Posts Tagged ‘basic mindfulness’
Mindfulness Exercises for People Who Are “Too Busy” to Meditate
“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.” – Buddha Life means constant and inevitable change. Sometimes that change takes the form of dust accumulating bit by bit on a bookshelf and at other times change manifests itself as a major life transition. There…
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3 Fundamental Activities of Mindfulness
“People suffer because they are caught in their views. As soon as we release those views, we are free and we don’t suffer anymore.” – Thich Nhat Hanh What activities come to mind when you picture mindfulness? How do you “know” when you are truly practicing mindfulness? Many people experience mindfulness as a quiet sense…
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8 Basic Characteristics of Mindfulness
“Do you have patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?” – Lao Tzu What does it really mean to practice mindfulness? In many ways, mindfulness is such a simple concept that it becomes puzzlingly difficult to truly comprehend, let alone…
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Taming the “Wild Horse” of the Mind
“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.” – Aesop Mindfulness involves allowing yourself to fully open up to the present moment – all of it – with curiosity, acceptance, and nonjudgmental awareness. This is a simple concept that can be incredibly difficult to harness. The mind is generally filled with incessant “chatter” about…
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Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Week One
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu Mindfulness allows us to be fully present, connected, and engaged with life in a meaningful way. When we are taken away from the present moment by ruminative thinking or maladaptive emotions, we typically feel disconnected and numb. It…
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Top 10 Instant Relaxation Techniques – Part One
“Light be the earth upon you, lightly rest.” – Euripides There are moments in life when it feels like everything is hitting you all at once. Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed by worrisome thoughts, intense emotions, or general overstimulation from the world. In stressful moments, it is important to feel confident in the knowledge that…
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How to Practice “Everyday Mindfulness”
“Nothing is worth more than this day.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Mindfulness is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4). When we begin to make contact with the present moment using the tool of mindfulness, the world gradually begins to look and feel…
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What Stands Between You & the Life You Want?
“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) enlists people to identify their most cherished values, set goals in accordance with those values, and then begin to direct their behavior towards reaching those goals. One way of asking yourself a motivating question to…
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Top 10 Basic Mindfulness Exercises – Part Two
While the concept of mindfulness may be a very simple concept in theory, it is far more difficult in practice. It may be especially difficult if you find that you have been living a large portion of your life essentially on “autopilot.” This results in going through the motions of the days, the weeks, and…
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Top 10 Basic Mindfulness Exercises – Part One
“An operational working definition of mindfulness is: the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness is a powerful skill that has been taught for thousands of years by many world religions: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity,…
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