mindfulness Archives - Page 8 of 9

Meditation Tips for Beginners

May 31, 2016

Here are three simple tips for the beginning meditator:

1-Just as it’s the nature of the heart to beat, it’s the nature of the mind to think. Meditation isn’t about stopping thoughts; rather, it’s about becoming aware of thoughts so you can choose to respond to life’s events consciously instead of reacting unconsciously.

2-Start small. Rather than trying to meditate for 20 minutes a day, start with 5 minutes, or even a couple of minutes. You can find a free two minute audio mediation here: https://joyrains.com/meditation/guided-meditations/

3-Regularity is key. Try to meditate every day so it becomes a habit. If you can, meditate in the same place in your home or office, such as a favorite chair, or favorite room. You may want to include inspirational items in that space, such as candles, smooth stones, or books with readings for before or after your meditation time. Once you get used to meditating there, simply by entering that space your mind may begin to settle.

Build Your Mind’s Muscle

May 26, 2016

Meditation is a wonderful way to build mental strength!

Consider this: Just as it’s the nature of the heart to beat, it’s the nature of the mind to generate thoughts. Meditation is not a practice of suppressing these thoughts, but it’s a process of coming into awareness of them–by shifting attention to a neutral object of awareness (such as the breath) each time you notice another thought arise. Essentially, it’s like you’re taking your mind out of drive and shifting it to neutral–again and again and again, sometimes as often as every second or two. Just as the repetitive motion of doing abdominal crunches builds core strength, this continual shift of awareness helps build your mind’s muscle.

Retraining the Anxious Mind

May 24, 2016

Meditation may not make your anxiety disappear if you are wired to have anxiety. What it can do, however, is to allow you to make a conscious choice about how to respond to the anxiety so you can manage it. The practice of meditation can be completely transformative, as it can actually retrain your brain!

Imagine noticing an anxious thought, such as “My boss will be upset with me,” and then having the awareness to say “Wait a minute . . . I’m making up a story. I don’t even know if my boss will really be upset.” The awareness to discern thoughts (and release those that do not serve) often comes with a regular meditation practice.

Want to start meditating? You can find free guided meditations on https://joyrains.com/meditation/guided-meditations/

Change Your Awareness, Reduce Your Stress

May 17, 2016

Changing your awareness can reduce your stress. Consider this: your body doesn’t know the difference between stress you imagine and real stress. If you are watching a suspenseful movie, your heartbeat may quicken and you may even find that beads of sweat are forming on your forehead. Your body is reacting to your mind’s cues.

But by bringing awareness to the content of your mind through meditation, you may be able to release tension in your body. If a woman is at the dentist thinking “I hate being here,” her body may be tensed up as a result of her thoughts. But by bringing awareness to her thoughts and to her body’s tension, she may be able to untangle mental and physical stress and bring her body to a more relaxed state – even though she doesn’t like being where she is.

Just as pulling aside the curtain in “The Wizard of Oz” revealed that the Wizard wasn’t so powerful, pulling aside the curtain on what the mind is thinking can help reduce the power of thoughts, and the related physical stress.

Reducing Stress with Ancient Practices

May 12, 2016

Want to reduce stress? Consider this: Stress is most often a response to the content of the mind. Imagine you’re watching a movie. When the heroine in the movie tries to escape from the villain, you may find that your heart beats faster and you begin to perspire. You are having a real physical stress response to a fictional story. The same phenomenon happens in “real life”. People tell themselves stories and then experience real life stress responses; responses which can wreak havoc upon mind and body.

A great way to reduce stress is with the ancient practice of meditation. It allows you to witness the stories you tell yourself and decide if they’re true. Mark Twain’s famous quote aptly describes the tendency to create stress through anxious thoughts. “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which never happened.”

Another ancient practice is the first of the “Five Tibetan Rites,” a series of five exercises similar to yoga. Here’s a modification:

Stand straight with feet hip distance apart. Lift your arms straight out to the sides at shoulder level, palms down, so your body is in the shape of a lower case “t”. Start turning very slowly to the right, keeping your focus at eye-level the as you turn. Make a complete circle and then continue circling anywhere from 3-10 times. Discontinue if you become dizzy or if you experience discomfort.

Why this works:
The mental content that cycles through the mind can be a significant cause of stress. This exercise engages the mind and keeps it busy by trying to keep focusing at eye-level, all while turning the body in a circle and trying to stay balanced. The effect of this is to quiet the mind. The beauty of this exercise is that it can be practiced most anywhere to help reduce stress, and best of all, it’s free!

50,000 to 70,000 Thoughts Per Day

May 6, 2016

It’s widely reported that the average person thinks 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. If people aren’t mindful about what they think, many of their thoughts could be self-sabatoging. Consider Mark Twain’s famous quote: “I’m an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which never happened.”

Meditation is about coming into awareness of your thoughts, so you can respond to life consciously rather than react unconsciously. This conscious awareness can go a long way to choosing thoughts that serve you rather then sabotage you. For example, if a young man goes into a job interview thinking, “I’ll never get this job,” chances are he will be right. He will believe his self-sabatoging thought. But if he becomes aware of his negative thinking pattern, he can make a shift and choose a more productive thought, such as “I’m a good fit for this job.”

We create our reality through our thoughts. It’s important to choose carefully and choose consciously.