I’ve recently learned about Anapana Meditation that is taught in Vipassana. At its core, it is about meditating upon your breath. It trains the mind to stay at the present moment and not entangled in thoughts.
I’ve also learned or rather realised that thoughts and feelings mostly don’t serve us. Thoughts are mostly just ceaseless chatter of the mind. What are feelings, I don’t know, but they also rise and fall, come and go, sometimes randomly so.
Earlier, I used to get intimidated by the feelings. I’d feel uncomfortable when the feelings of sadness, jealousy, and anger would arise. But now, I label them and think of them very objectively. I’d say to myself “Okay, I am feeling jealousy. It’s fine. It has arisen, and it will go back in some time. I need not act upon it. It is not who I am. I am just witnessing this particular feeling”.
Similarly, I don’t get caught up in thoughts as much as I used to before. Most of the times they serve no purpose. They’re like a chatty room-mate inside your mind.
I’m not saying that it’s good to just ignore what you feel and the thoughts that are arising. In fact it’s quite the opposite: you should feel what you are feeling and acknowledge the thought you are having, just that you shouldn’t get bogged down by them if they are unpleasant. Also very importantly: you should not chase the good feelings and run away from the bad ones. Chase the things that are real, productive, and have a meaning, instead.