This is an AI-generated transcript from auto-generated subtitles for the video Guided Meditation: "I See You;" Introduction to Mindfulness (19 of 25) Knowing Thoughts Simply. It likely contains inaccuracies, especially with speaker attribution if there are multiple speakers.

Guided Meditation: "Thoughts, I See You"; Dharmette: Introduction to Mindfulness (19 of 25) Knowing Thoughts Simply - Gil Fronsdal

The following talk was given by Gil Fronsdal at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on February 08, 2024. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Guided Meditation: "Thoughts, I See You"

Hello everyone, and welcome to the meditation. One of the characteristics of mindfulness meditation—that's meant to be a characteristic—is simplicity. And now we're, I think, on the 19th part of this 25-part introduction to mindfulness meditation. That's a lot of instructions and lends itself to the idea that it's complicated, a lot to remember.

But one way of understanding these instructions is that you've come into a new park. It's a large park, you've never been to it before, and you have a guide. The guide takes you to the different parts of the park, so you know where they are, you know what they are, and you know how to relate to each part of the park. And so next time you go, you go alone. Now you're not lost, you're not searching for the way. You just know, "Okay, now I'm here. Now I'm here. Now I'm here." And so now it's become very simple. Each part of the park is a simple thing to be in because you're well familiar with the territory.

There are a lot of instructions, but it's kind of like just laying out the map of the territory. Mindfulness is meant to be very simple. Each of the different parts comes into focus at different times when you're in different parts of your inner park. Part of that simplicity is this radically simple just knowing what the experience is. That's how we started this series at the very first teaching: the simplicity of just knowing what is happening. But now you can hopefully recognize more of what's happening—the richness, the different components of what's happening. And as you understand the ecosystem of the present moment, it's easier to be aware. Simply just know it. "Oh, this is what is happening. Know it now. There's a thought."

Just know the thought, and in the knowing, there is some freedom. In the knowing, there's some peace. In the knowing, there's some way of not being caught in the experience. Now I just know a thought, being present for the thought. Now I notice that the thought is connected to some emotion. Knowing the emotion, look at that, there's an emotion, as opposed to, "Oh no, I'm thinking again. Oh no, not that emotion." Just an emotion. And then you're aware with the emotion. Then, because you know the territory, it becomes kind of second nature to notice, "Oh, this is a physical part of it. This is where it is in the body." And there might be a little bit of guidance you give yourself because you know the territory, but the guidance is just to notice: where is the most appropriate place to offer your attention now? What's the most obvious place? And keeping the awareness very, very simple.

One of the ways to keep it simple is to use one of the tools in the toolbox of simplicity: mental noting¹. Just very quietly name, note, label the experience you're having. The actual label is not that important. What's important is the deeper acknowledgment that naming provides. If there is someone you haven't seen for a long time and they say hello to you with your name, then you know they've remembered you and they've acknowledged you more fully. It feels good. If you're in a room with a lot of people, and someone's going around saying hello to everyone, and they see you, and for a moment there's a glimmer of delight in their eyes, and they come to shake your hand, and as they shake your hand their hand goes limp and they're already looking over to the next person, it feels kind of deflating. Like, "Oh, as the person connects with me, they're not really here for me." With mindfulness, the simplicity of mindfulness is kind of like to know it, to acknowledge it, and name it so it's really acknowledged, and we step closer to it. So the naming, if we do it, is not the end of a process. It's not like a checklist. It's a gentle beginning of an opening to the experience more fully.

So with thinking, it can be very useful to name the thought, label it. It can be just "thinking", it could be "planning", it could be "remembering", it could be "fantasy", it could be "storytelling". The idea is not to spend a lot of time searching for the right label, but to name it with a simplicity of mind. We're using a thought—the word "thinking", for example, in the mind is kind of a thought—to better acknowledge that we're thinking, so the thinking relaxes, so we're not so caught in it. And we're using this thought that's a very simple recognition, ideally from a calm, maybe deeply peaceful place. Calmly, peacefully: "This is what it is." Sometimes it's helpful to be more specific what it is, not just "thinking". Something about a fuller acknowledgment, to clearly recognize, is helpful.

So as we do this meditation, we'll do it mostly quietly. As you begin to think, turn your attention and look your thoughts right in the eye, with no idea that it's wrong to think or you shouldn't be thinking. Just turn to it and go, "I see you. I see you, planning." But not, "I see you like you're a problem," but, "I see you, my friend. I see you, planning." Not that you're participating in the planning, but you're stepping back and just peacefully, calmly, "Ah, I see you, planning." And then, when you say "planning", unless the planning goes away right away, just spend three breaths opening to the whole experience of planning. And this is where, as you open to it, you might notice the words, that it's images, that it's the emotions, the physicality of it. You might notice by the third breath there's someplace you can relax and let go, and then begin again with your breathing.

