A meditative mind practices acceptance of the present moment. Practicing acceptance means acknowledging how things are in the moment. It means staying present, even when it feels uncomfortable or difficult, and consciously choosing responding rather than reacting. The boundary to what we can accept is the boundary to our freedom. –Tara Brach We can learn […]
Staying steady during difficult times is an intention that mindfulness and meditation can support. Life is filled with 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. When difficult moments arise, how can we stay balanced and steady to ride the waves of sorrow or uncertainty? The tendency is to react to difficulty with swirling thoughts, imagining possible scenarios, […]
Practicing acceptance nurtures a greater sense of peace, happiness, and wellbeing. Much of our suffering is created by wanting things to be other than they are. Acceptance involves acknowledging things as they are in this moment and then asking, “Now what?” If we can truly accept how things are and allow them to just be, […]
Mindful thinking or mindfulness of thoughts isn’t so much about controlling our thoughts as it is about learning to not allow our thoughts to control us. When we practice mindful thinking and become aware of the habitual patterns of the mind, we develop the freedom to choose something different. Typically we’re so caught up in […]
Mindfulness of feelings can help with emotion regulation. We can practice relating skillfully with feelings by practicing being aware of when a feeling arises and noticing whether the feeling tone is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, worldly or unworldly. Worldly feelings relate to the senses, and attachment to these feelings can lead to craving and clinging. […]
Contemplation of the four elements is outlined in the original teachings on mindfulness in the Satipatthana Sutta. This post is a continued exploration of these teachings. The next instruction in mindfulness of the body relates to contemplation of the four elements: earth/solidity, water/liquidity, fire/temperature, and wind/motion related to body composition. Again with this instruction on […]
Mindful Stress Reduction teaches mindfulness meditation and gentle yoga to cultivate awareness and reduce stress. Participation in an MBSR course has been shown to decrease stress, increase peace and well-being, and decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as symptoms of a number of medical conditions, including high blood pressure and heart disease, arthritis, […]
Mindfulness of body allows us to practice being aware of what it feels like to be in this body in the present moment with an attitude of kindness and interest. This week we continue the exploration of the early teachings on mindfulness from the Satipatthana Sutta. Following mindfulness of breathing, the next two instructions for […]
The four foundations of mindfulness include mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of the mind and mindfulness of the mental formation.
Accepting change with mindfulness and meditation brings a greater sense of happiness and peace. If there is one thing that we can count on, it is that change is inevitable. Everything is impermanent. We can either fight against this reality, tightening our bodies and clinging to rigid and inflexible thinking, which most often leads to […]