Thought trains
We talk about “trains of thought.” You can think of these as being like real locomotive trains that pull into a busy station and then go rattling off. Most of them don’t go anywhere that we particularly want to go (most of them are to do with worrying, getting angry, running ourselves down, etc). But our mind is like a little kid that’s very restless and curious, and keeps going through the open doors into the carriages.
Before we know it we’re miles away from where we wanted to be (in dangerous territory, often!), and it takes us forever to get home.
By learning meditation you can learn just to watch the trains pulling up and pulling away, being aware of them and choosing not to get into them.
Are there any trains we want to get into? Yes. Some thoughts can be useful, if they are reflections about our meditation, for example. Such thoughts take us deeper into our meditation.
One difference between useful thought trains and those that take us into distractions, is that when we’re reflecting (as opposed to being distracted), we know what we’re thinking and why, and what effect those thoughts are having). By contrast distracted thoughts are like dreams — we don’t know we’re in them until we “wake up.”
But it can take a while to recognize which thoughts are useful and at first it’s not a bad idea simply to treat all thoughts as distractions and to let them all depart from the station of the mind while you “just sit” on the platform.
Comments
Comment from Galadriel
Time: August 17, 2010, 1:45 pm
Hi
I have been practising „mindfulness” meditation and I am not quite sure how to deal with emerging thoughts.
I have a problem.
When doing the exercise, I focus on the breath. When I notice that I have other thoughts,
I gently push them away and continue focusing on the breath.
However, I do not pay extra attention to observe my mind looking for emerging thoughts.
I focus on the breath only, and notice these thoughts automatically.
Due to the fact that I only focus on the breath, I am unable to notice some thoughts,
which are too faint or short or semi-conscious.
I have been meditating for quite a long time, and I have read several sources.
They all tell you to focus only on the object of meditation (breath, mantra,…).
They take granted that you will notice thoughts automatically(without looking for them).
However, I have found that if I do the exercise this way, 2 things happen:
1, I am less aware of my thoughts, and often only notice them when my attention has already drifted of completely
(this happens quite often).
2, I also have some faint semi-conscious thoughts (these are barely above my perceptual threshold,
therefore I am unable to detect them, unless I pay extra attention to looking for them in my mind).
Can you give me some suggestions.
Is it all right, if I focus on the breath only, and fail notice faint or semi-conscious thoughts
and drift off for longer periods during meditation.
Or should I try to pay extra attention: not only observe the breath, but observe the mind for any emerging thought?
Thank you for answering
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: August 19, 2010, 1:25 pm
Hi again, Galadriel.
I wouldn’t suggest “pushing thoughts away,” and would suggest you think more in terms of allowing thoughts to pass through, and letting go of them when you find you’ve become caught up in them.
Is it all right, if I focus on the breath only, and fail notice faint or semi-conscious thoughts…
Yes, that’s fine. You don’t need to pay any attention to them. Just follow the breath.
…and drift off for longer periods during meditation.
Well, that’s when you have to become aware of your thinking, and to consciously let go of the thoughts, coming gently back to the breath.
Or should I try to pay extra attention: not only observe the breath, but observe the mind for any emerging thought?
It’s fine simply to observe the breath, but once you’ve gained a higher degree of mental stillness it’s possible to notice thoughts as they begin to arise, and when this happens you can choose to let the thoughts go without ever getting caught up in them. I don’t think many people get to that point very often, but it’s worth working at this when you sense that the mind is becoming stiller. Otherwise, just keep following the breath and letting go of thoughts once you realize you’ve become lost in them.
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