Research shows that mindfulness practice is linked to increased gratitude and life satisfaction (Cheung & Lau, 2021; Ivtzan et al., 2016; Strohmaier & Cane, 2021). But how does it work? How do we cultivate gratitude as we are sitting here breathing in and breathing out? When we practice mindfulness, when we practice nonjudgmental awareness ofContinue reading “How Do I Cultivate Gratitude?”
Tag Archives: zen
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 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?”
How Can Mindfulness Help When I’m in a Bad Mood?
We all get affected by bad moods from time to time. When we are in a bad mood, mindfulness can help us find some flexibility and choice, so we don’t have to feel completely at the mercy of our bad mood. How do we do it? Mindfulness is just noticing our experience. We can observeContinue reading “How Can Mindfulness Help When I’m in a Bad Mood?”
How Do I Stop Daydreaming During Meditation?
Daydreaming is a very common human mental activity. A large-scale study found that people spend 47% of their waking hours daydreaming! What is daydreaming? When we daydream, our mind is wandering into the past, future, or fantasy. Daydreaming is a way of escaping from the present moment. When we are daydreaming, we are not inContinue reading “How Do I Stop Daydreaming During Meditation?”
Mindfulness FAQ 