If we often lose ourselves in thoughts during meditation, we can try out various solutions and aids.
1. Mental pointing / noting
Mental pointing or mental noting comes from the Vipassana tradition. It involves naming mental events, e.g. thinking, planning, inner dialog, justifying, dreaming about vacations, worrying. This is done silently, only in thoughts.
By naming thoughts, feelings and sensations, we create a distanced perception so that our consciousness is not taken over by them.
Naming should be neutral and brief, without engaging further with the content.
A further deepening involves becoming aware of the mood with which we speak the naming. Sometimes we do this not neutrally, but annoyed, angry, self-pitying, or sad.
This allows us to recognize deeper emotional layers that lie behind the thoughts.
2. Recognizing the feelings behind the thoughts
As already mentioned, feelings are often the driving fire behind recurring thoughts. We can consciously try to perceive the mood or atmosphere that lies behind the thoughts.
Directing our awareness to this deeper level of perception is an elegant way to free ourselves from the dominance of thoughts.
Physical sensations such as pain or tension often also contain emotional components. In addition, negative sensations can trigger rejection, which in turn triggers new feelings.
When we gradually become aware of all these levels, we develop a more comprehensive mindfulness.
3. Dedication to this moment
If we constantly lose ourselves in thoughts, it is a sure sign that we are not mindful.
But here lies the strongest weapon against the dominance of thoughts:
the complete surrender to the present moment.
Unpleasant feelings, which we unconsciously want to avoid, often drive us into endless cycles of thoughts.
However, if we consciously move into pure perception with full presence, this mechanism can be broken.
Here we can also test our willingness to truly feel the unpleasant.
Perhaps it takes a new attempt to allow and accept everything as it is.