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Expert GuidanceWhere are Thoughts?

Where are Thoughts?

They're not in your head.

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Better mental health starts with Headspace. Unrivaled expertise to make life feel a little easier, using guided meditations, mindfulness tips, focus tools, sleep support, and dedicated programs.

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Better mental health starts with Headspace

So, you've been meditating a little while, and you've probably noticed that there's generally a steady flow of thoughts in the mind, pleasant ones, not so pleasant ones, and everything in between. (thoughts chattering) But once in a while, a thought might come along that's really troubling. And when one of these thoughts comes along, it's worth considering sorta outside of your meditation practice, what is a thought? Where does it exist? What happens when we try to find it? So, we might ask ourself, "Okay, is it in my head?" Well, it's a nice idea, but, physically, where in the head does a thought exist? So, next we might ask, "Okay, so is it in another part of my body?" Well, we can look, but we're probably not gonna find that thought in our big toe. So, where is it? If we continue this line of thinking, then we may well reach the conclusion that however loud or overwhelming it feels, the thought itself is intangible. And it's strange to thing that this thing that we can't touch, that we can't even locate can cause us so much heartache. But it's not enough to know this conceptually. We have to experience it many, many, many times for it to become a reality, to know it as an experience. So, though it might be frustrating, over time that experience of looking and not finding has something really valuable to teach us about the very nature of mind itself....

Details

TypeExpert Guidance
Duration2 min

About your teachers

  • A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.

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  • Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.

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  • As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.

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  • Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.

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  • Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.

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