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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners

10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation

What is Meditation?

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Melli O'Brien

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Are We Really Listening?

Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:

Hey friends, welcome to

your Daily Mindfulness.

Question.

When was the last time you felt

truly seen and heard by someone?

Can you remember what that felt like?

Perhaps you can remember a feeling of

really being cared about, um, maybe

you felt relaxed, calm, and open.

So just take a moment to really

remember that experience.

You know, when someone gives us

their undivided attention, the

message that it sends is I'm here

for you, I'm listening, I care.

But that kind of attentiveness is

becoming quite rare these days.

And so when listening to another

person, we're often there in

body or we're not fully present.

You know really often, we're actually

not truly listening to them at all.

We're caught up in our own mind chatter,

and maybe we're judging what they're

saying, mentally agreeing or disagreeing,

thinking about what we want to say next.

Sometimes we even interrupt or become

impatient, or we just insert our own

opinions instead of really listening.

And the people that we do this

with the most, of course, are

the people who are closest to us.

So one of the most simple and

powerful mindfulness practices that

I know of is mindful listening.

We human beings, we're social creatures.

We're always talking to each other.

We're always communicating.

And so we have a lot of

opportunities to practice this.

So here's my invitation for today.

The next time you're with a loved one

or a coworker, try using that time

as an exercise in mindful listening.

Simply see if you can give them

your undivided attention, really

listen to what they're saying.

Try to fully understand them, give

them a space to be seen and heard.

And just like in meditation practice, if

you find your mind wandering off, judging

what they're saying, that's not a problem.

Just gently bring your focus

back to the listening, just

like you would in meditation.

And you're going to notice that

people really appreciate it

deeply when you listen to them.

And you'll also find as a bonus that when

it's your turn to speak, it's much more

likely that they'll listen to you in the

same way and kind of pick up on the vibe.

The greatest gift that you can give the

people in your life is your attention.

And in a world where there's so

much disconnection and distraction,

mindful listening gives us back the

possibility of genuine connection,

authenticity and love in our lives.

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