On some days when we sit down to meditate, we feel anything but mindful or still. Indeed, there are days when we feel quite restless. Sometimes the restlessness may have a emotional or psychological flavor, but sometimes it can also have a physical component, where we literally have difficulty keeping our body still. Perhaps whenContinue reading “How Do I Practice with Restlessness?”
Tag Archives: mindfulness
Can I Focus on Something Other Than My Breath?
Mindfulness meditation instructions often include invitations to focus one’s attention on the breath, using breath as the anchor of the practice. But what if the breath just doesn’t work for you as a focal point? Some people can’t really feel their breath, so it can be difficult to focus their attention on something they can’tContinue reading “Can I Focus on Something Other Than My Breath?”
How Do I Work with Someone I Don’t Like?
We have all likes and dislikes. There are certain kinds of food that we like, and certain kinds of food that we dislike. That’s usually not too much of a problem, because we can typically avoid the food we dislike. But what about people? There are certain kinds of people that we like, and certainContinue reading “How Do I Work with Someone I Don’t Like?”
How Can Mindfulness Help with Stress?
Stress is an inevitable part of life, maybe even an inevitable part of daily life. Can you think of a day in your life that you did not feel any stress at all? Not one single moment where you tensed up just a tiny bit, or felt slightly upset? I certainly can’t. If stress isContinue reading “How Can Mindfulness Help with Stress?”
How Do I Work With Uncertainty?
What is the feeling of uncertainty? We all have experienced uncertainty and grappled with the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing. Not knowing the answer. Not knowing how things will unfold. There is a lot of uncertainty in the state of the world right now, and in our personal lives there may be some uncertainties asContinue reading “How Do I Work With Uncertainty?”
What Are You Carrying?
When we come to meditation, we might be carrying a lot of things with us. There are lots of things swirling around in our mind: A concern we are worrying about, what someone said to us, an upcoming vacation, the list goes on and on. Mindfulness meditation is an opportunity to “put it all down.”Continue reading “What Are You Carrying?”
How Do I Connect with the Breath?
All day long, we’re busy going about our day. But no matter what we’re doing, what’s happening around us, how we’re feeling inside, the breath is always there, in the background. In our mindfulness practice, we’ve come to have more awareness of and appreciation for the breath. Many of us have noticed that, when weContinue reading “How Do I Connect with the Breath?”
What Does it Mean to Observe?
When we practice mindfulness, we are simply observing our experience. We are being impartial observers. What does it mean to be an impartial observer? One mindfulness practitioner described it as “observing without getting involved.” So it’s like that. In mindfulness practice, we simply observe everything in our experience without getting involved, without getting wrapped upContinue reading “What Does it Mean to Observe?”
How Do I Get Centered?
When we slow down and observe our mind, we find that our mind is always pulling us in different directions. Future, past, happy, sad. “I like this, I don’t like that.” It’s like a pendulum that’s always swinging back and forth. The pendulum is always swinging, but there is a point that is not moving.Continue reading “How Do I Get Centered?”
How Do I Declutter My Mind?
We have all seen cluttered spaces. Sometimes maybe our own spaces. A cluttered room, a cluttered office, a cluttered garage, a cluttered desk. Cluttered spaces don’t necessarily inspire a sense of calm and peace. What’s it like when our mind is cluttered? When our mind is cluttered with thoughts, fears, and anxieties? How do weContinue reading “How Do I Declutter My Mind?”
Mindfulness FAQ 