Mindfulness.com
Meditation
See All Meditation

Browse

Top articles

How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners

10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation

What is Meditation?

Mindful LivingSleep
CommunityFor Work

Already have an account?

Sign in

00:00

00:00

Contentment vs. Complacency

In this meditation, we practice being deeply at peace with the moment as it is, while still feeling a motivation for growth and change.

Let's start by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting, standing or lying down. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll start by taking a deep breath together. In through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to relax. Letting the shoulders be at ease. And the hands and the belly. As the body settles in, the breath can settle into its natural rhythm.

So today we're going to focus on cultivating a quality of contentment within ourself. And since a lot of our perceived contentment is related to how we feel in the body, we'll do a body scan meditation. So you can begin by bringing your awareness to the sensations in your head. This can include the top of your head, your face, back of your head, the ears. Just notice what it's like to feel this part of your body.

And this kind of awareness that we're bringing to the body scan is a compassionate curiosity. There's no right experience. Sometimes there'll be intense sensation. Sometimes, no sensation. So we made it with softness and an attitude of, Oh, this is interesting.

As we slide down into the shoulders and the arms. Feeling the sensations in the hands. Jumping the awareness over to the chest region. Maybe even feeling the heart beating. As you slide down now, feeling the belly.

Noticing the breath and creating some movement in the belly region. Down to the pelvis. The thighs. And as you're doing this, you can notice what your relationship to your body is. And whatever is arising, you're meeting it with that compassionate curiosity.

The privilege of being able to have a body functioning in whatever capacity it is. Down through the knees. Shins and calves. And then the feet. And then zooming out, bringing your awareness to your body as a whole.

And just saying, this is what my body is right now and this is how it feels right now. Not forever, not necessarily in the next moment, but just right now. Let's take one more deep breath together. In through the nose. And slowly out through the mouth.

And when you're ready, you can reorient yourself back into this space. Inviting the eyes to open. And gave yourself a little pat on the back. Great job today. As you're going throughout your day today, and you notice yourself frustrated with something and you have a negative internal experience, you can first assess, is this something that I need to be frustrated about? And should I take action because of this emotion? And if not, if it's not something that requires the feeling in order to do something, and see if you can practice just accepting and being with whatever the experience is.

Breathing into it saying, this is okay. I can be with this. By doing this, we're not only developing emotional regulation. But we're developing an equanimity with many different experiences, including the more uncomfortable ones. And this over time will lead to a much deeper contentment as we live our lives.

So you're doing great. Thanks for your practice. And we'll talk to you soon. Until next time, take care.

Meditation

4.6

Contentment vs. Complacency

In this meditation, we practice being deeply at peace with the moment as it is, while still feeling a motivation for growth and change.

Duration

Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.

Let's start by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting, standing or lying down. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll start by taking a deep breath together. In through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to relax. Letting the shoulders be at ease. And the hands and the belly. As the body settles in, the breath can settle into its natural rhythm.

So today we're going to focus on cultivating a quality of contentment within ourself. And since a lot of our perceived contentment is related to how we feel in the body, we'll do a body scan meditation. So you can begin by bringing your awareness to the sensations in your head. This can include the top of your head, your face, back of your head, the ears. Just notice what it's like to feel this part of your body.

And this kind of awareness that we're bringing to the body scan is a compassionate curiosity. There's no right experience. Sometimes there'll be intense sensation. Sometimes, no sensation. So we made it with softness and an attitude of, Oh, this is interesting.

As we slide down into the shoulders and the arms. Feeling the sensations in the hands. Jumping the awareness over to the chest region. Maybe even feeling the heart beating. As you slide down now, feeling the belly.

Noticing the breath and creating some movement in the belly region. Down to the pelvis. The thighs. And as you're doing this, you can notice what your relationship to your body is. And whatever is arising, you're meeting it with that compassionate curiosity.

The privilege of being able to have a body functioning in whatever capacity it is. Down through the knees. Shins and calves. And then the feet. And then zooming out, bringing your awareness to your body as a whole.

And just saying, this is what my body is right now and this is how it feels right now. Not forever, not necessarily in the next moment, but just right now. Let's take one more deep breath together. In through the nose. And slowly out through the mouth.

And when you're ready, you can reorient yourself back into this space. Inviting the eyes to open. And gave yourself a little pat on the back. Great job today. As you're going throughout your day today, and you notice yourself frustrated with something and you have a negative internal experience, you can first assess, is this something that I need to be frustrated about? And should I take action because of this emotion? And if not, if it's not something that requires the feeling in order to do something, and see if you can practice just accepting and being with whatever the experience is.

Breathing into it saying, this is okay. I can be with this. By doing this, we're not only developing emotional regulation. But we're developing an equanimity with many different experiences, including the more uncomfortable ones. And this over time will lead to a much deeper contentment as we live our lives.

So you're doing great. Thanks for your practice. And we'll talk to you soon. Until next time, take care.

Meditation

4.6

Duration

Play in-app

Scan the following QR code with your camera app to open it on our mobile app

Similar to this

Awakening Out of Autopilot ModeMeditation by Melli O'Brien
Melli O'Brien

Awakening Out of Autopilot Mode

Meditation · 5-20 mins4.6

More from this teacher

Get Unlimited Access

Start your mindfulness journey today.

A Mindfulness Plus+ subscription gives you unlimited access to a world of premium mindfulness content.

  • Over 1,800 meditations, sleep, calm music, naturescapes and more
  • Daily mindfulness video meditations 365 days a year
  • 100s of courses and tools to help manage anxiety, sleep and stress

Mindfulness

Bring balance into your everyday life.

We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.

  • 2,000+ Guided Meditations
  • Daily Coaching
  • Sleep Content
  • Mindful Exercises
  • Mindful Radio
  • 10+ Courses from world-class teachers

Added to your cart!

Checkout

Claim your free access

Create a mindfulness account and we’ll unlock this premium session in your account forever.

or continue with
By continuing, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Do you already have an account?