Becoming more aware of the sensations caused by reactions to thoughts helps bring back attention to the self, and thereby momentarily stops the mind from wandering. Of course, it is hard to do this all the time. The ability to do this seems to depend on the nature of the thoughts and the depth of immersion in that thought world at that time, and/or the intensity of the sensations themselves. It's still not exactly clear, but at least these two seem to be factors, since at times awareness of the sensations breaks the thought pattern, while at times awareness of the fact that the mind has wandered itself does it.
On Oct 10, 2022 Arun wrote :