Khyentse Rinpoche, the Tibetan teacher, wrote, "Mind creates both samsara and nirvana. Yet there's nothing much to it. It's just thoughts."

Maybe one of the biggest hindrances to meditation is what is referred to as the waterfall effect. As soon as we close our eyes, with the idea that we will somehow find some peace and quiet, we realise that we can’t stop thinking. We feel like we are drowned under the torrent of thoughts coming down on us. Faced with this onslaught, we open our eyes, and at the first chance we have, we'll tell our friends: “Meditation? Oh it’s not for me. I absolutely cannot meditate, I have way too many thoughts.” 

In this guided meditation, Anne Mühlethaler offers a metaphorical journey where we get to observe the mind with the mind, where we approach the contents of our mindstream from another angle. 

Becoming mindful of our thoughts is subtle, and not easy, but it is also revolutionary. As soon as we start to become an observer of the thoughts coming in and out of our mindstream, we gain perspective — starting with this big a-ha: we are not our thoughts.

As Anne explains, we’ll come into contact with the fact that while some of our thoughts are brilliant, others are not so useful, some harmful, others reruns (recurring constantly) or are even fake news. 

In this practice, using the metaphor of a river, we first settle and ground through feeling the sensations in the body before looking at the contents of our mindstream. We learn to notice the thoughts that are supportive, and we practise lovingly letting go of those that aren’t so useful. And using that muscle of mindfulness, we discern that we are the clear nature of the observer, seeing all that moves through the stream, but no longer identifying with it. 

***

If you enjoyed this episode, click subscribe for more, and consider writing a review of the show on Apple Podcasts, we really appreciate your support and feedback. And thank you  so much for listening! 

For monthly mindful updates, sign up for Anne's email newsletter at https://annevmuhlethaler.com. 

Find Anne's guided meditations and courses on Insight Timer - https://insighttimer.com/annevmuhlethaler

For live meditations on Zoom, look up the schedule on MeetUp or Luma

and follow Anne on social media:

IG: @_outoftheclouds  and @annvi

If you enjoyed this episode, click subscribe for more, and consider writing a review of the show on Apple Podcasts, we really appreciate your support and feedback. 

And thank you  so much for listening! 

For monthly mindful updates, sign up for Anne's email newsletter at https://annevmuhlethaler.com. 

Find Anne's guided meditations and courses on Insight Timer - https://insighttimer.com/annevmuhlethaler

For live meditations on Zoom, look up the schedule on MeetUp. 

and follow Anne on social media:

IG: @_outoftheclouds  and @annvi

For monthly mindful updates, sign up for Anne's email newsletter The Metta View at https://annevmuhlethaler.com. Find Anne's guided meditations on https://insighttimer.com/annevmuhlethaler. Check out her first online course, Loving Kindness 101! For live meditations subscribe: lu.ma/letrente. IG: @_outoftheclouds & @annvi

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