Question:

Do you have any advice for people with bi-polar disorder for how to meditate? I am on various medications but I find that I still have racing thoughts. I understand the importance of watching the breath, yet my mind still seems to go in every direction. Can you recommend a practice for me?

Phillip Replies:

I recommend that you try doing “touch point” meditation. Beginning with your feet, notice one specific sensation. How do you know your feet are there? Name just one feeling, such as warm or cool, hardness or softness. Stay with that touch point for a few breaths as you continue to name the sensation. Then move your attention to your buttocks and do the same thing. First notice a sensation in your buttocks, then continue to notice and name it for a few breaths. Finally, move your attention to your hands and repeat the process. When you’re finished with noticing your hands, place your attention on your breath. Without trying to control your breath, just observe the movement of breath in your body. Now go back to noticing your feet, and revisit each touch point. Sometimes you might notice something different, and other times it will be what you noticed before. Occasionally people will notice numbness and think they can’t feel anything, but that is the sensation to be noticed. You can do touch point meditation for a little as five minutes or for as long as your meditation period.

This meditation steadies the mind because you are giving it a specific duty to perform. If your mind becomes racy, stay with the breath for a moment, and then go back to noticing sensations in your feet, buttocks, and hands, in that order. Be gentle with yourself when you find that your mind is racing and refocus your attention on the breath for a few moments, then continue doing the touch point meditation.