We all have them and they won't go away, however we can learn to work with them and find a greater space of freedom. Here are some of my explorations:
1. We learn that we have thoughts.
2. We learn that no-one else can hear them, that they are just what goes on in our head.
3. We recognize familiar patterns - anxiety, wanting, planning, reviewing, disliking, judging, aversion, impatience, plus some more.
4. We notice that as we think the muscles in our body tense up.
5. If we relax our bodies, our thoughts kind of ease up - the type of thinking is different.
6. If relax a lot, sink into our bodies, we recognize the difference between awareness and thinking. We can know sensations but we do not need to analyse them.
7. Now, we begin to notice that there is more to our minds than the compulsive thinking and doing. There are other ways of being in the world.
8. We learn more about relaxation and the different mental components that come with it - delight, rapture, contentment, peace,…