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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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Hey! Welcome back to your daily mindfulness. Today, we're going to talk about self-compassion. So yesterday, we discussed how we can easily add another layer of suffering and pain to our experience by fighting, resisting, pushing, and judging. Well, one of the other ways that we can help combat that or work with that, I think is a better word, is through cultivating some self-compassion. If we're beating ourselves up for having the experience that we're having, it's just going to be a very bumpy journey.
So there's something powerful to be said about cultivating a relationship to our experience, that's kind, that's warm. And there's a great researcher, Kristin Neff, who is probably the world's leading researcher on cultivating self-compassion. And she says there are three things that we need to work with when it comes to self-compassion. The first is self-kindness over self-judgment. So self-judgment, notice if that word resonates.
If you ever find yourself caught up in the internal narrative of what's wrong with me, why can't I get this right? Or even I'm an idiot. It's abrasive. Rarely would we let someone else talk to us in that way, but we tend to get away with it ourselves. So, self-kindness over self-judgment. What's it like to have a kinder, inner narrative to yourself? It's okay.
You did your best. Like we're trying, we're human, we're, we're doing our best to get it right. We didn't ask for this to happen. It's just a part of life. Do you hear or feel the difference in that? The self-kindness versus the self-judgment? At least for me, even as I'm saying it, I can feel a difference in my body.
This can go a long way when it comes to cultivating resilience during different cold times. Even though something like self-kindness doesn't feel like resilience in the normal way we would think about it. It allows us to navigate the experience without creating more suffering. So self-kindness versus self judgment. The next thing she talks about is common humanity versus isolation.
So, the common humanity piece is, is our ability to see with perspective that whatever we're going through and whatever we're experiencing in relationship to it, is a part of the human experience. Everyone goes through this. Everyone has difficult thoughts. Everyone has difficult experiences. Everyone gets confused, has doubt, is unsure what they're supposed to do next at some point in their lives.
This is just what it means to be human. But a lot of times we isolate. We take it personally. We say, you know, woe is me, or we get caught up in self-pity, or this is just something I go through. That, that isolation is, is limiting.
And it's painful because it leads to more of the self-judgment that we just talked about. So this common humanity just broadens our perspective, opens our heart, allows us to connect to the reality that this is not an individual experience. Which takes us to the last one, mindfulness over self-identification. When we get so caught up in self-identification with the thoughts of, these are my thoughts, or I'm the one thinking this, or I'm the one having these emotions. On one level, it's kind of true.
On another level, these things are just arising. And we can hold them in our awareness with that perspective of not getting so sucked into the content, rather just observing. Oh, Look at this thought right now, look at this emotion, look at this sensation, look at this pain. This is what it's like to hold this moment as it is. So these three things, can we cultivate them to deepen our self-compassion? More self-kindness, seeing the common humanity and cultivating mindfulness.
We'll talk more about this in today's meditation. Thank you for your practice and I'll talk to you soon. Take care.
Self-Compassion
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.
Hey! Welcome back to your daily mindfulness. Today, we're going to talk about self-compassion. So yesterday, we discussed how we can easily add another layer of suffering and pain to our experience by fighting, resisting, pushing, and judging. Well, one of the other ways that we can help combat that or work with that, I think is a better word, is through cultivating some self-compassion. If we're beating ourselves up for having the experience that we're having, it's just going to be a very bumpy journey.
So there's something powerful to be said about cultivating a relationship to our experience, that's kind, that's warm. And there's a great researcher, Kristin Neff, who is probably the world's leading researcher on cultivating self-compassion. And she says there are three things that we need to work with when it comes to self-compassion. The first is self-kindness over self-judgment. So self-judgment, notice if that word resonates.
If you ever find yourself caught up in the internal narrative of what's wrong with me, why can't I get this right? Or even I'm an idiot. It's abrasive. Rarely would we let someone else talk to us in that way, but we tend to get away with it ourselves. So, self-kindness over self-judgment. What's it like to have a kinder, inner narrative to yourself? It's okay.
You did your best. Like we're trying, we're human, we're, we're doing our best to get it right. We didn't ask for this to happen. It's just a part of life. Do you hear or feel the difference in that? The self-kindness versus the self-judgment? At least for me, even as I'm saying it, I can feel a difference in my body.
This can go a long way when it comes to cultivating resilience during different cold times. Even though something like self-kindness doesn't feel like resilience in the normal way we would think about it. It allows us to navigate the experience without creating more suffering. So self-kindness versus self judgment. The next thing she talks about is common humanity versus isolation.
So, the common humanity piece is, is our ability to see with perspective that whatever we're going through and whatever we're experiencing in relationship to it, is a part of the human experience. Everyone goes through this. Everyone has difficult thoughts. Everyone has difficult experiences. Everyone gets confused, has doubt, is unsure what they're supposed to do next at some point in their lives.
This is just what it means to be human. But a lot of times we isolate. We take it personally. We say, you know, woe is me, or we get caught up in self-pity, or this is just something I go through. That, that isolation is, is limiting.
And it's painful because it leads to more of the self-judgment that we just talked about. So this common humanity just broadens our perspective, opens our heart, allows us to connect to the reality that this is not an individual experience. Which takes us to the last one, mindfulness over self-identification. When we get so caught up in self-identification with the thoughts of, these are my thoughts, or I'm the one thinking this, or I'm the one having these emotions. On one level, it's kind of true.
On another level, these things are just arising. And we can hold them in our awareness with that perspective of not getting so sucked into the content, rather just observing. Oh, Look at this thought right now, look at this emotion, look at this sensation, look at this pain. This is what it's like to hold this moment as it is. So these three things, can we cultivate them to deepen our self-compassion? More self-kindness, seeing the common humanity and cultivating mindfulness.
We'll talk more about this in today's meditation. Thank you for your practice and I'll talk to you soon. Take care.
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Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
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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.
- Kirtus
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.
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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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