Transforming The Wandering Mind

 Distancing from wandering thoughts as in giving less time and attention to them makes sense to me.  What isn't reinforced by attention is likely to diminish.  The problem for me is that it is much easier said than done, especially at 3 am a couple times per week, when my wandering thoughts are most active and loud and most resistant to being ignored.  I've utilized various methods to distance and quiet, most of which bring some success sometimes.  I have only limited success even with meditation or meditation oriented efforts during those wee hours of the morning.  I find what works best for me is no or minimal eating or drinking for a couple hours before going to bed.  Wandering thoughts are sometimes also a problem when I read, and the wandering thoughts interfere with my comprehension.  What works best for me is taking care of whatever business before reading and/or finding a very quiet and even private reading place.  It occurs to me that I don't often have difficulty with single-pointed placement of my mind; I have more problem with unpointed placement of my mind, that is, simply being without any single-pointed focus and without attention to wandering thoughts.  Those are my most satisfying moments.     

 I have been regularly practicing mindfulness mediation. I have found this way of meditating very helpful. Meditation has helped me to be more aware of the wandering mind and the mind that gets stuck with something that happened in the past filled with deep sadness and emotional pain. When such  deep sad feelings arise in me I allow them to come and go realizing that nothing is indeed permanent. When I am not sad, it is easy for me to think and say nothing is permanent. This  kind of thinking feels  superficial. But when I deeply feel the loss of my beloved wife, sadness arises in my heart. I do not deny it and I do not fight it. I accept that human part of myself and allow myself to feel it. Breathing deeply lets me be centered and helps me go through this experience without getting stuck with it. Slowly and gradually the realization that nothing is permanent unfolds and lets me be free from myself. This is indeed a liberating and healing process. I always remind myself what I  learned from Carl Jung; You need to feel in order to heal. There is a grace in suffering. It offers me an opportunity to grow and be empathic and compassionate to others

When I want to focus my mind on something that is very interesting and important, and if my mind gets distracted, I gently bring it back to my breathing.In this way my breathing becomes my anchor. I feel centered and grounded.
I find such experiential learning profoundly helpful and healing. I need to practice it regularly. With practice, it becomes easy to live in the present fully. I experience peace and deep contentment. I feel connected with me and with others around me.

Wandering mind, the monkey mind, at times visits me. However, the visiting time  gets shorter. The conditioned and habitual mind at times makes me judge and criticize others. Before the mind gets caught up in the habitual and default reactive thought patterns, I mindfully become aware of them and attend to what is happening.

I appreciate reading this article for giving me opportunity to contemplate and express my ongoing learning. 

Gratefully,

Jagdish P Dave