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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 the problem
with running from your shadow side.
So there's actually an
old story about this.
Long ago, there was a man who
was afraid of his own shadow.
He was so afraid of it in fact,
that he tried to run away from it.
But of course, no matter how
fast he ran or how far he went,
his shadow always kept pace.
He thought he could never be happy
unless he got rid of his shadow.
So he ran faster and faster and
faster until finally he was so
exhausted that he dropped dead.
He didn't understand that if he
had only relaxed and sat down
to rest in the shade, his shadow
would have naturally disappeared
and he could have been at ease.
So this old story offers us a
metaphor for how to work with
our own personal shadow side.
Our personal shadow is made up of
the parts of ourselves that we do
not accept and we do not want to see.
Our shadow is rooted in shame by our
sense of being basically unworthy
or deficient just as we are.
Now, the reason we have this
underlying shame is because of
our basic desire to have love
and acceptance from other people.
Often we reject certain parts
of ourselves because we've been
conditioned by our culture, by our
upbringing to see certain parts of
ourselves as undesirable or even wrong.
So we reject them.
But then our shadow becomes an unhelpful
force in our psyche because the more
that we run from certain parts of
ourselves, the more we reinforce this
sense that something's wrong with us.
Somehow we're flawed or unworthy.
And not only does running from our shadow
ramp up that feeling that we're unlovable
or deficient, but it also stops us from
attending to the parts of ourselves
that probably need more attention and
compassion than any other part, because
it stays rejected and unseen parts of
ourselves that are the source of so
much of our neuroses and suffering.
But when we bring mindful compassion
to them, they can heal and they can
be integrated in really healthy ways.
And then they can be
worked with skillfully.
So through mindfulness, we can
learn to stop running from our
shadow and rest in self-acceptance,
wisdom and inner strength.
In this way, we awaken to
greater self-awareness and we
respond to our life with more
authenticity, intention and courage.
So this is the invitation
to practice today.
Just stop running from your
shadow, if and when it arises.
And instead, see if you can bring
mindfulness, compassion and acceptance
to all the parts of you instead.
As always, thank you for your practice
and your presence here with us.
And now let's settle in
for today's meditation.
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