“Your Daily Dose” is a quick two minute read packed with bite-sized wisdom from all the great teachers. But you could also choose to turn it into something more… a powerful daily practice for personal growth. Give it a try!
A message from today’s meditation:
In today’s message Jiddu Krishnamurti reminds us that meditation is not about trying to prevent this brain from thinking thoughts, but about watching the thoughts dance. To get involved in a battle with your mind will only turn into a futile fight with your own brain. Instead, shift your focus. Become the observer, watching the parade of thoughts and feelings rise and fall.
“Meditation is to be aware of every thought and of every feeling, never to say it is right or wrong but just to watch it and move with it. In that watching you begin to understand the whole movement of thought and feeling. And out of this awareness comes silence. The silence that we try and create with our thoughts is stagnation, is dead, but the silence that comes when thought has understood its own beginning, the nature of itself, understood how all thought is never free but always old repetition – this silence is meditation in which the meditator is entirely absent, for the mind has emptied itself of the past.”– Jiddu Krishnamurti
In this mouthful by Krishnamurti, he makes a few points beautifully:
- We’ll never be without thoughts. Trying to stop thoughts from happening is futile.
- But there’s a place from where we can observe our thoughts with awareness, seeing how it is that these thoughts were created, and that mostly our thoughts are stuck in the past. Seeing how old thoughts are recycling again and again.
- Becoming this observer in awareness brings with it a natural silence, and sets us free from being controlled by our thoughts and feelings.
How do we find this space? How do we tap into this oasis of calm? It always starts with breath…
“The great advantage of choosing one’s breath as the object of mindfulness training is that breathing is an instinctive and effortless activity, something which we do as long as we are alive, so there is no need to strive hard to find the object of this practice.” – The Dalai Lama
By bringing our attention to the gentle rhythm of our breath, we create an anchor in the present moment.
This simple act of mindfulness allows us to gently detach from the incessant stream of thoughts and begin to observe them with greater clarity. We start to notice how our thoughts arise, how they influence our emotions, and how they often get caught in repetitive patterns.
Being the observer of your thoughts and feelings allows you to have the experience without being controlled by the experience. As the observer, it becomes easier to understand that every difficult thought and emotion that visits, will again move along, leaving you with the wisdom that comes from being one who sees.
Remember, even the biggest storm eventually settles. Every difficult thought, every uncomfortable feeling, will pass. Choose to be the mountain, unmoved by the winds of your mind.
Mantras to find your mountain:
- “My breath is my anchor.”
- “Thoughts come and go, like clouds in the sky.”
- “I am the watcher, not the weather.”
When, like the mountain, we are able to watch the clouds roll on in and observe the clouds roll on out again, without feeling the need to interfere and ‘make’ something happen… then what we are left with is the wisdom of the mountain.
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: I am the mountain.
Today’s LIVE meditation
https://youtu.be/ISoZ9WT0-Bk 2025
https://youtu.be/Esl_XK5475o 2024
https://youtu.be/SgsPn8stzlI 2023
Practice the “Daily Dose”
Let’s put it into practice! Choose what works for you – daily, once a week or whenever inspiration strikes. Putting pen to paper wires the neural pathways that will create your new habits.
1 – Affirmation
Write down your favourite affirmation on a sticky note and place it somewhere that you’ll be able to see it the whole day.
- “My breath is my anchor.”
- “Thoughts come and go, like clouds in the sky.”
- “I am the watcher, not the weather.”
2 – A moment of reflection
Use today’s question as a journal prompt. If you don’t have the time to sit down and write, just take a moment to reflect on your response.
The Observer’s Perspective: Recall a recent moment when you felt overwhelmed by your thoughts or emotions. What would it have looked like to allow the feelings and emotions to be felt, just as the mountain allows the storm to spend it’s energy, while trusting that all storms eventually pass? How might your response have changed if you had watched your thoughts and feelings move through you, rather than identifying with them?
3 – Quotes to share
Send a quote to someone who needs it, or share them all on social media to spread the good vibes!
4 – Q&A for deeper learning
Read through the questions and answers and write down at least one “aha moment” that clicked for you.
Q1: Isn’t the goal of meditation to have no thoughts at all?
No, this is one of the most common misconceptions about meditation. The goal isn’t to eliminate thoughts but to change your relationship with them. Thoughts are a natural function of the mind, much like breathing is a natural function of the body. Rather than fighting to stop thoughts, meditation teaches us to observe them without getting caught up in them or judging them as good or bad.
Q2: How can I become “the observer” when my thoughts feel so overwhelming?
Start with just observing your breath. By anchoring your attention to the natural rhythm of breathing, you create a stable point of reference. This allows you to step back slightly from the thought stream. It’s like stepping onto the riverbank instead of being swept downstream. With practice, you’ll notice gaps between you and your thoughts, and these gaps are where the observer perspective lives.
Q3: What does it mean that our thoughts are “always old” and “never free”?
Krishnamurti points out that most of our thoughts are recycled patterns from the past, conditioned responses based on previous experiences, beliefs we inherited, or memories we’re replaying. They’re not fresh, spontaneous insights but rather repetitions of established mental grooves. Recognizing this helps us take our thoughts less seriously and see them for what they are: echoes of the past rather than absolute truths.
Q4: How long does it take to develop this observer awareness?
There’s no fixed timeline, as everyone’s journey is unique. Some people experience glimpses of observer awareness in their first meditation session, while for others it develops gradually over weeks or months. The key is consistency rather than duration. Even five minutes of daily breath observation can begin to shift your relationship with your thoughts over time.
Q5: What’s the difference between “dead silence” and the silence that comes from awareness?
Dead silence, as Krishnamurti describes it, is the forced suppression of thoughts, creating a kind of mental stagnation. It’s effortful and temporary. The silence that comes from awareness, however, emerges naturally when you understand the nature of your thoughts. It’s alive, dynamic, and peaceful—not because you’ve pushed thoughts away, but because you’ve stopped being controlled by them.
Q6: I keep getting distracted during meditation. Am I doing it wrong?
Getting distracted is not a failure—it’s actually part of the practice. Each time you notice you’ve been carried away by thoughts and gently return to your breath, you’re strengthening your observer awareness. The practice isn’t maintaining perfect focus; it’s noticing when you’ve lost focus and choosing to return. This is the essence of becoming the watcher.
Q7: How can I apply this observer perspective to daily life, not just during meditation?
The observer perspective isn’t limited to formal meditation sessions. Throughout your day, you can pause and check in with your breath, creating mini-moments of awareness. When you notice strong emotions arising—frustration in traffic, anxiety before a meeting—you can mentally step back and observe: “There’s frustration happening” or “Anxiety is present.” This simple shift from “I am anxious” to “I’m noticing anxiety” can create profound changes in how you navigate daily challenges.