Taming the Mind

Welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today we're going to focus on what are the most important aspects of mindfulness, and that is the attitude with which we practice. Mindfulness is the awareness that arises when we're fully present in the moment, but it also involves an attitude of kindness and open-heartedness towards what's happening. And that includes an attitude of kindness towards ourselves. And for many of us, while we may be kind to others, we're often not kind to ourselves.

You know, that voice of the inner critic can be a really harsh companion, constantly trying to whip us into shape and get us to measure up. Often it also puts us down, belittles us, and tells us we're not enough. And as a result of hearing that inner commentary, we lose confidence in ourselves. We can feel unworthy and kind of find ourselves bound up in stress and tension. Now we can be especially harsh with ourselves when we make a mistake or things don't go the way we want them to.

In meditation, it's really common to see this tendency reflected in the way we react when our mind wanders. Often we become frustrated, impatient, or disappointed when the mind wanders. It's like an automatic reaction, but if we can train ourselves to be patient, respectful, calm, and kind with our mind when it wanders, we can stop being at war with ourselves. And with practice, this kindly calm awareness that we cultivate in meditation just becomes our new way of being, and then naturally flows into our relationships, our homes, and our whole lives. So in today's meditation, we're going to be training and cultivating a calmer and kinder mind,and learning to hold whatever is happening in a loving awareness that is larger than at all.