“Leave your front door and your back door open. Let thoughts come and go. Just don't serve them tea.”
— Shunryu Suzuki
Several years ago I did an 8-week in-person mindfulness program. I struggle with meditation because monkey mind. But one suggestion was to imagine setting each thought that came up onto a moving cloud and watch it float away. If the thoughts are coming quickly, then the clouds start moving more quickly. For me, it was a little like Lucy and Ethel on the assembly line, but it did work — eventually, the clouds started slowing down some.
I like the image of doors in the quote, too. We don’t have to sit down with every thought that pops into our minds. Some (many? most?) are okay to observe as they pass through and nothing more.
In the same vein, the old bumper sticker “Don’t believe everything you think” has merit.
xo,
Beth
Monkey mind is exactly why I also struggle with meditation—and prayer. A spiritual mentor of mine had told me to imagine the interrupting thoughts as boats going down the river while you’re sitting on the riverbank. Just watch them go by, but don’t let your focus wonder to the people on the boat, what the boat might be carrying, where it is headed, and so forth.