Create Space Around Your Thoughts

Q: I cannot picture things well. Does that matter?

Not much. If the shed will not appear, go by feel instead. Cramped, then roomy. That is all the image is doing.

Q: Is this a Buddhist meditation?

It comes out of Zen practice, and I say so in the talk, but there is nothing you need to believe and no words you need to know.

Q: What if the thought will not go once I am in the field?

It is not meant to. Space is not distance from your life. It is just enough room to see what the thing actually is.

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The transcript

It follows the audio. Press any line to jump there.

overthinking · acceptance · mindfulness · visualisation

Read the transcript

Hi, I'm Steven Webb and welcome to Inner Peace Meditations. The podcast that brings meditations to you free to

help you through the most difficult times.

Today we are practicing giving space. No forcing calm. No pushing thoughts away.

No trying to fix everything.

Just giving space to notice what is actually here.

Find a position that works for your body today. Sitting, lying down or however you need to be.

You do not need to make the mind quiet. You do not need to arrive as a better version of

yourself. Just arrive as you are

and just become aware of your breath.

Breathing in calm. Breathing out relax

And just while you're settling in and relaxing, remember that your body knows how to breathe and Your body knows

how to relax. We're just allowing these things to happen. Let's have a little Dharma talk, I guess. So in

Zen practice, there's a very ordinary kind of wisdom. Not a wisdom that floats above life. Not a wisdom that

escapes the body. A wisdom that sits still long enough to just see clearly. A

thought appears. A feeling appears. A pain appears. A memory appears. Even a worry appears.

And

the habit is often to do something with it immediately. Follow it, argue with it, fix it, explain it, turn

it into some story, turn it into a problem. But

not everything that arises needs our immediate attention.

Sometimes a thought is just a thought. You

have thoughts but you're not those thoughts. Sometimes a feeling is just a feeling. You

have feelings being not those feelings.

Sometimes a sensation in the body is simply asking to be noticed.

You have sensations, but you're not those sensations.

And sometimes if we give it space, we realise it is not the whole truth.

It is just something passing through that we don't need to do anything with.

And space matters because without space, everything feels... Every thought feels true.

Every feeling feels urgent. Every body sensation feels like a command.

But when there's space, we

can begin to see this is a thought. This is a story. This is a fear. This is

a pain. This is a memory. This

is the body asking for care. And the list goes on.

If your mind is anything like me, the list is literally endless.

This is just something that's arising in any given moment.

And seeing clearly is already the kind of peace we need.

So today we're not trying to get rid of anything. We are practicing space. Space in the head,

space in the body, space around the feelings, space to be who we are without needing to manage

every part for ourselves.

That intro kind of needed to be there to set the ground of where we are. So

let's begin.

So as we bring our awareness back to our bodies, Just breathing in calm. Breathing out relax

And you may notice the points of contact. There

may be a weight or a temperature. The places that feel comfortable and the places that feel a little more

tense or sore. Maybe restless or numb. No

need to solve any of the body right now. Just notice the body as it is.

And now just imagine you're sitting inside of a shed.

A comfortable shed. A quiet shed. It is your Space

You are sitting there, maybe on a chair, maybe on a little bench. Maybe

you have a blanket with You

But the windows are closed and the door is closed. There is not much room for anything to move.

You're surrounded by the things that keep you comfortable and

nothing to worry about in this shed.

It's your shed.

Now imagine a thought appears in the shed It may be a worry or a memory or a plan, a

judgement of yourself.

And notice what happens when the thought appears in a closed space

and Does it feel loud? Does

it feel close? Does

it feel like you need to deal with it

you need to change it, just notice it.

Now imagine a feeling that appears in this shed.

Whether it's a sadness or a frustration. Maybe a fear or a tenderness. Maybe

something you cannot quite name.

And you may feel slightly uncomfortable with this. And it's okay, we're going to open up in a moment.

But does it feel like there's a pressure?

Does it feel like it fills the whole space?

Does it feel more like you and

you're crammed in here?

Again, no judgement. The shed is not wrong. It's just small

as your shed.

And sometimes our mind feels like this. Sometimes our bodies feel like this. A closed space where every thought

and feeling has to sit right inside of us. Right beside us with nowhere to go.

Now gently imagining opening the door.

Let some light come in, maybe some air come in. And

imagine yourself stepping out of the shed. Slowly and gently, no rush. And

now you're outside. Imagine you're in an open field or an open space. It could be a meadow. The wide

sky, the fresh air.

Loads of space and room in every direction. You can even stretch your arms out if you wanted to. And

there's a bench there that you can simply sit on if you choose to.

And now let the same thought arise, if you remember it, or another thought.

And this time just feel the difference between how it feels when it arises from all this space.

Do you notice the difference?

The thought. is still there,

But there is sky around it. There's air around it. There's a distance. There's a space that makes you feel

like you don't have to immediately deal with it.

You may be able to see it more clearly. There's

a distance between you and the thought.

I'm here and I can see the thought.

I'm here and I can be aware of the thought.

And let it just go on like maybe a cloud.

No need to push it away, it just has room to disappear by itself.

And now imagine a feeling arising in this open space. It's

almost so much easier to deal with a feeling sat on a bench in open field than it is sat

in a Tightly crammed shed.

The space for some wisdom to step in.

Space for us to be able to go, ah, that's what I'm feeling.

Space to be able to wisely deal with it.

Is it a thought? Is it a story? Is it a feeling? Is it a fear?

Almost like as if there's room for it.

Just like when we give a friend space, we

can see their feelings clearly. Giving ourselves space. We can see our feelings and thoughts. A lot more clearly.

And just briefly imagine being back in that shed now with those same thoughts. And that

shed could mean a busy household

or a place at work where you don't really have much room to think.

And then imagine being in those places with more room or space. And

of course, when we're talking about space, we're talking about time space as well. That space after the thought

when we become aware.

Sometimes we feel these thoughts and feelings fill up all of the space we have, all the feelings we have.

There's no room for wisdom. There's no room for genuine thoughts.

There's no room for caring and loving and openness.

And I'm going to quietly offer these words and they may feel useful. May there be space for you.

May there be space for me.

May we see clearly what is arising.

May we trust the wisdom that comes with space.

Now let the image gently fade and no need to hold on to the shed or no need to hold

on to the field.

They're just feelings.

Space does not mean distance from life. Space means just enough room to see things clearly. That gap at the

end of the sentence. That space between the next thought.

Enough room to know what the thought was. What the story is. What the feeling is.

So I'm going to count back from five. So five, feeling your body, what it is right now.

Four, noticing the room around you. Three,

taking a slightly deeper breath. Two, moving your fingers and your hands and your toes. And number one, just

opening your eyes and if they were closed. And thank you for sitting with me today. Thank you for creating

space in your life for wisdom to be there when you need it. Thank you for your support on Inner

Peace Meditations and thank you to all the supporters that support this podcast. You can find out more about how

you can support or the other podcast by going to StevenWebb.uk. Take care and thank you.

Length	13:52
Subject	Busy Minds & Overthinking
Best time	When everything feels urgent at once
Position	Sitting or lying down
Style	A short talk, then a guided practice. Music underneath

Create Space Around Your Thoughts

Who this is for

What happens in this meditation

How to get the most from it

Questions people ask

The companion talk

The transcript

One calm email.
Every Sunday.

Create Space Around Your Thoughts

Who this is for

What happens in this meditation

How to get the most from it

Questions people ask

The companion talk

The transcript

More quiet minutes

One calm email. Every Sunday.

One calm email.
Every Sunday.