In Buddhist psychology, addiction to thought is seen as a major obstacle to enlightenment, because when our attention is focused on thought, we cannot experience reality.
- Thought takes us out of the here and now and into the past, into the future, and into fantasy – all unreal realms.
- On a practical level, thoughts are the major source of anxiety, guilt, fear, and sadness .
- These emotions that certainly cause us a great deal of anguish.
It is possible to disengage attention from thought. One way to do that is to focus instead on sensations from the body.
- There is a great advantage to having bodies, according to Buddhist teaching, because they are anchored in the here and now while our minds are careering about the past and future.
- Whenever we pay attention to sensations in the body, attention is in present reality.
If you find yourself having disturbing thoughts, instead of trying to stop them, try simply moving your attention to your breath.
Re-source: Refocus
Meditation is a technique to break addiction to thought; in essence it is directed concentration.
- By sitting and trying to maintain the focus of concentration on some object (the breath, body sensations, a visual image), you learn to control attention and keep it in one place.
Meditation practice is both simple and difficult
- It is simple because the method is nothing more than maintaining focused attention.
- It is difficult because it requires changing lifelong habits of letting the mind wander where it will, especially into thoughts.
The real goal of meditation practice is to do it constantly, so practice mediation in action as you move through the world.
Move your attention to your body or your breath whenever you remember to do so, especially when you notice that your mind has been led away from the here and now by the endlessly fascinating process of thought.
craving and resource from "Spontaneous Healing" by Andrew Weil M.D.