thoughts; most people just don’t know it’s there. When you watch your mind, your mind is like, ‘Oh shit, he’s paying attention’ and freezes up and gets still.”

Ali smiled and said, “Ooooooooh!”

When most people do this practice, that’s what happens. They disrupt their own mental stillness by inserting thoughts into that stillness because they are used to thoughts being there. So embrace the stillness when you find it. Once you find it, you can cultivate it, and the stillness will get longer and longer.

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