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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about transforming our relationship with regret. So when I think about regret, regret is actually a funny thing because even though we know that no matter how much we sit there and wish we'd done things differently, it doesn't change what happened in the past. And it's a strange habit because regret doesn't feel good. It causes us to suffer quite a bit.
And yet we can't seem to help ourselves just replaying it again and again. Now the reason that our minds tend to do this is because of how we evolved. So in the past, our hunter-gathererer ancestors, their life was really difficult and dangerous. And so to survive, it was important for them to replay any dangerous encounters. You know, such as a run-in with a bear or a rival clan.
If they manage to survive the encounter, you see, the mind would replay the event again and again and again, so they could learn from it and have a better chance of survival next time. These days, the mind tends to do the same thing with any mistakes, misfortunes, embarrassments, and regrets. It just replays them again and again. But it tends to do this way beyond what's actually helpful or useful. So I offer you this.
A wise teacher once said to me, regret is okay, but just a spoonful. What he meant was that if you notice the mind going into regret mode, then there can be a great opportunity to recognize that what we did may not have been helpful for ourselves and others and we can learn from that. And we can make an intention to do better in the future. But then after that, you just let the mind relax. You've learned what you needed to, so you can trust that it's okay now to let it go.
This spoonful of regret really need not take long at all. Maybe just a minute or so. Just enough time to acknowledge what happened, learn from it, make an intention to grow from it. And we can do this with an attitude of honoring any other people involved and honoring ourselves. So we do this as an act of love for them and ourselves.
In this way, our regrets, rather than being debilitating or unhelpful, can become a great source of wisdom, motivation, strength, and mental clarity. So here's my invitation. Whenever regret arises, as best you can, not spending too much time wishing you could change things that you can't or punishing yourself or berating yourself. Instead, just switch the focus to taking a mindful pause. Give yourself one minute, maybe two max to have a spoonful of regret.
Just enough to learn, grow, make an intention to behave from now on, in ways that leave yourself and others feeling happier, healthier, and more empowered. As always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And now let's settle in for today's meditation.
A Spoonful of Regret
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about transforming our relationship with regret. So when I think about regret, regret is actually a funny thing because even though we know that no matter how much we sit there and wish we'd done things differently, it doesn't change what happened in the past. And it's a strange habit because regret doesn't feel good. It causes us to suffer quite a bit.
And yet we can't seem to help ourselves just replaying it again and again. Now the reason that our minds tend to do this is because of how we evolved. So in the past, our hunter-gathererer ancestors, their life was really difficult and dangerous. And so to survive, it was important for them to replay any dangerous encounters. You know, such as a run-in with a bear or a rival clan.
If they manage to survive the encounter, you see, the mind would replay the event again and again and again, so they could learn from it and have a better chance of survival next time. These days, the mind tends to do the same thing with any mistakes, misfortunes, embarrassments, and regrets. It just replays them again and again. But it tends to do this way beyond what's actually helpful or useful. So I offer you this.
A wise teacher once said to me, regret is okay, but just a spoonful. What he meant was that if you notice the mind going into regret mode, then there can be a great opportunity to recognize that what we did may not have been helpful for ourselves and others and we can learn from that. And we can make an intention to do better in the future. But then after that, you just let the mind relax. You've learned what you needed to, so you can trust that it's okay now to let it go.
This spoonful of regret really need not take long at all. Maybe just a minute or so. Just enough time to acknowledge what happened, learn from it, make an intention to grow from it. And we can do this with an attitude of honoring any other people involved and honoring ourselves. So we do this as an act of love for them and ourselves.
In this way, our regrets, rather than being debilitating or unhelpful, can become a great source of wisdom, motivation, strength, and mental clarity. So here's my invitation. Whenever regret arises, as best you can, not spending too much time wishing you could change things that you can't or punishing yourself or berating yourself. Instead, just switch the focus to taking a mindful pause. Give yourself one minute, maybe two max to have a spoonful of regret.
Just enough to learn, grow, make an intention to behave from now on, in ways that leave yourself and others feeling happier, healthier, and more empowered. As always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And now let's settle in for today's meditation.
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Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
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Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
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I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
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So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
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Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
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