Analytical Meditation
Unlike stabilising meditation (commonly known as mindfulness), rather than observing your thoughts or body objectively and without judgment, analytical meditation takes your thoughts further. When analytically meditating, you actively steer your mind away from disturbing and intrusive thoughts and towards beneficial thoughts like satisfaction, joy and generosity. Rather than merely observing your thoughts, you actively question what pops into your mind.
Doing this allows you to take conscious control over your mind’s habits, overriding the unconscious programming which drives most thoughts and behaviours. The process uses logic to recognise distorted thoughts and trains your mind towards healthier responses. Analytical meditation is often easier to practice than stabilising meditation which has one particular focus.
So, if you practice mindfulness already, how about including some aspects of analytical meditation into your practice?