Wandering mind

[Simonjk]

Hi there.....

Out of curiosity, how much does peoples minds wander during meditation ?

I have done a couple of sessions in the past week where my mind wandered so much I don't think I ever counted the breaths to 10 once. My take has always been this is normal its what the mind does, the key is when its noticed to just accept "oh thinking" and bring the focus back..... over and over... without judgement.

I have started to adopt this during the day to help combat my OCD based anxiety, when I notice my mind wandering onto negative ruminations (actually any unasked for thinking) I simply think "thinking" and then congratulate myself for catching thought and move the focus to a physical object (or the breath or what i'm reading etc).

I find that when you do that the train of though almost immediately stops (without resisting or engaging with the thoughts). it almost as if the mind is like a naughty child who doesn't want to play that game once you've caught it out.

Anyone have similar experiences ? or am i way off the mark ?

Simon

[FeeHutch]

I am pretty confident that everyone's mind wanders because that is what minds do. A lot of people do post about this, sometimes feeling anxious that means they aren't 'doing it right' or that mindfulness 'isn't working' but I always think that noticing a wandering mind is mindfulness in action.

[Cheesus]

Sounds about right to me

One thing which I think is worth highlighting, particularly due to your OCD based anxiety which I have suffered from terribly, is that your attitude ought to be non-judgemental and compassionate as possible. So, to use your analogy of the 'naughty child', the feeling towards the mind should be more along the lines of 'boys will be boys' rather than 'this bloody child is making me insane'.

From the sounds of it you are doing just that, but I thought it was just worth making crystal clear

EDIT: Just to add, if I am having trouble staying with the breath I usually just say gently in my mind 'in' and 'out' rather than counting. I have found this to be very effective and stops me getting hung up on how far I have managed to count (which usually isn't very far). It has helped me to remove an element of judgement. Just a thought.

[Simonjk]

Thanks, I do like the idea of saying in and out I will give that a go this weekend.

Catching thoughts in a none judgemental way, I think takes time. Its effectivly unlearing a lifetime of "oh no not those thoughts, why cant i make them stop". So occasionally i still end up doint that, but i am only 2 months in to what should be a lifetimes journey.

I have noticed that when i catch the thoughts, and respond with "Im thinking, well done simon for spotting that". The mind seems much less interested in in those thoughts, almost as if ive spoilt its fun.

Simon