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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, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, we're going to talk about the relationship between thoughts and behavior. Now, a lot of people think that thoughts drive behavior. We have a thought and then it activates us to do something. However, it's not that simple.
Thoughts don't actually drive behavior. Thoughts trigger feelings in the body that then drive behavior. And because of that, you can not live an intentional life without being attuned to what's happening in your body. That makes me think of that quote that's often attributed to Viktor Frankl. " Between stimulus and response there's a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response. And then in our response lies our growth, our freedom and our happiness." Well, the actual stimulus that is going to create some sort of behavior is not the thought itself. It's going to be the thought that triggers a certain emotion. And so, we need to be able to feel what is arising in our bodies, the anger that is coming up in our chest in this moment. And that that anger is causing us to feel like, oh, I'm, I'm jumping out of my skin.
I need to say something. Have you had that experience before? It's like, I got to get this out. And so it's that feeling that then causes us to say something that maybe an hour later we realized, oh, I shouldn't have said that. It's not the thought, I'm angry at this person. It's the thought that then triggers the emotion and it's that fire and that heat in our body that then triggers some sort of response or some sort of behavior.
So as you consider what it looks like to live your life more mindfully, and especially in the context of making behavior change and learning to inhabit that space between stimulus and response, really see if you can pay attention to what is arising in your body moment to moment, and see if you can feel how it makes you want to react in a certain way. The way to work with that is just start with awareness and then take a deep breath. Feel the tension. Feel the urge. Feel that volition moving through you.
Take a deep breath. And ask yourself, how do I really want to respond in this moment? And often that can be enough to allow you to respond at least a little more intentionally rather than reactively. So the key takeaway here: thoughts don't drive behavior, thoughts trigger feelings in the body that drive behavior. And we can not live an intentional life without being attuned to what's arising in our body. Thank you for your practice.
Let's settle in for today's meditation.
Thoughts Don't Drive Behavior
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.
Hi, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, we're going to talk about the relationship between thoughts and behavior. Now, a lot of people think that thoughts drive behavior. We have a thought and then it activates us to do something. However, it's not that simple.
Thoughts don't actually drive behavior. Thoughts trigger feelings in the body that then drive behavior. And because of that, you can not live an intentional life without being attuned to what's happening in your body. That makes me think of that quote that's often attributed to Viktor Frankl. " Between stimulus and response there's a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response. And then in our response lies our growth, our freedom and our happiness." Well, the actual stimulus that is going to create some sort of behavior is not the thought itself. It's going to be the thought that triggers a certain emotion. And so, we need to be able to feel what is arising in our bodies, the anger that is coming up in our chest in this moment. And that that anger is causing us to feel like, oh, I'm, I'm jumping out of my skin.
I need to say something. Have you had that experience before? It's like, I got to get this out. And so it's that feeling that then causes us to say something that maybe an hour later we realized, oh, I shouldn't have said that. It's not the thought, I'm angry at this person. It's the thought that then triggers the emotion and it's that fire and that heat in our body that then triggers some sort of response or some sort of behavior.
So as you consider what it looks like to live your life more mindfully, and especially in the context of making behavior change and learning to inhabit that space between stimulus and response, really see if you can pay attention to what is arising in your body moment to moment, and see if you can feel how it makes you want to react in a certain way. The way to work with that is just start with awareness and then take a deep breath. Feel the tension. Feel the urge. Feel that volition moving through you.
Take a deep breath. And ask yourself, how do I really want to respond in this moment? And often that can be enough to allow you to respond at least a little more intentionally rather than reactively. So the key takeaway here: thoughts don't drive behavior, thoughts trigger feelings in the body that drive behavior. And we can not live an intentional life without being attuned to what's arising in our body. Thank you for your practice.
Let's settle in for today's meditation.
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Just a small sample of the life-changing 5-star reviews we get on a daily basis.
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
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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