Thoughts can be overwhelming in meditation and life. You may begin to believe your mind is your thoughts. But this is an illusion. Your thoughts obscure the true essence of your mind, a clear, calm place beneath your thoughts.

In this meditation, mind like blue sky, you visualize your thoughts as clouds drifting through a clear blue sky. You can see and watch the clouds, but they are not the sky. They are objects moving through an endless blue sky. You don’t need to engage with them. Instead, you watch and let them go.

Set a timer for about two to five minutes, or listen to the five-minute guided audio. Sit comfortably or lie on your back. Let your eyes close, or drop your gaze to the floor just in front of you.

You may choose to start by anchoring your mind, bringing your awareness to a place where your body meets the chair or the floor, or you might choose one place to notice your breath, like at your mouth or nostrils, or in your chest or belly. Take a few breaths focusing your awareness on this one place to limit how your mind can get distracted by other senses.

Once you feel relaxed and focused, you can begin to imagine your mind as a bright, blue summer sky. This sky expands all around you and beyond what you can see in your mind’s eye. For example, you might imagine lying on your back on a beach or in a field, watching a bright cloudless sky.

You may notice thoughts creeping into your mind. It might be a word, a judgment, or a story, but as you notice them, imagine the thought becomes a fluffy white cloud that drifts through this blue sky around you. You watch it drift by and, eventually drift off, unattached to it. Continue to watch and notice as more thoughts rise and drift through your blue sky mind.

If your mind is very busy, you may feel like the entire sky is covered, but remember that the blue sky is beneath even the darkest clouds.

If you get caught up in your thoughts, return your awareness to your breath or another sensation in the body, like where your seat meets the chair. You can also move around and focus your awareness on the movement. If you start to put words, or any thought to the sensation, see if you can imagine the thought as something beyond you, drifting away like the clouds.

When you are ready to release the practice, bring your awareness back to your breath or another sensation in your body, like where your seat meets the chair. Or you might choose to create some movement, rocking your spine side to side or back and forth. Take a few breaths, just noticing the sensation you chose.

Mind like blue sky meditation guided audio