We can learn to work with thoughts in a friendly way. It’s good to remember that changing your relationship to your thoughts won’t happen overnight, and there’s no need to be hard on yourself along the way. It may be a long road, but it’s well traveled. It can be helpful to meet with an authorized mindfulness meditation instructor, either online or in person. Mindfulness practice is a living, breathing part of life rather than something rigid and formalized, so it’s helpful to interact with a person and not only the below instructions. Working with a teacher’s guidance will help encourage ongoing practice and will support you through any bumps in the road. If you would like to deepen your involvement with the mindfulness community, see if there’s a practice group near you that you can meet with regularly. Mindfulness is not meant to take the place of therapy, whether it’s meeting with a counselor, another professional individually, or in a group. Continue with the therapy you have been doing, and do your mindfulness practice (if you find it helpful) in parallel.
A Mindfulness Practice for Changing Your Relationship to Thoughts
Make Your Practice a Daily Habit
Aim to do this practice daily, roughly 5 to 10 minutes in the beginning. Just do the practice as best you can, and then move on to the next part of your day. Practicing at the same time each day (for example, first thing in the morning, at lunch time, or before going to bed) gives it a place in your routine. After a week or so, you might begin to time your sessions, starting with a guesstimate of the amount of time you practiced daily in the first week. Aim to increase your time by a minute or two each week. There is no magic amount of time to practice—instead, you can discover what works for you, like water seeking its own level.
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Mindful Staff January 20, 2023
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