I continue to be filled with thoughts of lovingkindness for our wonderful teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. I remember reading the Miracle of mindfulness the first time, the little book on Mindfulness practice. It felt like he was giving me personally so much guidance on how to deal with all the frantic thoughts that were continually attacking my mind/heart… Like this:

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.”

So simple.. use your breath to take hold of your mind again. When the mind runs away with itself and takes the heart with it, come back to the breath… deep breath in… deep breath out. As many times and necessary until the mind is calm and centered again. Do that as much as you need to. Make this a habit instead of the habit on chasing my thoughts.