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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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In this meditation, we explore a meditation sequence to help reduce the intensity of tinnitus and/or help find peace within the frustration.
Welcome.
My name's Cory Muscara, and this will
be a meditation to work with tinnitus.
There will be several layers to
this meditation, each designed
with a particular purpose.
And it's important to know upfront
that the orientation of this
meditation will be not to get rid of
the tinnitus, but to start to shift
our relationship to it and be able
to find peace within this experience.
Of course, the ideal scenario
would be for the noise to go away.
And there is that possibility that
the intensity of it will reduce
with a meditation like this.
But the avenue we're taking toward
that is reducing the amount that we
are fighting against this experience,
because there's often another layer of
stress, frustration, anger, and suffering
that arises when we fight what's here.
So we'll see if we can let down
some of that resistance and find
some ease within the dis-ease.
Let's take the first few
moments to settle in.
Find a comfortable posture,
may be seated, lying down.
We'll start by taking a
nice deep breath together.
In through the nose.
Out through the mouth.
Letting the body start to settle in
inviting the jaw to soften the teeth.
Don't need to be clenched right
now, inviting the shoulders to
soften the belly and then the hands.
We can't force these areas to
relax, but we can invite them to.
And if you notice that there's any other
place in the body that you're holding
tension, just bring your awareness
there and invite those areas to soften.
Maybe the feet.
The muscles in the face,.
The neck.
Often when our minds are holding tension,
especially when they're resisting
and abrasive experience, the body can
accumulate some of that tension as well.
So here you have the opportunity to
just invite the body to soften, invite
the body, to start to disengage a bit.
Doesn't need to be holding on.
Doesn't need to be gripping.
Another a deep breath.
In through the nose.
And out through the mouth.
Good.
And as you sit here, just become aware
of the fact that you're breathing.
It doesn't have to be long, deep breaths.
You could just breathe normally.
Feeling the air, move into the body,
expanding the lungs, the belly, the chest.
And then move out of
the body on an exhale.
We're just feeling the
simplicity of this breath.
of the fact that you're breathing.
Or, we might say that this
body is breathing you.
And you may notice that the mind wanders
off, to the sounds or to thoughts.
And as that happens, for right now, just
allow these experiences to come and go.
Or to be in the background, kind of
like clouds passing through the sky.
If you were walking down the street,
there's a lot that you can pay attention
to and the clouds are still above you,
but it doesn't mean we necessarily have
to look at them or give them attention.
So here we're just feeling our breath.
The sound may be there, the
thoughts may be there, but we're
giving a bit more of our attention
to the experience of the breath.
Letting the breath be a reminder that
there is more right with you than
wrong with you, and more right in
your life than wrong in your life.
Because on the most
fundamental level you're alive.
And see if you can just feel the goodness
of this breath, this body breathing.
You're not broken.
You do not need to be fixed.
Now this next step may feel
counterintuitive, but we're actually
going to turn our attention toward the
sound, toward the noise that may be there.
And as you contemplate doing that,
there may be a sense of gripping
or anger that arises, or fighting.
And so we're just going to
tiptoe toward that experience.
And as you do, notice what thoughts
arise, what emotions arise.
And what we're going to do
is give the noise a color.
So we're going to envelop it with
your favorite color, whatever that is.
And imagine that color as maybe
a water or a powder or a gas,
and it's just infusing the sound.
It's becoming the experience of the sound.
So now when you experience the sound,
see the sound, feel the sound, it's
also accompanied by this color.
So you just start to watch
what the color is doing.
Is it really vast?
Does the color take over
your entire experience?
Is there movement within the color?
And are there edges to the color?
So maybe the color is like a cloud and you
can actually see an outline of the color.
So maybe hang out around
the edges of that outline.
The edges of where the sound is and
where the sound is not so intense.
Or remembering that any intensity
of sound is also intensity of color.
So the two become one
representation, one experience.
And if you want to bring other
colors into this experience, you may.
Watching them interact.
Watching them dance in your mind.
Just notice what it's like to
experience the sound in this way.
Without having to get rid of
it right now or change it.
We're decorating it.
We're playing with it in some sense.
So we have one or a couple particular
colors for the experience of the sound.
Now we'll give another color
to the space around the sound.
So outside the boundaries of
the current color that we have.
So, if you were to identify parts in your
experience in your field of awareness,
where maybe you don't notice a sound
as much, or maybe it's place in your
body, or maybe it's the experience
of the breath, we want to give some
colors to those areas, the areas that
aren't so identified with the sound.
Just starting to play around with that.
Noticing what colors you
might give to those areas.
Maybe they overlap a little bit
with the color of the sound.
And that's okay.
We're just starting to notice
some distinctions and some
other spaces in our experience.
And it's okay to have a little fun with
this and have some fun with choosing
what color you would put in what place.
Or if it's confusing or frustrating,
you know, you don't have to worry
so much about making it perfect.
Maybe it feels like
there's no other colors.
It's just the sound, and that's okay.
And just be with the one
color of just that sound.
