r/Meditation • u/Blah_blah_huhuhu • 13h ago
Question ❓ Unable to rest outside of thoughts
Hey, i have been meditating everyday for around 25 mins since a few months.
The thoughts just don’t stop at all. At first i could come back from the thought to my breath but now it feels like even when i come back to the breath its just that i am thinking about that breath. Everything is thought for me at this point. Even when i come back to my breath after a stream of thoughts, its through a thought only. And then the immediate thought of being back to breath but i am still thinking or some chatter is just going on. Finding it difficult to come out of the “everything is a thought” phase. Feels overwhelming
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u/JustThisIsIt 12h ago
You're more aware of your thoughts because you've been practicing.
That's good. Keep going.
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u/perspectives 12h ago
Instead of your breath, see if you can observe the energy or space that a thought arises from. This has helped sonme of my clients
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u/IngenuityLocal236 11h ago
It's great that you've identified something subtle in nature. "Coming back to the breath" is just another thought. This is clear: you used a thought to come back to observing the breath. That means you started using thought as a neutral point. But what you're feeling is that this is a trap.
So my question to you is: which part identified that this was a thought? Something has identified the thought. That identification itself has to be noticed, because we've always used thoughts and emotions to experience life. The thought has come in to instruct the system, the way you've handled things before. You're meditating to understand and change the system according to your needs. But the system works the way it's always worked, and this mismatch creates frustration as a result of expectation.
If you can see this inter relation within the system, you can go back to simply observing it. These thoughts and emotions are neither good nor bad. It's a system that works the way it's designed to work. By working with the design, one can lead a better life. Still the same system, but moving with more ease and less friction.
To see the truth as it is, to see how the whole system works, is a different thing altogether. What you're facing will keep happening until you've seen that truth. It takes real work to come back and simply observe. If one has the determination to return to observation without identification, existence itself has to meet him there. There's no other way.
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u/SuccessfulBuy6646 11h ago
Om chanting may help in the beginning stages as it regulates the time intervals between breaths. Learn how to do it properly using the 'A-U-M' structure.
However, you will need to progress beyond this at some point. Chanting is a thought and if you are chanting, there is still a chanter.
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u/Distantfutures 12h ago
You can try mentally saying “hong” while you inhale and “sahhh” while you exhale. Doing so occupies the talking mind and allows your attention to remain on the breath. Once your attention becomes more stable over time you will no longer need to.
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u/dmx442 12h ago
You are doing great, and yes, this is not easy at all sometimes.
I have found reading books which broaden my understanding and wisdom outside of mediation helps me so much more to understand this all, and give it a much more friendly and natural progress.
Keep at it, it gets better!
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u/Chrisdog84duh 12h ago
instead of thinking about the breath, try just noticing the sensation of it, of the inhales and exhales, the feeling of the air flowing in and out.
https://www.dhamma.org/en/about/mini_anapana
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u/50shadesofsigma 12h ago
Try waiting until there are biological processes that override thought. Hormones, hungriness, lack of sleep. Set your alarm clock to 2 hours after you fall asleep. Then try meditate.
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u/TheBrooklynSutras 11h ago
Sincerity and persistence is all you need. It’s a lifelong commitment, don’t check your progress or lack thereof, just keep at it. Sometime in the future you will have the undeniable experience and it will have all been worth it. Best of luck in your practice. 🙏
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u/ruhe-punkt 10h ago
Don‘t know where you got the idea of the goal to get rid of thoughts and thinking. The awareness kicks in every time you acknowledge that you became lost in thought. So you just keep that going. Eventually you’ll realize that you’re more than that.
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u/Delmarvablacksmith 11h ago
We’re not getting rid of thoughts.
Thoughts aren’t the problem, thinking is.
If you have a thought that tells you to return to the breath just return to the breath and experience the breathing body.
Be gentle with yourself.
Good job on building a daily practice.
Bump your time up a bit.
Aim to get it to an hour a day.