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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. In today's session, we're going to talk about a practice that really gets to the heart of mindfulness, and this is shifting our what ifs to what is. Chances are you're very familiar with the what if mind. What if this goes wrong? What if that goes wrong? What if they don't like me? What if I mess up? What if I fail? What if, what if, what if. Of course, sometimes the what if mine can be useful.
They can help us plan for something that can go wrong. It might be a reason why we try and get some sort of insurance. The what if mind can serve a useful purpose in our life. But if you're like me, a lot of times, the what if mind can just take us off into an infinite number of directions that have very little to do with anything going on right now and it ends up just causing extra stress and frustration, anger, sadness. So the suggestion, when you find yourself caught in those moments is to shift your what if to what is.
What is here right now? You could do it as you're listening. For me, my feet are on the ground. I can see a roof over my head. I feel relatively well fed and comfortable in my body. I hear a little bit of noise outside, but subtle.
And so, you know, this happens to be a pleasant moment when I tune into it and I step out of maybe the chaos of my mind, I do see that this moment is less of a catastrophe than my mind is making it out to be. Now there were other times in life that are a little bit more stressful and chaotic, but even then our mind has a tendency to experience that and then go, well, what if this lasts for a long time? What if this keeps going on? How long am I going to feel this pain that's in my knee right now? Right? What if mind in action. And what that does, is it doubles, triples, quadruples the stress that we're feeling in that moment. However, if we were to just come into what is here right now, might be an uncomfortable sensation, might be a little bit of noise, might be an upset stomach. Not necessarily pleasant, but at least we're not compounding the stress.
And so shifting our what if to what is, is a great way to attune ourselves more to the present moment and see how we tend to make extra stress out of a, a thought pattern that is often catastrophizing the moment. And as I said, you know, sometimes the mind is accurately thinking about what's going on, but more often than not, it is making the experience worse than it has to be. So when you find yourself caught up in that, my suggestion to you is shift the what if to what is, come back to what is here right now. And I think you'll to0 see that this moment is often less of a catastrophe than our mind is, is making it out to be. Thank you for your practice.
I'll talk to you soon and until then, take care.
The Heart of Mindfulness
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. In today's session, we're going to talk about a practice that really gets to the heart of mindfulness, and this is shifting our what ifs to what is. Chances are you're very familiar with the what if mind. What if this goes wrong? What if that goes wrong? What if they don't like me? What if I mess up? What if I fail? What if, what if, what if. Of course, sometimes the what if mine can be useful.
They can help us plan for something that can go wrong. It might be a reason why we try and get some sort of insurance. The what if mind can serve a useful purpose in our life. But if you're like me, a lot of times, the what if mind can just take us off into an infinite number of directions that have very little to do with anything going on right now and it ends up just causing extra stress and frustration, anger, sadness. So the suggestion, when you find yourself caught in those moments is to shift your what if to what is.
What is here right now? You could do it as you're listening. For me, my feet are on the ground. I can see a roof over my head. I feel relatively well fed and comfortable in my body. I hear a little bit of noise outside, but subtle.
And so, you know, this happens to be a pleasant moment when I tune into it and I step out of maybe the chaos of my mind, I do see that this moment is less of a catastrophe than my mind is making it out to be. Now there were other times in life that are a little bit more stressful and chaotic, but even then our mind has a tendency to experience that and then go, well, what if this lasts for a long time? What if this keeps going on? How long am I going to feel this pain that's in my knee right now? Right? What if mind in action. And what that does, is it doubles, triples, quadruples the stress that we're feeling in that moment. However, if we were to just come into what is here right now, might be an uncomfortable sensation, might be a little bit of noise, might be an upset stomach. Not necessarily pleasant, but at least we're not compounding the stress.
And so shifting our what if to what is, is a great way to attune ourselves more to the present moment and see how we tend to make extra stress out of a, a thought pattern that is often catastrophizing the moment. And as I said, you know, sometimes the mind is accurately thinking about what's going on, but more often than not, it is making the experience worse than it has to be. So when you find yourself caught up in that, my suggestion to you is shift the what if to what is, come back to what is here right now. And I think you'll to0 see that this moment is often less of a catastrophe than our mind is, is making it out to be. Thank you for your practice.
I'll talk to you soon and until then, take care.
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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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- 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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