Episode Details

Can you actually quieten a busy mind? Not by switching it off. Asking your mind to stop is like asking your heart to stop beating. There is no off switch.

You have thirty to forty thoughts a minute, about forty thousand a day. The mind is not broken. And you would not want the switch anyway, because it would take the good thoughts with it. After two weeks my pain came back and my mind reminded me of every painful thing it had. So we stop trying to silence and start listening. The birds, next door's lawnmower, the air conditioning. It does not matter which.

One thing to try: Listen to one sound properly, all the way through, without deciding whether you like it.

In this episode

• (0:03) The myths about meditation, and quieting a busy mind
• (1:35) There is no off switch. Asking is like asking your heart to stop
• (4:54) You would not want rid of the thoughts you enjoy
• (6:21) Two weeks later my pain and my thoughts came straight back
• (8:01) The body starts asking whether you are even breathing right
• (9:40) Listen to the birds, the lawnmower, the air conditioning
• (14:27) Forty thousand thoughts a day, and a mind that is not broken
• (17:55) Why forty minutes on a cushion is not my approach

With gratitude to

Sandy, Nancy and Audrey.

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Thank you for listening.

Steven

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