As Strong and Immovable as a Mountain

If you don’t like the idea of personifying your hijackers with cartoonish monsters, there is another more peaceful method. This one has its roots as a Zen Meditation technique.

Sit in a comfortable position and imagine that your body is a tall mountain, with your head as the peak. As you sit there, pay attention to your thoughts. Don’t try to stop thinking, just pay attention to what pops up.

As each thought pops into your head, picture it as a cloud passing over the top of the mountain you represent, and watch it drift away with the wind. Once the cloud has left, so too has the thought.

Sit for 10 minutes and allow new clouds to come into view, pass over the mountain, and drift off. If a cloud lingers, watch it until it drifts away.

You may begin to notice that each cloud is different and it’s appearance reflects the thought it contains. A sad cloud might be dark and rainy, while cloud holding an angry thought might be loud and stormy.

The key is to not judge your thoughts nor yourself. Simply notice them and watch them drift away.

By practicing this, you are learning to not identify with your thoughts. Then, when a hijacker floats by your mountain, you will simply notice it and watch it float away, without letting it affect you.