Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today we're going to talk about how to welcome all the different states of mind into your meditation. You know, when we practice meditation, it's common to start to think that we're aiming for a particular state of mind. And perhaps we had a previous meditation where we experienced a very pleasant state of calm or joy or contentment. And then sort of maybe this thought creeps in that somehow we got that particular meditation right that day.

So the idea kind of creeps in that that's what meditation is supposed to be like. So then we start to compare our next meditation's back to the pleasant one, instead of being fully open to just being with the mind as it is in the moment. You know, we may feel like we're not doing it right. Or even that we have a bad meditation, if it's not like that pleasant one. But if you think about mindfulness in its simplest definition, it's just being aware.

So that means being aware of the mind as it is in any moment. Awareness is not trying to make a particular state of mind happen. We can be aware of a busy mind, a still mind, an angry mind or a happy mind with total acceptance and equanimity. The point is that mindfulness isn't about getting into some special state of mind. In fact, from the perspective of meditation, every state is a special state of mind and every moment is a special moment.

Imagine a big, solid, majestic mountain. The mountain has sunshine and blue skies around it in summer, and then stones and hail and snow in winter. Springtime color and vibrancy all around. And, and then in the fall it might be still in calm. And as each season comes and goes, the mountain just remains steady, allowing all of that weather and all of those seasons to come and go, just welcoming everything.

And this is a good analogy for mindfulness. We allow all the mind states to come and go in a steady and welcoming awareness and viewing those mind states like the weather. You know, there's no right or wrong weather and there's no right or wrong way to feel. It's just feelings coming and going constantly. In the same way, we often learn the most valuable lessons of our lives in the difficult times.

We tend to learn the most about the mind when meditation is a bit more challenging. And of course we can enjoy those moments of calm and contentment as well. All of the seasons of life are welcome. So as much as possible in your practice, just letting go of the idea of aiming to get into a particular state of mind and just welcoming every mind state, every mood, every emotion into your meditation practice and into your life today. So as always thank you for your practice and for being here with us.

And now just inviting you to settle in for today's meditation.