Thoughts Are Not the Enemy

A revolutionary new approach to meditation: a mindfulness of thinking that accepts and investigates the thoughts that arise as you meditate--from the author of Unlearning Meditation.

     In most forms of meditation, the meditator is instructed to let go of thoughts as they arise. As a result, thinking is often taken, unnecessarily, to be something misguided or evil. This approach is misguided, says Jason Siff. In fact, if we allow thoughts to arise and become mindful of the thoughts themselves, we gain tranquillity and insight just as in other methods without having to reject our natural mental processes. And by observing the thoughts themselves with mindfulness and curiosity, we can learn a good deal about ourselves in the process.1. Thoughts Are Not the Enemy
2. Meditating with Thoughts and Emotions
3. Talking about Meditation Sittings
4. Six Common Ways to Become Aware of Thoughts
5. Meeting Your Thoughts as a Resting Place
6. The Multilinear Present Moment
7. Going into the Future and the Past
8. Higher Values in Meditation
9. A Theory of Awareness
10. Transformative Conceptualization Explained
11. Maturation of the Meditative Process
A Meditative Research Afterthought“Jason Siff has developed Recollective Awareness meditation as a way of revealing and recounting the rich inner landscape of mental life during practice. My own clinical and reflective practice suggests that developing such recollective skills is a part of making sense of our lives and bringing peace to our inner storms.”—Daniel Siegel, author of The Mindful Brain and Brainstorm

“Siff’s book reads like a novel, but don't let the pleasure stop you. His instructions plug a common vulnerability for many meditators who get tied in knots, trying to discard thoughts as ‘distractions.’ Instead, Siff upholds the possibility of establishing a gentler, more respectful relationship with every part of our experience, learning from our thoughts and allowing calm and insight to arise naturally.”—Kate Lila Wheeler, author of When Mountains Walked and Not Where I Started From

“A respectful, intelligent, and refreshing approach to mindfulness of thinking. Rather than viewing thoughts as problems for meditation, Jason Siff describes a holistic approach to freedom through a wise exploration of thinking. For anyone who struggles with thoughts in meditation this book teaches a way out of the struggle.”—Gil Fronsdal, author of The Issue at Hand and translator of The Dhammapada JASON SIFF is head teacher of the Skillful Meditation Project.  He teaches and leads retreats in Recollective Awareness throughout the United States and in Australia. He is also the author of Unlearning Meditation: What to Do When the Instructions Get in the Way.