Yes, That’s a Great Thought - See You After Meditation

A meditation question arrived in our inbox and I am sharing the response here because it is a common predicament for many of us. It highlights the balance between quietening the mind and the need for practical responsibility in daily life and allowing for creative genius-ness!

MEDITATION

Gita

Yes, That’s a Great Thought - See You After Meditation

This question arrived in the inbox of our Quiet Mind Open Heart Meditation group and I am sharing it here because it is a common predicament for many of us. It highlights the balance between quietening the mind and the need for practical responsibility in daily life and allowing for innate genius-ness!

Question:

When thoughts arise in meditation, especially which are maybe a new idea or something I don’t want to forget, a task I have to do, which I keep forgetting I have to do - at a beginning stage, how should I proceed in meditation?

Should I write this thought down? Or should I practice letting it go?

I find trying to let it go almost feels like I am agreeing to continue to forget to do this task, almost irresponsible. So maybe the key is a shift of perspective.

Meditation Tip:

Finding the balance is always a challenge so ... you suggested a shift in perspective to value both your meditation and these important thoughts, so let's explore how to do that.

Let it Go

In meditation we are not suppressing the thoughts, we acknowledge they are there, they are mental events and we practice not to get caught in their story. Many thoughts that arise in meditation are not important. They are replays, daydreams etc. It's not so much about the thought but the narrative and emotion that it carries that pulls our focus away from the meditation practice. For many thoughts we practice to relax and let them go.

But some thoughts, like you asked, we need to act on, just not at the time of our meditation practice :)

Park It

Changing our language around this can help. I have a friend who uses the term "park it", which essentially means to put it aside until she is ready to give her focus to it. It acknowledges the value of that thought, and at the same time, that now is not the time to deal with it. She uses this term outside of meditation as well to stay focused on day to day tasks. You could also say something neutral like the idea or task has arrived / planning / remembering, any word or phrase that resonates with you.

Stay Seated

At the same time decide not to get out of your meditation posture. As we know physical movement breaks the meditation energy. Gently bring your attention back to your meditation technique. The thought has been mentally acknowledged and "parked" for later, so your mind can relax its grip. Have paper and a pen nearby and write it down immediately after your meditation has finished.

Innate Genius

When we sit still and relax, when we give ourselves a break from the busyness of the day to day it may be that we have amazing, creative ideas, that our innate genius-ness is unlocked :)

I have my best ideas during meditation! I tell myself to save it for after. It is important to keep the discipline of the meditation practice otherwise we are creating a new unuseful habit. In this way you are strengthening your mental discipline, you decide when to engage with the thought rather than the thoughts being in control. This benefit will spill over to benefit many aspects of life.

Let me know if this was useful for you and if there are any other creative solutions you found beneficial.