Tip #9: Thought-Bus Tracking Meditation

Suitable for children from 12 years old

Our thinking can sometimes easily get us into trouble. This meditation is about our relationship with our thinking. It is not about chasing away thoughts, but simply recognizing them for what they are. The metaphor of thoughts as buses will help us to do this. Encourage children to explore their minds. You will help them calm down and gain distance from their thoughts.

You can start the exercise by asking the children to answer the question:

What is the traffic in my mind today?

One way to begin to explore this question is to experiment with seeing your thinking as traffic—traffic in your head that comes and goes. Then ask yourself these questions:

How do you feel right now in the thought traffic of your head? Do you feel completely smooth on the roads of your mind? What is the traffic like in your mind? Fast? Smooth? Or is it clogged? Busy? Heavy?

And then ask more questions:

How do you relate to your thinking at this moment? Are you completely absorbed in your thoughts and perhaps feel lost in them? Or are you able to watch your thoughts come and go? Are you able to step back and observe them as they come and go?

At the same time, it is important not to give the impression that thinking is the enemy, that you are promoting "no thoughts." It is also important not to trivialize the importance of some thoughts. Children and adolescents may experience thoughts that need to be recognized and acted upon. This activity teaches that our RELATIONSHIP with thinking is important. Instead of being free from thinking, we practice freedom of thought.

Step-by-step instructions for practical activity

Notice: Before starting your meditation practice, set a timer for the duration. You can start with 15 minutes and after some practice, move up to 30 minutes. We will practice bringing our attention to the noise in our mind.

Step 1:

Start by sitting comfortably - upright but relaxed. Feel the sensation in your feet on the floor and the weight of your body on the chair/mat... Allow your eyes to gently close... Remember that you can open your eyes at any time if you need to.

Step 2:

Turn your attention first to the sounds coming and going from outside. You may notice that your mind wants to label them, imagine them, or tell you what they are. Instead, explore what it feels like to focus your attention on the structure and characteristics of each sound. Notice how the sounds arise - buzz, vibrate, tick... - and then fade away. Notice their volume (whether they are loud or soft), their pitch (whether they are high or low), whether they are continuous or intermittent.

Step 3:

Let all sounds come and go for a moment. Play with focusing your attention on the sounds coming from outside. What sounds do you hear? Just let these sounds come to your ears without searching for them * and... just receive them.

Step 4:

When you are ready, focus your attention more closely on the sounds within this room. Again, let these sounds come to you. You don't have to search for them. Focus on the structure and characteristics of each sound, rather than any label or idea of what you think might be making it.

Step 5:

How about drawing your attention even closer? Can you notice any sounds inside your own body ? The sound of your normal, calm breathing, the beating of your heart or the quiet pulsing in your ears, any sense of a high-pitched background sound, sometimes called the "sound of silence" that often echoes in our ears... (If you don't hear any of these sounds, don't worry. You can just practice being open to the sounds coming and going from outside and inside the room.)

Step 6:

Another thing that comes and goes are thoughts. As you sit here, you may notice that thoughts come into your mind, linger for a moment, and then go away. If this happens, you can practice simply letting them come and go, letting the flow of thoughts flow through your mind.

Step 7:

It can really help to imagine that you are sitting at a bus stop and you perceive your thoughts as buses passing through your mind. Just let the traffic of thoughts come and go... stay in touch with the feeling of your feet on the floor and the breathing of your body... let the different thoughts - buses - come and go... no need to get on.

Step 8:

When you notice that your thoughts have taken you away, practice bringing yourself back by feeling your feet on the floor and being aware of your breath. You can also try saying to yourself, “This is just a thought. Thoughts come, thoughts go.” Or, if the bus metaphor works for you, you can try simply saying to yourself, “Buses of thoughts... Buses of thoughts.”

Step 9:

It's not about pushing thoughts away, it's simply about recognizing them for what they are and practicing not having to get on board or stay on board. Then, when you're ready, you'll feel your feet on the floor again and gradually open your eyes.

This exercise develops:

• the ability to observe sounds and subsequently thoughts, instead of letting ourselves be carried away and overwhelmed by them

• understanding and experiencing the ability to "step back" from thoughts

• the ability to identify specific incoming and outgoing thoughts (like buses)

Source: Mindfulness in schools project ( https://mindfulnessinschools.org/ )