And let it be expansive.
And make it your favorite color.
And so what you may have is something that
might feel like, or look like a lava lamp.
These different colors arising,
surfacing bubbling, clumping together,
morphing with one another, releasing.
And the whole idea here is we're just
noticing what it's like to take a
playful relationship to this experience.
And we'll start to turn our
attention more toward the sound
again, just noticing the sound.
If there's a color involved, that's okay.
If the color dissipates, that's fine too.
And we'll bring a quality
of curiosity to the sound.
Watching it be there.
Becoming interested in what it's doing.
Does the tone change?
Does it get louder and then softer?
Is it just on the right
side or the left side?
Simply watching this experience.
Noticing that you have this
capacity to observe without creating
extra frustration, extra tension.
The sound is not trying to cause you harm.
It's not trying to ruin your life.
It's not trying to create agitation.
It doesn't have an agenda in that way.
If we let it do whatever it's going to
do, without fighting against it so much,
and it won't push back on us as much.
Who you are is much bigger and
more expansive than any sound
moving through your experience.
Can you tune into the
spaciousness of who you are?
Of what else is present
for you in this moment?
Sensations in the body.
The experience of your breath.
Other sounds that you
might be able to hear.
We can narrow our attention
in on just one experience.
We could also make our attention broad.
And anytime we look at something,
there's always going to be
space around that thing.
And right now we're tuning into
the space around the sound.
Seeing the other aspects
of our life that are here.
The other experiences that are here.
And they can still be there while
the sound is in the background.
Maybe sometimes really
trying to join the party.
The sound might feel like
an annoying neighbor.
Maybe we just haven't had the
opportunity to meet that neighbor yet.
Sometimes when we sit down and
actually have a conversation with
them, we see that there's more to
who they are and what they are than
the initial judgments that we had.
Even though we might not love the
person or like the person, maybe
there's a bit more understanding
and compassion for them.
So as we move toward the end of this
meditation, perhaps sitting down
at the dinner table with the sound.
If we were to personify it, we can
give it a shape, color, or an identity.
Just imagine that you're sitting down
and having a conversation with it.
Could be at a dining room table.
It could be on a park bench.
And you're both acknowledging
each other's presence.
And feel what it's like to be in the
presence of this being, this experience
in a friendly, curious way, as if you were
meeting them for a meal or a conversation.
And with anything in life, we can't
control what other people are going to
do or what other things are going to do.
But we can influence how we
relate to these experiences.
So if there's anything you'd like to
say to the sound, this being that's
sitting beside you, to help shift the
relationship to one of greater ease,
friendliness, feel free to offer that.
And you may say, I see you.
I hear you.
I'm here with you.
I don't necessarily know why you're
here, but as long as you are, I'm not
going to create more suffering for you.
You can exist as you are.
And sometimes, I'll sit down next to you.
And sometimes, I'm going
to have to go for a walk.
And maybe I'll see you.
And maybe I won't, but if you're
going to be here, then I can
learn to be okay with that.
And perhaps there is some larger
lesson that you're here to
teach me that I'm not aware of.
And making a final embrace
between the two of you.
Taking a breath together.
And then dropping back into your own
experience, back to your own breath.
Feeling the air move into your
body, expanding your lungs.
Feeling that goodness, that aliveness.
And feeling the body it
deflate on an exhale.
In a moment, I will ring
the bells three times.
And as I do, just let your full presence
be with the sound of each bell until
the third bell dissolves into silence.
When you're ready, you can start to
reorient yourself back into the space.
Invite the eyes to open.
Maybe wiggle the fingers and toes.
And you may have noticed some reduction
in intensity of the sound during that
experience, but if not, the primary
orientation was in reducing the
suffering that comes from fighting
and pushing against the experience.
And the interesting thing that starts
to happen there is, often when we
fully accept, embrace and become
okay with an experience that's here,
it's only then that the experience
actually starts to change or move away.
So it's an interesting
phenomenon that occurs.
But in life, there are always going
to be experiences that we don't want.
It's an inevitable part of being a human.
Whether it's tinnitus, whether it's old
age, sickness, death, a relationship
breakup, a job loss, these are aspects
of what it means to be a human being.
And so I think this is an experience
that you can look at on a deeper
level as something that might
actually help you find greater
peace in other areas of your life.
As you start to pacify the mind
that pushes and fights and gets
angry toward the experience of the
sound, you might watch that carry
over into other parts of your life.
Ultimately, leading to a greater
sense of peace within a lot of
things that might not be peaceful.
So taking that broader perspective of
what a deeper purpose or meaning there
might be for this thing can be really
helpful when there are experiences
that we can't explain or that we
have to live with on a regular basis.
So you did great.
Know that you can come back to this
meditation at any point that you'd like.
And as you do it on a consistent basis,
you'll notice that some of the strategies
that we've developed here will become
a natural part of how you relate to
the sound in your day-to-day life.
I wish you the best of luck.
And until we meet again, take care.
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I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
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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!
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Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
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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.
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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.
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