In this guided mindfulness meditation for beginners, we will focus on our thoughts during meditation. Basically, while keeping calm and steady breathing, we will let our focus shift to our thoughts.
Find a quiet place, turn off your mobile phone, forget about things that happened yesterday, do not think about what you must do today, or what may happen in the future. Let go of any expectations.
If you are not feeling comfortable sitting on the floor, sit on some cushions, so your knees fall below your hips. If you still not feel comfortable, then sit on the chair. Close your eyes, or you can just gaze at a steady point away from you or at the floor. You can also let your eyelids fall. They can stay about half open, keeping in mind that you are more likely to fall asleep if you keep your eyes closed as you meditate.
Guided meditation focused on thoughts
Assume the posture of your choice and then allow your breath and energy to flow freely.
We can now begin our Guided Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners
Take a few deep breaths, slow and easy, as if you inhale peace and exhale any tension and distraction you might have right now. Relax, empty your mind, and then let your breathing become natural.
Breathe in, breathe out…
Follow your breath
Feel the air as you inhale on the tip of your nose. Notice how it goes through your throat, chest, and how your abdomen feels. As you exhale, follow the air as it is leaving your body.
Breathe in, breathe out…
When you hear a sound, you say to yourself: “Sound, sound, sound” and go back to your breath
Breathe in, breathe out…
If you are cold, say: “cold, cold, cold” and go back to your breath.
Breathe in, breathe out…
When you think about someone or something, you just acknowledge that and say: “Thought, thought, thought”.
Now, you note arriving sensations or thoughts, let them go and move on. If you try to fight them, they will prevail.
You just accept that your mind is wandering around and want to be occupied with sensations happening around you, or some good or bad things in your life, much more than to be in a present moment.
Do not let those thoughts take over your mind, just calmly acknowledge them, and gently bring back focus to your breath.
Your inner commentator will always have things to say
Realize that and notice that there is only thought. It is not a real thing. Often, you will remember the thing that already happened. It is OK. But it is your past, you cannot change it, and it is already gone. So, accept that and return to your breath.
You can also get worried about things that have not happened yet, and most probably will not happen in that exact way. So, try to observe those thoughts in the same way as you watch the movie. It is something outside you. Curiously observe your thought, but not become engaged in forcefully trying to chase this thought away or change it. Just observe, and as it came to your mind, the thought will go away. As you are looking to some cloud in the sky. Some are very interesting. But they come, stay a little bit, and go away. It is the same with your thoughts. Just let them go.
Observe the process, not the content
Are they slow or fast, nervous or joyful? If you only hear your thoughts, are the sound to you nervous or relaxed, loud or quiet, friendly, or threatening? Focus on process qualities, not on content. This focus should help.
As always you can return to your breath and focus on it.
Breathe in, breathe out…
Observe how your thoughts influence your body, are you relaxed or tight in the jaw or neck? Do you have stomach pain or headache? Body and mind are connected and can influence each other very much. That why you should return to your breath and, with steady breathing, calm your mind.
Breathe in, breathe out…
Remember that you are just observer
You are not your thoughts. You should not call them yours. They are just thoughts. Also, as everything in existence, they come, stay a little while, and then go away. Impermanence is one of the basic truths of our lives.
In the last minute of meditation shifts your focus again to your breath. Is it now slower, calmer, or not? How does the air you are breathing in feels? Is it fresh or stale?
Slowly start to notice your surroundings. Take three more deep breaths as you slowly returning to everyday life, hopefully, more relaxed than 15 minutes ago. Open your eyes, stretch your body and continue with your daily activities.
Guided Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners and our thoughts
I hope this post will help you enjoy short guided mindfulness meditation for beginners and you will keep meditating. As your practice grows, you can extend your meditation for five minutes every week until you reach 45 minutes. Continue to meditate every day, be mindful, and do not give up.
If you want to know more
If you want to learn more about things I write about, check out my books. See also what the goal of this web site is.
You can check out my other post about Mindfulness.
Enjoy reading!
I invite you to use all the resources I provided for you and to share your thoughts and comments.
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