So that's the main instruction: just look whatever thoughts you have right in the eye, acknowledge it's there. "I see you," with a label: "planning", "remembering". And see if you can make that really simple. The treasure of meditation is not found in the meditation that you're trying to do, but the treasure is found in the knowing, in how you know whatever is happening. So today, I'm going to just let the rest of the meditation be silent, and you can settle in the way you want, and hopefully do these meditation instructions as it works for you and fits you.

[Silence for guided meditation]

In the last few minutes of this quiet part of the meditation, experiment or discover the quietest way of naming, acknowledging, and being aware of thinking, without participating in what you're thinking about.

[Silence for guided meditation]

And now as we come to the end of the meditation, open your attention more widely to take in your whole body, your whole being here. And in some simple way, let yourself tell yourself, "I see you," in a way that you're saying, "I'm here with you. Here to support you, care for you." Saying this to yourself, where the emphasis is to really acknowledge and see in a simple way with kindness. And then opening your awareness more widely, but not leaving yourself out. Kind of like you're part of a whole.

And now gaze upon some form of the community that is around you—in the building you're in, the neighborhood you're in, the town you're in, some broader sense of community. And acknowledge—not exactly yourself, not exactly them, but acknowledge—this is a community. This is a somewhat related set of human beings that contribute to a whole, a community, a neighborhood, a town. And look upon all of you together in kindness, recognizing this is a community. Whatever challenges there might be within it, it's still a whole of sorts. Gazing upon it kindly, recognizing it, and expanding it beyond your neighborhood out into the whole world, all people everywhere.

You are part of this wider kinship of humans, kindred spirits, kin in some way or other. And there's a whole. Often it's very divided with antagonism and wars, but for a moment, to acknowledge we are a whole, we are also a community of kindred spirits, beating hearts, breathing lungs, and wishing all of ourselves well. The whole community. May these wider circles of community be happy. May these wider circles of community that I'm part of be safe. May these wider circles of community be peaceful. And may this wider circle of community be free. Free of oppression, free of poverty, free of attachment. May all beings everywhere be happy.

Thank you.

Dharmette: Introduction to Mindfulness (19 of 25) Knowing Thoughts Simply

So now we continue with the fourth talk on mindfulness of thinking. Thinking is an important part of being a human being, and it's best not to be in an antagonistic relationship, though I know that for many people their thinking is often a challenge. They get pulled into thoughts they would rather not have. What keeps thoughts going is the interest that something in our system has for them—the attachments to certain things, the resistance or being bothered by things. We're in a relationship with our thoughts that is feeding them; it's keeping them going. One of the things we can learn in meditation is if we are aware of them directly, fully, but we're not feeding them, sometimes they go away really quickly.

Some people get confused in meditation when they do mindfulness, how quickly their thoughts will disappear if they just note them and see them and recognize them. It's because when the attention itself is not reactive, then we're not in a relationship that's actively giving the food of attention to the thoughts. So this is where even if we really dislike our thoughts and are really troubled by them, and don't want to be involved in them, all that attention and not wanting and being aversive to them is actually fueling the thoughts more. It's like giving it more attention to continue. Not maybe the particular content of the thoughts, but the tendency of thinking is just getting reinforced. So sooner or later it's very valuable to learn the art of not being bothered by your thoughts, not being troubled by even the most ugly thoughts a person can have. Just step back and know it from a place that's not entangled or caught in it.

For some people, that equanimity², that disengagement from thoughts while we see them, is supported by a simple mental noting and labeling. Some people will only use this technique of labeling for their thinking because it really helps them to step away and acknowledge and not be entangled in it. But to do that, you have to have some sense of discovery of what it's like to know without being attached, without leaning into or pulling away or being reactive to it. One thing that supports that is to listen to, if you're using a word in the mind—if your inner voice says "thinking" or "remembering" or "planning"—to listen to how that is being said in the mind. It might be that you're not so equanimous about it after all, by the tone of the voice or the strength by which you're saying it.

If you don't like it, maybe you're aversive to it, the inner voice might say, "planning," like there's a little bit of aversion in the voice. Or if you're having some wonderful fantasy and you really enjoy it, maybe the mental note has a sense of indulging or enjoying, like you might say, "Oh, fantasy! Oh, that's so good!" You can find the relationship we have and find out how to know without being in an active relationship with it. Just letting it be, just seeing it for what it is.

Of course, this is not always easy. But you can always be mindful. Even when you're not doing it this kind of way, if you're simply recognizing how it actually is. So one of the little phrases, another thought label that can be helpful for some of us sometimes, is actually to say, "This is how it is now." Whatever is happening, recognize, "Oh, this is how it is now. It's just this, how it is now." Whatever it might be—if you're distracted, if you're caught up in your thoughts, if you're spinning, if you're reactive—"Oh, so this is how it is now." And this movement, "This is how it is now," is meant to be a movement of relaxing, stepping back, opening up, acknowledging, "Oh, this is how it is," without being for or against it. Just honest recognition. So we can always do, "Oh, so this is how it is now," and hopefully with that kind of understanding, it protects us a little bit from the idea that meditation is not going well or we're failing, the very moment you just recognize how it actually is for you.

