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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 what lies beneath boredom. So when we take up regular meditation practice, it's likely that at some stage along the way that we'll experience a little bit of boredom arising. And, you know, when it does, the important thing is not to see boredom as a problem or something bad that you need to get rid of. Instead, that the point is to learn to relate to it in a skillful way.
In fact, what we might actually find is there is a lot that we can discover through this process that can help us live a more fulfilling life. Because, you know, if you think about how most of us are living daily life these days, we are constantly bombarded with mental stimuli. Really with hardly any space left to stop and simply be. We wake up in the morning, maybe we start scrolling. We cram in as much as possible into our to-do list.
And, you know, we fill our social calendars. So what happens is we get really used to living in a state of almost hyperstimulation, so that any gaps of stillness, silence, or slowness, where there's nothing left to do suddenly brings up uncomfortable feelings. So if we find ourselves sitting at home alone, all the to-dos are ticked off, we often scramble for the phone or the laptop. If we have to wait a few moments in line at the store, we often start to feel awkward. So instead of just standing there waiting, we grab our phones and we start surfing the web.
When we're so conditioned to always being so busy and distracted, it's really easy to see why we can become bored really easily in our meditation. You know, without all of that constant stimuli. And when it arises, this feeling of boredom, you might think, you know, what's the point of this meditation, I could easily find something more interesting or productive to be doing. But if we do that every single time, if we go and get more stimulation, every single time we feel uncomfortable, we're kind of perpetually caught in this knee-jerk response to any uncomfortable feeling where we just make ourselves more and more busy and distracted. Now over time, this can become a bit of a habit and we can end up lost in a haze of doing and automaticity and not really fully present or truly fulfilled in our lives.
So the opportunity here is a big one. It's to learn to stay with boredom instead of running from it. And in doing that, we train our minds to gently face the discomfort and let it be as it is. We're training ourselves to stay present, calm and grounded when discomfort arises instead of automatically reacting to it. So the next time you experienced boredom, instead of running away from it, see if you can just gently allow yourself to feel it and be present with it.
Get curious about boredom. See what it's actually made up of. Is it a feeling in the body? Is it a thought? Maybe both? Maybe through this exploration, you'll find that it's not so intolerable to feel after all. And when we train ourselves to do this in meditation, the benefits really translate into daily life. We become less reactive and distracted, more clear headed, calm, and genuinely at ease within our own skin.
As always, thank you for your practice and for being here in this community. Let's settle in now for today's meditation.
What Lies Beneath Boredom
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, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about what lies beneath boredom. So when we take up regular meditation practice, it's likely that at some stage along the way that we'll experience a little bit of boredom arising. And, you know, when it does, the important thing is not to see boredom as a problem or something bad that you need to get rid of. Instead, that the point is to learn to relate to it in a skillful way.
In fact, what we might actually find is there is a lot that we can discover through this process that can help us live a more fulfilling life. Because, you know, if you think about how most of us are living daily life these days, we are constantly bombarded with mental stimuli. Really with hardly any space left to stop and simply be. We wake up in the morning, maybe we start scrolling. We cram in as much as possible into our to-do list.
And, you know, we fill our social calendars. So what happens is we get really used to living in a state of almost hyperstimulation, so that any gaps of stillness, silence, or slowness, where there's nothing left to do suddenly brings up uncomfortable feelings. So if we find ourselves sitting at home alone, all the to-dos are ticked off, we often scramble for the phone or the laptop. If we have to wait a few moments in line at the store, we often start to feel awkward. So instead of just standing there waiting, we grab our phones and we start surfing the web.
When we're so conditioned to always being so busy and distracted, it's really easy to see why we can become bored really easily in our meditation. You know, without all of that constant stimuli. And when it arises, this feeling of boredom, you might think, you know, what's the point of this meditation, I could easily find something more interesting or productive to be doing. But if we do that every single time, if we go and get more stimulation, every single time we feel uncomfortable, we're kind of perpetually caught in this knee-jerk response to any uncomfortable feeling where we just make ourselves more and more busy and distracted. Now over time, this can become a bit of a habit and we can end up lost in a haze of doing and automaticity and not really fully present or truly fulfilled in our lives.
So the opportunity here is a big one. It's to learn to stay with boredom instead of running from it. And in doing that, we train our minds to gently face the discomfort and let it be as it is. We're training ourselves to stay present, calm and grounded when discomfort arises instead of automatically reacting to it. So the next time you experienced boredom, instead of running away from it, see if you can just gently allow yourself to feel it and be present with it.
Get curious about boredom. See what it's actually made up of. Is it a feeling in the body? Is it a thought? Maybe both? Maybe through this exploration, you'll find that it's not so intolerable to feel after all. And when we train ourselves to do this in meditation, the benefits really translate into daily life. We become less reactive and distracted, more clear headed, calm, and genuinely at ease within our own skin.
As always, thank you for your practice and for being here in this community. Let's settle in now for today's meditation.
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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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