Meditation

Mindfulness is a practice that strengthens the mind and teaches us to live in the present moment.

So often our minds are caught up in ruminations, in reviewing and reliving past experiences, judging ourselves and others, evaluating, wishing for different endings. This habit only deepens the ruts, making it more difficult to choose a new way of living.

Our minds are also constantly planning the future, often with fear and anxiety. We believe that if we plan all eventualities then all will be well, that we will be able to avoid what we don’t want, and achieve what we do want.

But we cannot change the past, and the future is only a fantasy. We are only ever truly alive in the present. Yet so much energy is devoted to ruminations, creating tension and stress for ourselves.

When we live in a state of stress we react to experiences in a knee-jerk fashion, often based on fears, and we will automatically resist the new if it threatens our habits or view of the world.

Mindfulness practice teaches us to slow down, to create a space that allows us to explore, with curiosity and compassion, new ideas, and new experiences. It helps us to respond to what is, rather than to react to what we fear.

The recorded practices are a beginning, a way to explore and experience ourselves in the here and now, and they offer a reminder that we are not helpless, that we do have choices in life.

These meditations practice some basic skills: breath, body scan, bring back the mind when in wanders, bring your mind back into the present moment. Some of the meditations are a bit more free-style. They incorporate the more traditional practices of mindfulness with bits taken from Yoga Nidra and Stories. I’ll also include some sound recordings of thunder and rain, birds, the lake, and more.

To Begin

To begin, please find a comfortable position: you may choose to sit cross legged on a cushion, hands resting in your lap, or you may decide to sit in a comfortable chair, keeping your back straight but not stiff, or you may want to lie down on your back.