Increasing Mindfulness with our Expert Meditation Practices

So you've started meditating and increased mindfulness and the same thought keeps popping up.

Let's call them a looping thought.

Looping thoughts are the same pattern of thought, a focus on our fears, motives, or how we feel we should or should not have acted.

Now you're practicing mindfulness, you may be becoming increasingly aware of certain thoughts and you can notice them without reacting.

Now, to support our practice, we will use one strategy you can use to change them. 🙂

This is a belief developed from childhood e.g. it will always be this way. It is a rigid belief that we find ourselves stuck on.

So how do we become unstuck? I invite you to draw a stepladder. Next to each step write the following;

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Next to each step write

Thought

Feeling

Behaviour/Action

Thought

For example; You attend a dinner but feel unable to connect with those around you

1. Thought; I'm different and I can't connect

2. Feeling; Sad, disappointed, confused.

3. Action; withdrawn (create what we fear)

4. Thought: I can't do this, I'll never be able to connect.

Then we do the opposite and explore the opposite of the belief.

What's the opposite of I'm different? I'm the same and I can connect.

1. Thought; I'm the same and I can connect (which is true because we generally hold the same fears/ insecurities around not being enough/failing and feeling different).

2. Feeling; Happy, confident

3. Action; Look for ways to reach out to others and start conversations.

4. Thought: I enjoyed this, I'm always improving

I invite you to practice this on one 'looping' and repetitive thought this week.