For the thought that will not shift. The stubborn one that keeps coming back no matter what you try.

About 14 minutes, no music, just a quiet voice.

Here is what helps. A relentless thought is not one thought hanging about. It is a brand new thought each time, like a river that sounds the same and never is. So you stop wrestling it and start acknowledging it. Thank you, thought. That is all it ever wanted, the same as anyone.

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Steven

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Hello and welcome to this guided meditation.

This meditation is to really help you deal with those persistent and relentless thoughts. Sometimes you have a really strong

thought and it just doesn't want to go anywhere and it's really stubborn. And no matter what you try, it

just keeps coming back and coming back. This meditation will help you to step back from that thought and

Enable you to take control of your mind again and have some clarity and some inner peace. So

begin by just finding a comfortable position,

either in a seated position or a cushion or whatever is comfortable for you.

And you can choose to gently close your eyes or just soften your gaze a few feet in front of

you. It's

totally up to you.

Just become aware of your breath.

Aware that you're breathing in and

you're breathing out.

And just notice the natural rhythm of your breath.

The rising and falling of your chest.

If you're sat up, you may notice your body go forward and back just very slightly.

You don't need to do anything with your breath because your body knows how to breathe. Your

body knows what to do in this moment. It knows how to relax.

If you just allow your shoulders and your body to relax in this moment,

imagine just a wave going over with you from the top of your head right through down over your body.

Just relaxing every part of the body as it goes.

Just breathing in calm. Breathing out relaxed.

You don't need to do anything with this moment.

You're just becoming the observer and

we're becoming awareness itself and we're aware of the breath,

aware of the body, aware

of the body relaxing

And notice how your mind is just becoming more quieter.

Any thoughts do come into your mind, just allow them to be there and thank you for the thought and

allow them to go again.

There's a difference between trying to do something and allowing something to happen. When

we sit and allow our breath,

When we sit and allow our body to relax

we allow our mind to quieten and allow the thoughts to come and go,

It's almost like a superpower sitting back and just allowing things to happen.

And now gently bring your attention to your thoughts.

And if you find any mind clinging persistent thoughts... Just acknowledge them without judgement.

It could be anything.

Remembering your mind has evolved to think.

That's his job. That's his sole purpose.

To think stuff up.

To protect you.

Analyse this moment. And

to give you thoughts.

And just imagine having these thoughts and not doing anything with them.

Don't even have to pause and become aware of them.

They just arise and you can acknowledge and then they can go again.

Just like you're sat in a train station and these sorts of trains. You

can sit there all day long just watching the train come in, watching the train go out.

And notice the pauses between the thoughts.

Notice the no thinking between my words.

The quietness between breaths.

You notice how transient all these thoughts are.

And sometimes we do get relentless thoughts. Really persistent ones. And then sometimes we get these

brilliant ideas and thoughts that we

think are so great that we are never going to forget them. And

then five minutes later, they're gone. Just like that. And

we know we had a great thought,

but we cannot get back there because it's already gone.

I've got a couple of affirmations for you, and I want you to take

them at face of value exactly the words of what they say.

I have thoughts, but I am not those thoughts.

What does that look like? What does that feel like to you?

I have thoughts, but

I am not those thoughts.

With each breath, I find more space than clarity.

With each breath, I find more space than clarity.

And these affirmations really give you that ability to step back and become the observer of your thoughts.

When you do that, you notice that the thoughts aren't so much relentless, but they do come as individual thoughts.

Even a relentless thought is just a new thought every time it comes. Just

like a river. It almost sounds the same every moment, but

yet it doesn't. Every moment is different. Every

wave is different. Every thought is different

When we do this, we can be amused by the thoughts. When

we acknowledge them with a smile and thank you. And

don't label them. Don't say they're good or bad or ones you want or ones you don't want. Just thank

you. A

simple acknowledgement. That's all it wants.

Just the same as us. Just the same as anything else on Earth. Just wants to be there and to

be known.

Just the same as I believe a tree wants to be a tree hila I'm here. And

the flower wants to be a beautiful flower.

A thought just wants to be acknowledged. Thank you, thought.

It's the same as we can say thank you, body

When we do this, we take control of those thoughts. By

choosing the ones we get on and choosing the ones we just let go.

So when you have these persistent thoughts and maybe they're quite dark or not very nice or maybe they're

desires that you really don't need at that time, just

take a breath. Become aware of your breath and become aware of the thought. Thank you, thought.

I've got this.

And we're just going to deepen the practice with some affirmations to be

tailored just for this meditation.

May I be at peace with my mind

and Imagine what that feels like. Just being at peace with your mind.

May I find ease in letting go.

May I find ease in letting go.

And finally, I

have thoughts, but I am not those thoughts.

And that last one is the most powerful.

When you do that, you make the thought an object. You make it something that you're in control of.

I have thoughts, but I am not those thoughts.

So as we near the end of this meditation, start to bring your awareness back to your breath.

Breathing in calm. Breathing out relax

Notice the gentle rise of your chest and the air entering and leaving.

And gently wiggle your toes and wiggle your fingers. Bringing your awareness back to your body and slowly

bring it back to the room and gently open your eyes and look around. And

just take a moment to reflect on this practice and Thank your mind and thank your body for relaxing, breathing

just the way it needs to. And

just remember that affirmation. I have thoughts but I'm not those thoughts. So

whenever you have a relentless thought or a thought that you don't want, take

a seat. Even

if it's just a metaphorical one, if you're not able to at that time, take

a seat, take a breath and go thank you for the thought. And

then move on with whatever you're doing and you'll find the thought just floats away. And sometimes it doesn't and

sometimes you might have to do it a couple of times. But each time do it with kindness and a

smile and a joy. Even if the thought is not a desirable one, do it with kindness and a smile

and a joy.

And you'll find that they'll have less hold on you.

Thank you. I'm Steven Webb and this is the Inner Peace Meditations. And just want to thank you and

really appreciate your time. Appreciate you for leaving reviews and supporting this podcast.

Take care and have an amazing day. And hopefully a little more balanced thoughts that are not

so intrusive. Bye.