This meditation is highly effective in gradually quieting your thoughts, calming your mind, and making you more self-aware over time. Mental calmness, thought focus, and self-awareness are three crucial factors determining progress in mindfulness and lucid dreaming exercises.
Sit or lie down in a quiet place and relax a bit. Then, repeat the first thought that automatically comes to your mind only once. (Repeat that thought again). That's the entire exercise. For example, let's assume the first thought that comes to your mind is: "I need to call Alice." Repeat it like this: "I need to call Alice." Continue in the same manner for subsequent thoughts: "The faucet is dripping: The faucet is dripping. Probably, the washer is broken: Probably, the washer is broken. I need to fix it: I need to fix it. Why am I not thinking about something else: Why am I not thinking about something else? It's quite funny: It's quite funny. I really don't feel like it: I really don't feel like it. Why do I have to do this exercise: Why do I have to do this exercise? Am I doing the exercise correctly: Am I doing the exercise correctly? Who am I: Who am I?..." and continue in this manner.
Note 1: intentionally, you should not think about anything. If you deliberately think about something, you don't need to repeat it. Just let it go and wait for the first automatic thought to come to your mind again. In other words, you only repeat thoughts that enter your mind automatically.
Note 2: In the above example, I was forced to use sentences and words. However, automatic thoughts can manifest as images, sentences, an inner perception, an inner sound, or a reaction to an external sound, etc. Your task is to precisely repeat that thought in the same form.
Note 3: The internal automatic process can only be controlled and mastered when consciously and intentionally brought under attention. This exercise enables seconds of self-awareness to be experienced again and again in the automatic flow of thoughts.
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