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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 how
we can embrace our shadow side
with kindness and compassion.
So there's actually an
old parable about this.
And the story goes that when the
Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and
meditated on the night that he was
to become enlightened, the god Mara
slung arrows at him all night long.
Now Mara is essentially
the god of our shadow self.
And so his arrows were all of the
unconscious thoughts, emotions
and impulses of the Buddha.
These included lust, jealousy,
fear, shame, rage, and self doubt.
And with each arrow that was slung
towards him, the Buddha brought
awareness and compassion to it.
And when received by this
compassionate awareness, each arrow
dissolved and fell to the ground.
Even after enlightenment, Mara,
the god the other monks called the
Evil One, continued to show up and
visit the Buddha from time to time.
Sometimes when the Buddha was
teaching, Mara would sneak
around the back of the crowd.
And although the monks would start to
get really nervous or try to get rid of
Mara, the Buddha's response to Mara's
presence always remained the same.
Warm, compassionate, kind.
He would always say, hello, Mara.
I see you.
Then he would invite Mara
to tea as his honored guest.
So he offered Mara a
nice, comfortable seat.
The Buddha would sit down beside him,
fill two cups with tea and sit with Mara.
And Mara would stay for a
while and then he would leave.
But throughout the whole visit, the
Buddha remained undisturbed and content.
So when Mara visits us in the form of
fear, self-loathing, troubling thoughts,
difficult feelings or impulses, we
too can meet those impulses, those
thoughts, those feelings in the same way.
In that spirit of, I see you Mara.
In other words, we can meet what we
might call our shadow material with
awareness, acceptance, and compassion.
We can recognize our hurts and
fears and hold what we're seeing
in the warm embrace of kindness.
So often we react to our shadow by
pushing it away, trying to escape it,
or often by pretending there is no
darkness inside of us, but that pretending
only makes it more deeply entrenched.
Mindfulness is really about learning
to see, befriend and accept all of
ourselves, even at the most subtle levels.
And when we befriend ourselves,
we bring what was in the shadow
into the light of awareness.
Then we're not taken over by our shadow
and we can work with it more skillfully.
As the old saying goes,
the seeing is freeing.
So today's invitation.
Rather than resisting or denying
the difficult or shadowy parts of
yourself, see if you can gently meet
them with awareness and compassion.
We're going to explore this theme a
little bit more in today's meditation.
So I invite you to begin
to settle in for that.
And as always, thank you for your
practice and your presence here with us.
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- 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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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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