As you go through your daily life, how aware are you of your breath and your thoughts?
Both would not show up on x-rays; however, you are always breathing and thinking - voluntarily or involuntarily. Both are also powerful. One is sustaining where the other can be sabotaging.
Your breath is a resource that is always available to ground you in the present moment. In mindful meditation, you are encouraged to focus on your breath. You are also encouraged during meditation to acknowledge and let go of any thoughts that creep in preventing you from focusing on your breath.
I call the thoughts that creep in "mind chatter". In assessing its content, your mind chatter can be good and bad. It can consist of creating, problem solving, planning your day, week, month or year. The clamoring that goes on within may also include a fabricated two way conversation with your family, friend or co-worker that you recently had a falling out with. You are also susceptible to be led astray as an audience-of-one to scenarios that can snowball you into believing false realities fabricated in your thoughts.
It is particularly important to assist yourself by self monitoring with self awareness so you do not get caught up in believing everything that your mind chatter feeds you. The mind chatter can be especially dangerous when negative thoughts repeatedly and insidiously creep in deflating your confidence and general well being. The thought can be as curt and unkind as "I am a bad person", "I cannot do it", "I am so stupid".
Staying presently grounded with your breath will not lead you astray. Acknowledging, assessing, assisting, self monitoring with self awareness will keep you in touch with your thoughts. By staying in touch, you are relieved of believing and acting upon the negative mind chatter. By staying in touch, you are relinquishing the thought's power of leading you astray. So... what are you thinking?
EleanorSilverberg.com