Thinking to observe the mind - thoughts to analyse thoughts? Is this acceptable?

Hi,

I've recently been trying to start a meditation practice. I've started with mindfulness of the breath - the idea being I want to develop concentration enough to stay with the breath for a reasonable period of time without distraction (10 - 15 minutes) and then move onto observing thoughts. I've been meditating for 20 minutes each sitting for around a month now - single sittings for a week, and two sittings a day for the last 3 weeks.

Questions are:

1. When you observe your thoughts, is it skillful to make comments such as - "I think this", or "I desire x when I feel y", or is it more useful perhaps to observe without making any commentary at all - or at the very least, attempting to just observe the commentary, without purposefully adding to it. I feel as though my learning process is strongly tied to my ability to put things into words. So if one feels on the cusp of realising something - should they put it into thoughts and words in the mind, and then just return ? Or simply observe the feeling of being on the cusp of realisation and feeling they "need" to think?

2. There are some thoughts that come and go (melodies, observations of the day) - but then there is a feeling of a sort of "central" voice. This one feels much more personal than the others - like my own voice. And I feel almost as if it "blocks" my awareness of my breath - like, I can feel my breath, but so much of my attention feels directed toward this block, which occasionally gives out thoughts - and I can't quite dislodge it. It almost feels like I'm actually not focusing on my breath at all and most of my focus is on this block - it makes my meditations feel quite shallow, I don't get very deep into it.

Anyone who could help me with this - I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much :)

submitted by /u/Jephobi
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