I’m sure you know about “monkey-mind” – the inner voice that talks in your head all day long. You know, the one that says so many mean things? The one that never shuts up. The one that keeps you up at night worrying about things that happened a decade ago or haven’t happened at all.
Ya, that one.
Especially those of us who are ‘highly sensitive’ tend to have a very active and persistent monkey-mind. Not only can it neverendingly play back all the moments in life we wish we could forget, but often it even plays back ‘video’ in full technicolor, just to make sure we’re paying attention.
The thing about monkey-mind is that you don’t have to be at it’s mercy. Really.
If your mind tends to be filled with chaos, stressful thoughts, past failures and all the things that have gone wrong, then let’s start to change all that.
The thing with monkey-mind is that some part of your subconscious mind is actually trying to help you – it’s just not doing a good job. But we can show it another way to help, which it will, once it sees your goal.
The solution to monkey-mind is silence, and to create some silence in your mind, meditation can be the biggest and most effective key.
Why?
Because meditation is the art of finding the space in-between the thoughts.
So, if you have rampant monkey-mind, how can you ever meditate???
Easy. Start simple.
Breathe.
Breathe deeply, into the bottom of the belly. Feel your body filling with air. Feel how it feels to breathe in. Then slowly exhale, feeling the air leaving your body, feeling the muscles in your neck, shoulders and back releasing.
Then do it again. And again.
Just start with three deep breaths. Practice just that until you can completely focus on breathing and nothing else. If thoughts float in, simply push them aside. (I actually use an inner vision of a hand pushing the written words away in my mind).
When you can do three breaths with focus and inner silence, try six. Then a minute. Then five.