Waiting for the next thought is a technique for entering the present moment, as described in a video I posted here earlier this week:
Yesterday, I used that for the mindfulness exercise in a Coping and Healing group. I told the group members to leave behind overthinking about the future and the past by asking themselves “What will my next thought be?”
Personally, I found this to be a very effective way to quiet my busy mind. The anticipation, curiosity, and wonder about the next thought focused me and emptied my mind in a way I had never experienced before.
Are you waiting for my next images?
Waiting for your next thought? My next thought is to share “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s 9th.
I’m waiting for the next time when we can gather together in large groups like that without fear. My next thought is this: that time will come, we just don’t know how long we have to wait.
I’ll be waiting for the next comments on this blog post.
Waiting for my next expression of gratitude?
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 
It is joyful to see the balance Harley and Joan have discovered rather quickly, Ann!
Thanks for this thoughtful comment, Mark!
Thank you for sharing this video. I learned a lot! 🙂
I’m so glad !
What is it with cats and dangerous railings?
Good question!
I was admiring how Harley and Joan had made themselves so comfortable, only to move on to the next photo to see Joan walking an uncomfortably narrow balance beam.
Joan is very sure-footed, my thoughtful friend.
When I brush my teeth, so many thoughts enter my mind.. It’s interesting. I wonder if it’s because it’s boring? I don’t know. My mind becomes like Grand Central Station.. Have a nice day, Ann
You are not alone.
Harley and Joan seem to be appreciating each other these days, and Joan has her own way of practicing mindfulness, doesn’t she? How, I wonder, are *you* when Ms. Joan tiptoes along the edge of the precipice? But you must be reassured by her adventurous spirit and surefootedness. She seems to like to try everything.
She likes to explore and be up in high places, and my next thought is that she knows what she’s doing.
Joan and Harley have obviously given a great deal of thought about co-existence and the meaning of life!
And so have you!
A friend shared this with me: “In Massachussetts ‘booster’ is spelled ‘borchester’.” First I laughed but my next thought was, I wish I’d thought of that. But another thought I’ve had many times is that, while the mind is like a muscle and needs regular exercise, sometimes even it needs rest.
That’s not entirely true, unless “booster” is pronounced “bussster” where you’re at, my friend. My next thought is to tell you that Joan and her siblings and kittens were discovered and rescued on the streets in Tennessee.
The next thought is that you saw a honeysuckle (Lonicera x heckrottii) shrub. Loniceras are a group of arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. This cultivar is also called ‘Everblooming Honeysuckle or Goldflame Honeysuckle’. The genus ‘Lonicera’ is in the family ‘Caprifoliaceae’ and is named after Adamus Lonicerus, a German botanist (1557). ORIGIN OF CAPRIFOLIACEOUS: 1850–55; <New Latin Caprifoliace(ae) honeysuckle family (Caprifoli(um) genus of honeysuckle (Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin capri-capri- + folium leaf).
Joan and Harley are a beautiful Buddhist presence of harmony and splendor. They're beautiful.
Thank you for all your beautiful thoughts, Maria.
my next thought, after seeing your pics today, is that life goes on, flowers bloom, waters ebb and flow, animals bond in a natural bond we have no control over, and people find hope and solace in each other by connections, in blogs and words, such as yours.
Beautiful thoughts, beth, always worth waiting for.
Ann,
Thank you for your helpful suggestion to combat overthinking by asking self, What will my next thought be? I was overthinking and now I am not.
With gratitude,
Barbara