Tara: In our last two sessions, we've been exploring a key part of mindfulness training: Awakening from the trance of thinking so that thoughts can be our servants, not our master. As you may have noticed by now, some thoughts are easier to become aware of than others. For instance, you might be practicing, mindful of your breathing or of the sensations in your body, and suddenly, you realize you've been entirely involved in reviewing a conversation from work or planning what you'll get from the market, and at that point, you might note “thinking,” or “remembering,” or “planning,” and then relax and gently find your way back to presence.

In contrast, you’ve also probably had what we call sticky thoughts - the ones that stick to you that you easily get lost in. These might be some resentment you're feeling for your partner, a worry about your child, something challenging at work, financial stress - the type of concern that can totally commandeer your attention. The reason these are so sticky is because the thoughts and stories are being driven by strong emotions - wants and fears - that are very compelling. Maybe you’ve noticed what happens when you try to meditate when these kinds of thoughts appear. You might mentally note “thinking, thinking” and return to your breath, but in moments, you find you're catapulted right back into the story and the feelings.

We sometimes refer to the most persistent of these obsessive thoughts as our top 10 hits. They’re the particular themes that regularly and fully possess our mind. Now, because these sticky thoughts can take up so much unhealthy bandwidth, learning to identify and work with your top 10 is one of the most freeing parts of mindfulness training.

So, what do we do when thoughts take over like this? The single most basic guideline in working with obsessive thoughts is your attitude. I’ll read a verse by the poet Kaveri Patel that says it well. “There’s a monkey in my mind, swinging on a trapeze, reaching back to the past or leaning into the future, never standing still. Sometimes, I want to kill that monkey, shoot it square between the eyes so I won’t have to think anymore or feel the pain of worry, but today, I thank her, and she jumped down, straight into my lap, trapeze still swinging as we sat still.”

When we find ourselves lost in one of our top 10, it’s possible to respond with patience, forgiveness, and even humor. Thoughts are like birds, flying through the sky. We don't need to knock them out with duck-hunting rifles. We just need to notice. If we practice being at war with our thoughts, we'll end up being at war for our lifetime. No matter how troublesome a pattern of thinking may be, it's helpful to remember that it’s like a strong wind sweeping through during a storm. It's an inner weather system, and it’s a natural part of life. If you can remember this impersonal aspect to obsessive thinking, you’ll find you can be much more allowing and patient.

Obsessive thoughts are invariably linked with strong feelings and sensations in your body. A kind of looping gets going in which feelings stimulate thoughts, which fuel more feelings, and so on. A key to breaking this loop is going to the root of the thought. This means naming “thinking,” and then dropping into the felt sense of the experience in your body.

Let me give you an example. One man’s top hit was the ongoing aggravation he felt with a supervisor at work who seemed unfairly critical and often disrespectful. The man was continually obsessing about what he might say or do to change the situation, so much so that it intruded on his family time and, of course, was a main visitor in his mindfulness practice.

So, how to address this? He started by naming this top hit. He called it “obsessing about work.” And then, each time it would arise, he’d name it, pause, and then, rather than going back to his breath, he'd scan through his body for where he felt strongest feelings. He'd find anger, the sensations of heat and pressure in his chest, then he’d breathe there, gently witnessing and feeling the sensations. Often, it would turn to fear. He’d feel some squeezing, and then, after a few minutes, as happens when we offer a mindful presence, the knot of feelings would loosen, disperse, and then he could return to mindfully being with his breath.

After several weeks of working with these thoughts, with feeling and breathing with their roots, they lost their compelling quality. They were no longer his master. He felt less victimized, and he felt more empowered, and that let him communicate with a lot less defensiveness and much more relaxed way with the supervisor, who, in turn, seemed to ease up. Even more gratifying, on evenings and weekends, when this top hit would arise, it didn’t consume him, and he was able to engage with his family in a much more fresh and full way.

In our practice today, we’ll explore how to diminish the grip of obsessive thinking by bringing presence to the roots underneath, so let’s begin. Please find a comfortable posture for practicing, allowing your body to settle and your mind to be at ease. To give you a taste of exploring the roots under thoughts, I’d like to invite you to bring to mind one of your top 10 hits, some regular theme that, due to its emotional charge, often carries you away in thought.

It could be something to do with relationship, a situation at school or work, or your health. And, once you’ve selected your theme, for a few moments, purposely bring to mind the typical thoughts that circulate. “He shouldn't have said,” “I wish I hadn’t,” “I’m angry that,” “What did she think she was doing?” Whatever the words and story, let it be there in full force, with the images and words that accompany it.

When you sense the hit is occupying your mind, find a label for it, much as you might put a picture frame around a picture, and then pause and scan through your body, noticing where the thought might be rooted in feelings. Check your throat, your chest, your belly, breathing with whatever felt sense experience is most predominant. If there’s a feeling that’s strong - anger, fear, worry, sadness - you might simply note it. Stay as long as needed to offer a full presence, feeling the emotional roots as a constellation of sensations.

Now, as a way of closing, take a few moments, letting your primary anchor be in the foreground. Let yourself notice the thoughts or feelings, the sensations that arise in the background, with a calm, open, and present awareness.

You're learning to bring mindfulness to a key dimension of experience: The felt sense under thoughts. As you become increasingly skilled in working with the roots, you'll have more and more release of stuck emotions and obsessive thoughts.
© Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield
Reprinted by permission.