Demystifying Meditation: The Truth about Downward Spiraling Thinking
6 Ways to Use Mindfulness to Meditate when your awareness shifts away from your intention
Have you ever found yourself enthralled by the amazing life-altering possibilities that lie ahead? Enlivened, enthusiastic, and captivated at the countless ways in which you could experience complete and unbound experiences of joy and abundance, only for your thoughts to spiral away from your intentions, and onto the absolute worst that could happen.
More often than not, when you sit to meditate, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and all matter of things begin to rise to the surface shifting your attention away from the very practice you are seeking to evolve.
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. This post will explore 6 ways to meditate when your mind is spiraling away from your intention.
The Disturbing Nature of Downward Spiraling Thoughts
Despite our best intentions at any point in time, we may find ourselves caught up in a downward spiral of fear that quickly leads to self-doubt. When we sit to meditate our attention is often pulled away from our intended focus and onto all of the many other things, we could be doing with our time.
Suddenly we are bombarded, with any manner of distractions that simultaneously compete for our attention. We often find ourselves thinking more of all of the things we have yet to accomplish on our neverending to-do list, along with all manner of things that we may feel obligated to attend to. The next thing you know your experience is spent in more deep thought, than actual meditation.
Displeased that you misaligned with your intention, the effects of judgment and self-critique quickly begin to arise. Being that we are often our worst critics, this can quickly send us into a downward spiral that leads us down the tortuous path of self-doubt. Suddenly you may find yourself entertaining feelings of worthiness, as well as all manner of low vibrational thoughts that threaten topull you further into a downward spiral. In fact, you may even find yourself questioning whether you have what it takes to even engage in a inconsistent practice. This level of thinking opens the door to other like-minded thoughts that can swiftly cause you to entertain the absolute worst-case scenario.
Interestingly, I can recall countless times in which I was solely intent on stepping outside of my norm to embrace new possibilities that lie completely outside of my current experience. In all, I was enthusiastic beyond belief at the many ways in which this particular venture would change both my life and the life of my family, all the while I was fearful, apprehensive, and scared shitless. Practically everything about it both excited and terrified me all at the same dam time. In fact, there was absolutely little to nothing about what I was seeking to venture into that even remotely resembled the familiar. For what seemed the longest time, I had set my intentions, practiced, and prepared myself to jump in headfirst. That is until I was forced to actually take action. Suddenly every thought was infused with playing out the absolute worst-case scenario. There I was holding on to every excuse imaginable to avoid the very thing I was seeking to embrace. So many times I have found myself caught up in the web of every bad thing that could possibly happen. For every time I relented and abandoned my intentions, it led to more of the very thing that I was seeking to change. In all it is something that I equated with going in circles to only end back at same starting point.
The Origin of Thought
The truth is you absolutely cannot stop the flow of your thoughts. However, the substance of your thoughts is influenced by all that you consume. Consumption is not just what you eat, as it includes absolutely all that you take in. From the news, TV programs, political debates, movies, and all manner of things that leave an impression on your mind. Practically, everything that we expose ourselves to has the potential to leave an indelible impression.
Contrary to popular belief we don’t think thoughts we obtain them. Mostly the substance of what we consume from our environment is recycled and infused into our thoughts. Likewise, the same applies when you experience nightmares the morning after watching a Steve King horror film. Only it’s less apparent when you’re not plagued with the images that have you afraid of closing your eyes out of fear of someone or something inflicting some horrific undesirable harm while you sleep.
The Power of Mindfulness: Shifting your Awareness
Anything that lies outside of our current experience can cause an innumerable amount of fear, apprehension, and confusion. The very presence of these feelings does not mean that we should shy away from our intentions, and believe that the very things that we fear will come to fruition. In life, there is in fact very little that we have control of the outside of ourselves. There is a substantial amount of situations, circumstances, events, and people we have very little to no control over.
Essentially, fear is one hell of an energetically charged emotion that can threaten to steal our awareness away from our intended focus. However, we do not have to surrender our power to the wayward unpredictability of our thoughts. If we can envision and intend it, we can usher it into fruition. Essentially everything happens to you as you believe. This means if you surrender your power to the absolute worst-case scenario, the chances of it coming into manifestation are highly likely.
During meditation, thoughts will arise, swirl, and threaten to derail our attention. The minute we shift away from observing the inherent flow of thoughts as they pass through our awareness, and personalize it by identifying and internalizing these thoughts we predispose ourselves to get pulled into the downward spiral of disparaging thoughts. This increases the likelihood of us relinquishing our power to the unpredictable whims of thought.
Interestingly, most of the very things that we fear exclusively lie within the imaginal realms of mind, never to factually take shape and emerge into reality. Therefore, the beauty of mindfulness lies within practices that empower us to reclaim our awareness by shifting our awareness back to our intended focus. When this happens, we can tap into a number of mindfulness practices to aid us to remain aligned with our intentions.
When it comes to mediation, using the practice of acceptance, non-judgment, the breath, grace, and beginning again can support us to shift our awareness away from rampant thoughts and onto a focus that is rooted within the present moment. This essentially reinforces the notion that we are so much more than the sum of our thoughts.
6 Ways to Use Mindfulness to Meditate when your awareness shifts away from your Intention
1. Awareness
As a collective, we tend to spend a lot of our time in our heads. The more caught up we are in the flow of our thoughts, the less grounded we are within the present moment. Our awareness is the one thing that we have control of. At any given moment we have the power to govern where we are placing our awareness.
Interestingly, the more we are carried away with thoughts of the past, and anticipations of the future, the less available we are to be aware of all that unfolds on a moment-to-moment basis.
2. Acceptance
In life, there are situations, circumstances, events, people, and all manner of things that are outside of our realm of control. Let’s face it, the only thing we can control is our response to what passes through out experience.
It is human nature to resist what doesn’t align with our desires. However, anger, frustration, and every other reaction that resists what is does more harm than good. Acceptance of what is, frees us from the emotional and physical reactions that occur within our physical bodies. Acceptance doesn’t equate to compliance. This means you don’t have to necessarily like what’s unfolding to accept it.
3. Non-Judgement
For many of us, self-judgment has evolved into something that has essentially become second nature. Therefore, the practice of non-judgment is far from automatic, meaning it requires conscious thought. Habits occur as a result of deliberate, consistent practice, and effort. Therefore, anytime your mind strays during meditation and/or your experiences fail to align with your intention, release any judgment and redirect your attention back onto your intended focus.
4. Root Your awareness within the Present Moment
Individuals commonly use the rhythm and the flow of the breath as a focal point to root their awareness within the present moment. This raises a very important question, why the breath. Unlike thoughts, emotions, feelings, and most other things, the breath can only occur within the realm of the present moment. Essentially, you cannot breath in the past or the future, only within the now moment. Therefore, rooting your awareness within the natural flow of the breath centers your awareness within the present.
5. Graciousness
Historically we have been and continue to be one of our biggest critics. As a collective, we are taught at an early age to withhold the judgment of others, in favor of the notion that we should “love thy neighbor as thy self.” This reinforces the notion that we should ease our judgment of others. However, it remains silent on judgment, and self critique. In doing so, mindfulness and mediation calls us to unlearn a lot of habits, beliefs, and practices that no longer serve. Grace empowers us to be foregive, and be gracious with ourselves.
6. Begin Again
The intention for mediation is to root ourselves within the present moment. During meditation, whenever we notice that our attention has shifted away from our intended focus, we have the power to bring it back to the flow of the breath as many times as need be, and begin again.