Meditation as a warm-up for people whose minds won't stop

Why does my mind race when I close my eyes?

The "paradox" most people experience when they start meditating

Even when I sit down and close my eyes, my mind won't stop.

This is something most people experience when they start meditating. Or rather, it's like your thoughts increase the moment you close your eyes. The "noise in your brain" that you weren't usually aware of suddenly comes to the forefront of your consciousness.

Trying to deepen meditation forcibly in this state won't work well.

So, what I'd like to propose is the concept of "pre-meditation."

Two ways to organize your mind first

Before entering meditation, I'll expel my thoughts onto paper and with my feet.

Before I enter meditation, I first clear my mind. There are two methods for doing so.

Writing Meditation – Getting Everything Out of Your Head Onto Paper

Get a notebook. Before you start meditating, spend just five or ten minutes to spill everything that's on your mind. It can be anything: what happened today, what you're concerned about, vague feelings, a to-do list, anxieties, expectations, complaints. Don't worry about the order or how you write it. Bullet points are fine too. The point is to get everything out of your head and onto paper.

It's okay if the writing is messy, contradictory, and emotional. The feeling is to pull out as much as possible from deep down. Please understand that this is a completely different act from keeping a diary for later use. Just doing this dramatically reduces distracting thoughts when you enter deep meditation.

② Walking Meditation – Loosen Your Thoughts by Moving Your Body

I'll take a slow 10-minute walk near my house. I won't look at my phone. I won't listen to music. I'll just walk, paying attention to the sensation in the soles of my feet, the smell of the air, distant sounds, and what I see. I won't set a destination. I'll go out to come back.

As I walk, the thoughts in my head gradually change shape. What was stuck loosens up. What was scattered begins to align.

Calm the waves, then dive deep.

Don't dive too deep too quickly.

After organizing my thoughts to some extent, I enter a regular seated meditation.

The order can be "Writing Meditation → Walking Meditation → Sitting Meditation," or "Writing Meditation → Sitting Meditation," or "Walking Meditation → Sitting Meditation." Find the combination that works for you.

What's important is not to dive into the deep end all at once.

As I wrote in my article about the sea, there are waves on the sea surface. If you try to dive in on a rough day, it can also become a form of escapism. There are times when it's important not to turn away from the storm on the sea surface, but to focus first on calming the waves.

Writing meditation and walking meditation are the warm-up for that.

Bonus practice: Clean your brain before sleeping

Just 5 minutes can change how you wake up the next morning.

Here's another practical bonus.

Cleanse your brain before sleeping.

For just five minutes before bed, I do writing meditation. I pour everything that happened today into a notebook before going to sleep. When I do this, my wake-up the next morning is clearly different. The quality of my dreams changes. My sleep becomes deeper.

Even if you're too sleepy to meditate, just doing this light brain cleansing before bed will make a difference in how easily you fall asleep and how refreshed you feel the next morning.

↓ Those who want to know more about meditation before meditation, check out "Λ Meditation" Season 1 now ↓

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