By Craig Robinson, Meditation Teacher (DipBSoM), Clear Mind Meditation
As we move towards spring, there’s a familiar shift happening around us. The mornings brighten, the air softens, and there can be a quiet sense that life is beginning to open again. The weather has an affect on our mood, our thoughts. As we shift from the darkness and almost constant rainy days of Jan and Feb, let’s feel into the freshness of spring, with a clearer mind.
This month, I want to explore our relationship with thoughts, because for most of us, it’s the thoughts, not the circumstances, that create the tension we feel day to day. The mind is constantly producing commentary: planning, worrying, replaying, imagining. But here’s the part we often forget: Underneath all of that mental activity, there is a natural stillness. A clarity that’s always there. A place of peace. “Home”.
We don’t lose it. It just gets covered over by noise.
Most people assume their thoughts are telling the truth. That every thought needs attention, or action, or a reaction. But thoughts are simply movements of the mind, temporary, shifting, often inaccurate. They’re not instructions. They’re not warnings. They’re not who we are.
The real issue isn’t the thinking itself. It’s that we rarely give ourselves the space to notice that we’re thinking.
This is where meditation becomes genuinely transformative. When you sit quietly, even for a few minutes, and allow your attention to rest on the breath, something subtle but powerful happens: you begin to see the gap between you and your thoughts. You notice the stories without being pulled into them. You feel the body settle. You reconnect with the stillness that was there all along.
It’s a bit like spring. The clarity isn’t created, it’s revealed. The light was always coming back; we just had to wait for it.
A simple practice you can try this month is to sit for a few minutes each morning and watch the breath. When a thought appears… and it will… just acknowledge it and let it pass, the same way you’d watch a cloud drift across a brightening sky. No judgement. No pressure. Just noticing.
If you want something a little more tangible, try this: Take a slow breath in and imagine drawing in clear, bright spring light. Hold it gently. Then as you exhale, imagine releasing the heaviness of the day before it even begins. Let the body soften. Let the mind unclench. With a bit of space, a bit of patience, and the natural lift that spring brings, you might find that clarity isn’t something you have to work for. It’s something you return to – something that’s been waiting underneath your thoughts the whole time.
Enjoy.
www.clearmindmeditation.co.uk