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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 skepticism
versus discernment and curiosity.
So there's an old Zen story about this.
There was a man who was born blind
and he said, "I do not believe in
the world of light and appearance.
There are no colors, bright or dull.
There's no sun, no moon, no stars.
I don't believe that anyone
has witnessed these things."
Now, his friends tried to argue with him
about this, but he clung to his opinion.
"What you say you see are illusions,"
he said."If colors existed, I
should be able to touch them.
They clearly have no
existence and are not real.
They have no weight, no substance.
I feel no substance, no
weight where you see colors.
So clearly they don't exist."
Then one day a doctor was
called to see this blind man.
He mixed up a medicine which he applied
to the cataracts and the blind man's eyes.
And as he mixed this mixture into
his eyes and the cataracts melted
suddenly a whole new world and
reality opened up before him.
He suddenly took in all
the light he could not see.
In some ways we have a similarity
with the blind man, because if we've
not experienced something directly,
sometimes we have this insistence
or this idea that it's not possible.
It's just fanciful thinking.
So when it comes to your own mind,
for instance, maybe you haven't
had a chance yet to glimpse the
possibilities laying dormant there.
You may have heard some teachers
or some wisdom traditions, or even
modern neuroscience talking about
the possibility of easing suffering
and stress and finding a sense of
wholeness, oneness, and inner peace.
But if you've never felt it
yourself, you might have a lot of
skepticism and doubt about that.
Now it's important to know that skepticism
has its purpose and we don't want to
just go around believing everything that
people tell us and being kind of naive.
But on the other hand, skepticism
can block us off from new
experiences and possibilities.
So rather than seeing skepticism as
an altogether bad thing, I'd invite
you to just make a slight pivot and
reorient to a healthier curiosity.
So think about being an investigator,
an explorer of your own direct
experience, rather than just believing
or disbelieving what somebody tells you.
So just being interested and
open to exploring mindfulness
and meditation for yourself.
Giving the practice a go for a
number of days, weeks or months
and then checking in with yourself.
Is this making a difference?
What kind of difference?
In this way we can find our own direct
experience to be the most important
part of our discovery process.
So instead of coming to this practice
already having made up your mind, instead,
we lay aside our assumptions, preconceived
ideas and opinions, and instead make the
effort to know and see for ourselves.
So as always, thank you for your
practice and your presence here
with us and just inviting you now
to settle in for today's meditation.
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- 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.
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You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
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Highly recommend.
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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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