Thinking even more

[Lavender88]

Sometimes when I close my eyes and try to meditate, I think even more. Does this happen to anyone else?

[CrystalSong]

Energy follows focus....so if your energy is on not thinking you actually bring energy to thinking.

Perhaps try instead to just still the mind, when a thought comes along, pay it no more attention that 'a thought happened'. Don't engage the thought, let it pass by. each one, just don't engage it, just note it almost absentmindedly, like a neighbor in the distances dog barking.

[Lavender88]

Thanks for the advice!

[wstein]

Very common with beginners. As indicated by CrystalSong just acknowledge those thoughts too. I know it seems to be going in the wrong direction, but don't worry about it. After some time spent meditating the number and frequency of thoughts will decrease. Keep with it ...

Two ways to escape this.

1) picture the world "Nothing" and focus on it.

2) Dont focus on the blackness infront of your eyes. Focus on your body and the way you breathe in and out.

[psychoslice]

Its the mind that does the thinking, realize that you are not the mind, and meditate on that.

[A human Being]

Originally Posted by CrystalSong

Energy follows focus....so if your energy is on not thinking you actually bring energy to thinking.

Perhaps try instead to just still the mind, when a thought comes along, pay it no more attention that 'a thought happened'. Don't engage the thought, let it pass by. each one, just don't engage it, just note it almost absentmindedly, like a neighbor in the distances dog barking.

Excellent advice, I particularly like the bit in bold It's true - I think it's a question of where you put your attention, that's why it's useful to focus on, say, your breathing.

And yeah, it's very common - in fact, it's almost inevitable, imo. We tend to identify with our minds, so we often give our thoughts more credence than they deserve. I found it a comfort when I heard other meditators saying things like 'I'm trying to keep my thoughts at bay,' it's nice to know you're not alone.

Originally Posted by wstein

After some time spent meditating the number and frequency of thoughts will decrease. Keep with it ...

After how much time? I have been meditating for 6 months, and my frequency of thoughts has not decreased noticeably. When I try to meditate, my head is still full of thoughts.

I am not particularly worried about it. But I don't expect it to change either.

[CrystalSong]

It's hard to say, I originally start trying to No-Mind/No-Thought meditation back when doing martial arts, for years I couldn't make it two seconds without a thought! And believe me when I made it three seconds I was so excited that was the end of meditation! lol

Then my awakening happened and for the first time I actually understood brain and thinking was an artifact of the 3D experience and a tool set for operating here - but my thinking was NOT me, I was not the personality but something much more.....hmmm I just call it Spirit. Then shutting thinking off was MUCH easier and it facilitated connecting to Spirit and that's when the good stuff started unfolding.

In fact at one pint I brokered a deal with thinking mind, if it would sit quietly without commentary about everything I would help it see fantastic places the body couldn't go and then it could think about it all it wanted to AFTERWARDS.

Part of the shift that allowed this to happen was no seeing the thinking mind as the enemy to be turned off, but a useful sort of AI system which I in fact needed to operate here in the 3D - appreciation of it actually helped it to not try and be center stage all the time. So I always give brain a 'cookie' when it plays nice in the sandbox and goes into the quiet Observer Mode. It gets to see the neat places Spirit can go and the things it can do and believe me it Marvels over them! lol

We all find a way tho, sometimes its just a matter of really striking a deal or agreement with brain - developing a working relationship with it instead of try to force it to succumb.

[wstein]

Originally Posted by Spectrum

After how much time? I have been meditating for 6 months, and my frequency of thoughts has not decreased noticeably. When I try to meditate, my head is still full of thoughts.

I would expect that the density of thoughts to have reduced by now. Perhaps its not down enough to allow you to notice the gaps between them yet. You might try meditating with the intent of noticing if there are any gaps between thoughts (just a few times, don't make that a habit). Anyway, I would say if you don't notice a decrease within 2 years something needs to change.