Staying present in stillness when difficult thoughts arise

Gods suppressed become devils, and often it is these devils whom we first encounter when we turn inward.

– Joseph Campbell

First off, I just want to acknowledge that it can feel very unsafe for some folks to be in their bodies. This can be due to chronic pain, long-held trauma, or many other factors, but merely naming the challenge doesn't necessarily make it go away. Stillness or meditation-adjacent practices may not be for you at this moment on your path (although I do believe that some form of stillness practice is for everybody at some point in their lives).

There will always be challenge in stillness, but if that challenge is verging into experiences of physiological distress or harm, then it is not the right time to attempt these kinds of practices.

Some Things to Try

If you feel open to challenge and are held in community support to explore these practices, difficult thoughts may still arise. If you choose to move forward, here are some considerations to keep in mind.

When you notice difficult or intrusive thoughts emerging in your stillness or meditation practice, the kind that feel like they might consume you if you don't do something about it, there are a few things you can try.

• On your next out-breath, let out a big sigh. Physiological sighs can be quite calming and grounding, encouraging a shift from fight/flight to rest/digest.
• Name the thoughts or feelings as they arise to create space between yourself and your thoughts. This can also provide a greater sense of control over your thoughts and feelings. Researchers suggest that this may be due to mediation of signaling to the amygdala, which is the system of your brain associated with fear-processing.
• If it still feels like it is too much, let your awareness float around the room you are in, naming different objects in the room or space you are in: window, bookshelf, leaf, chair, lamp, plant, rock, etc. This grounds you back in the space you are in.
• Outside of the space of stillness / meditation, make sure you are moving your body (joyfully of course), and getting a good night's sleep as this will help to diffuse, disperse, and temper otherwise abrasive thoughts.

Importantly, avoiding stillness and meditation practices does not 'make the intrusive thoughts go away'. Many people fear stillness for this very reason: they think that stillness/meditation seems to increase intrusive thoughts or just thoughts in general. The reality is: physical movement is like camouflage for your thoughts, when you are always moving about and busying yourself, it's more difficult to see the movement of your mind. Yet when you sit still, thoughts seem to suddenly flood the gates. But stillness doesn't increase thinking, it simply makes it visible.

Consider the implications of this: we avoid stillness because we are afraid of stirring up intrusive thoughts, but if we open up to the reality that these intrusive thoughts we are trying to avoid are always swirling about anyway – we just keep ourselves busy and moving to avoid them – then how are these unconscious thoughts informing our habits and actions in the world? How are they limiting our ability to be creative, to love, to be of service to others, to learn and to grow? As with any fears: the way out is through.

References

Campbell, Joseph. 2017. Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor. San Anselmo, Calif.: Joseph Campbell Foundation.

Lieberman, Matthew D., Naomi I. Eisenberger, Molly J. Crockett, Sabrina M. Tom, Jennifer H. Pfeifer, and Baldwin M. Way. 2007. “Putting Feelings into Words: Affect Labeling Disrupts Amygdala Activity in Response to Affective Stimuli.” Psychological Science 18 (5): 421–28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x.