You can see him battling his sabotaging thoughts. The kamikaze pilots of thoughts are tail spinning in his brain. It’s by no means over yet, but the mind’s grip has its hold on him. The game score of the tennis match says 3-2, but the score of his body language says 6-1.

“It’s the nature of the mind to drift away. The mind is like the Pacific Ocean, it waves. And mindfulness has been shown to drop underneath the waves. If you drop underneath the agitation in the mind, into your breath deep enough calmness, gentle undulations.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
When was the last time you were facing tough opposition when your mind decided to take the reigns? It feels as though a landslide of thoughts and emotions are flooding you all at once. You’re drowning in the rush. It’s strong and you can’t escape it.

So the question is, how do you escape it? How do you find your snorkel to breathe out from the thoughts that drown you?

Most people make the mistake of trying to use their own thoughts to get out of or control their current thoughts. From past experience you will realize this only makes matters worse. You cannot control your mind. That’s like adding more water to the water that is already sinking the boat. Instead use your attention to get away from your thoughts. Put your attention elsewhere.

Each one of us has the ability to channel our attention in the direction of our choosing. In meditation you are doing just that. You are focusing on only one thing at a time for as long as you wish. Meditation sharpens your sword of attention.

But there’s some places it would just be plain awkward to cross your legs, pinch your fingers, and chant deep omms. You can’t do it when your down 3-2 in a tennis match, you can’t do it when your pitching an idea to your boss, and certainly can’t do it when your celebrity crush walks in on your first karaoke performance. So what’s our alternative in those situations?

Try directing your attention elsewhere. A great technique is to bring your attention to your hands. Here you will start to feel the energy that lives inside. You can sense that tingling aliveness beneath your skin. As you do this you will notice that you are no longer thinking about that guy who cut you off, or that woman who left the baby in the car, or the perfection of Carl’s breath. You are pure awareness experiencing the feeling beneath your hands. Once you master this try sensing your entire body. Your body is a great anchor for the state of presence. In this state you will experience peace and stillness and have a deeper intelligence than your thinking mind alone is capable of. This state away from the thinking mind is the presence of God. It is the spiritual dimension.

“You can deliberately access this place where thought recedes and wisdom emerges from the soul.” – Neale Donald Walsch
So the next time your gasping for air in the flood of thoughts and emotions, remember to focus your attention elsewhere. Focusing on the inner sensation of your hands or your body can be used as your snorkel to escape from the flood of your thoughts. You can breathe in perfect peace in the spiritual dimension. This dimension of peace can be accessed now, in a few minutes, or even in a few years. It will always be there for you. Is that beautiful or what?