One of the great labels that I've used for myself when everything was so complicated is I'd say, "Oh, this is chaos. Chaos right now." And that just creates this great big space for just the whole catastrophe, but with a mindful way: "chaos." And then as I stay present for that, I get closer. I see, "Oh, there's a lot of churning in the chest, there's a lot of fast thoughts." And then it's coming closer into knowing something a little more particular.

So as we do this with thinking, "Oh, this is planning, this is fantasy. Okay." And then there's space to see it better. One of the things we can see is the glue between us and the thinking, the pull, the gravitational pull, the stickiness that's there. And that's valuable to know too. "Oh, look, those thoughts are sticky. Or I'm sticky with it. I'm attached to it. I'm leaning into them. There seems to be a very strong bond between the thoughts and me, the thoughts and the mind. No wonder I can't let go, because I can feel it." So it isn't just a kind of idea of knowing you're attached, but feeling the sensations of stickiness or strong magnetic pull, or even the sense that, "Oh, we're really stuck together here now." So rather than being upset with that—again, never upset—just, "Oh, look at that. This is stickiness. This is the glue that keeps the thoughts going." And so you now, you're seeing a different part of the experience: "Oh, this is how it is. This is how it is."

So I want to repeat what I said in the beginning of the guided meditation for those of you who might not have heard that. All the instructions we give in mindfulness meditation might seem like a lot to remember, a lot to do, and very complicated. It's meant to be simple. What I'm trying to do in this series of instructions is to describe the territory of your inner experience so that you know how to recognize it, that it's there, what's happening, and know how to be mindful of what you're recognizing, of what's happening. So that it's not just one big buzzing confused sense of suffering or challenge. You start seeing that, "Oh, in fact, there are different parts of it."

And I'd like to propose the simile of a park. Maybe you can approach your inner life as a nature park, a natural preserve or something—which in some ways we are. And that you've never been in this park before, and a nature guide brings you in for the first time and takes you around and shows you all the parts of the park: the paths, the groves of trees, the ponds, whatever it is. It shows you around, and it turns out that you don't exactly remember everything in the moment, but when you go in by yourself, you kind of go, "Oh yeah, this is where I am now. I'm by the pond," or, "This is by the grove. This is by the meadow. And this is where the path goes." And you feel confident you know the way out because you've been told all the pieces of it. So that's a little bit what I'm trying to do here, is to show you the territory of your inner park as you end up in it. And then you learn to, when you come to the different places, you recognize, "Oh, this is how it is now. This is how it is here."

And as this recognition, this opening, this centering on the experience happens, maybe something inside of you can relax. Something is seen, something is known, something is not struggled with; it's just recognized. Instead of struggle, "Ah, this is fear. Ah, this is my irritation. Ah, this is how it is now." Naming it, seeing it, "I see you." So the same thing with thinking. Thinking is made up of many component parts. It's like a whole part of the park that has different paths, different pieces that come together to make the whole. And so at different times now, you might notice, "These are thoughts I'm thinking in words. These are images I'm thinking in. This is fast thoughts. This is slow thoughts. This is active thoughts. Now my thoughts seem angry. Now they're quiet and calm. Now they're harsh. Now they're this way. Now they're connected to grief. Now they're connected to enthusiasm and wonderful anticipation." And this is what the emotion is like, and this is the source of thinking. So this is not analysis or thinking or searching to understand, but it's just over time as you get more and more familiar with the inner park, you can acknowledge, "Oh, this is what's happening now. Now I see the component parts. This is what's happening."

And finally, as a way of not making it complicated, kind of a protection from that, I often suggest that people use breathing as a default. Just come back to the breathing. And if you spend some time recognizing thinking, the parts of thinking, you might use the standard of the three-breath journey with everything. For about three breaths, recognize your thinking, open to it, and be present and breathe with the experience of thinking for three breaths, and then begin the breathing again. Or if the breath feels like there's a lot of tension in the body, notice that tension and just be with that for three breaths, and then back to the breathing for however long it works. So that you don't get pulled into or entangled in a relationship with what you know. It's very easy to get caught in that entanglement with things without knowing you are, and so just a short time—three breaths—and then back to the breathing. So everything is respected carefully and well, but you don't have to spend a lot of time with it. You might come back to your breathing for a while, three breaths, and then the way you're thinking might still be prominent. So you might know it again, and then back to breathing, going back to the breathing, centering, and then maybe going back to your thoughts. "Thinking... this is how it is."

So as you go through your day today and you notice that you're thinking—which I hope you do now you're a little more familiar with the territory in a way—experiment again with how simply you can know your thinking. And as you know it, what is your relationship to it? Is it simple, or are you in fact leaning into it or bothered by it? And if you are, just say, "Oh, this is how it is now."

So thank you very much. We have one day more to do.