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A commonly asked question from people who are beginning meditation is, “how do I stop my thoughts?” My answer is you don’t, just simply observe and don’t “attach.” The purpose of meditation is to bring us to the moment–to practice mindfulness of the breath, paying attention as you breathe in and breathe out, and the breath becomes our mantra. In meditation practice, we observe thoughts, body sensations, and emotions that arise, and when finding ourselves attaching, we gently return to awareness of our breath, bringing us to the moment. People who have meditated for decades, do it by observing and not attaching; we do it again and again.
Life is unpredictable; dominated by change–at times we feel devastated by challenges. In these times we return to the mantra, learning to embrace the moment, accepting what is, then without warning we are caught in the beauty of loving what is. The Universe seems to be totally into change, the principles that I continue to return to are surrender, impermanence, and equanimity.
Our practice simply becomes to remain open to the ongoing challenges and obstacles that throw themselves at us; this becomes the path to the divine, to our inner joy. The divine plan was set up before our arrival; difficulties would be the searchlight to guide our spirit to awaken.
We find great peace when we embrace and accept the offerings and demands of life, our practice is returning to the moment, again and again. Always coming back to the breath, when thoughts slow down, the eyes of the spirit open, we then we see the world through the eyes of a sage.

Buy the Book! - The Mindful Addict - A Memoir of the Awakening of a Spirit

This blog post was written by Tom Catton, author of the book, The Mindful Addict – A Memoir of the Awakening of a Spirit.

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