try visualising the inside of your head

Try visualising the inside of your head as an empty, black space. Most of us tend to be rather caught up in thoughts. And if we had to locate these thoughts in our body, we would probably feel them to be located in the head, in the brain. So this little exercise is aiming to create a gap in our thoughts, through a simple little visualisation.

To try this, it's best to find a quiet place where you can be alone. Sit down, close your eyes, and take a few slow, deep breaths. Once you've relaxed a little, bring your awareness to the inside of your head. But rather than imagining a brain there, imagine an empty space – black, like outer space but without stars – just nothing, a void, an empty black space.

You might also like to feel around the edges of this space. Is it the size of your physical head? Maybe it feels rather larger. In your visualisation, if you can find this boundary, this edge, then check that that is also empty. You might like to imagine scooping out any remnants of stuff that you find there, or brushing out some dust.

Try to get to the point where you feel this space is a pure vacuum; totally black, with absolutely nothing there; complete emptiness. And see if you can sit for a few minutes, with your awareness resting in this complete nothingness, this empty space.

It's a meditation, really. And the object of the meditation is this empty, black space. So if thoughts do pop up, just bring your awareness back to this visualised, empty blackness.

You can use this method for as long as you feel comfortable. Five or ten minutes is plenty. You can carry on for much longer, though, if you prefer.

It's worth doing this once in a while. You might even try it for very short periods throughout the day, as a way of giving your thinking mind a little rest – just as you might sit down with a cup of tea to take a break from your other activities. So you could try doing this a few times a day, just for a minute or two each time: a little rest from all that thinking.

So give it a try: try visualising the inside of your head as empty space.