Mindfulness

Practice patience

Everyone is different, and few activities make this more apparent than with meditation. Some people experience immediate and intense benefits from mindfulness meditation practice. Others experience minor benefits that increase over time. And others have a hard time with the practice, feeling like it’s helping but having such a hard time while they’re sitting that they really don’t know if it’s helping or not. With that said, it’s important to talk with a professional if you have any form of mental...

Be kind to yourself

On a similar note, regular mindfulness practice can make you aware of the self-criticism you have living within you, and as a result, make you wonder if there’s something wrong with you. PSA: There’s nothing wrong with you and most people think exactly what you’re thinking (so did I). When you sit in meditation, go easy on yourself. Most of us are filled with difficult emotions, which could be stress, anxiety, sorrow, envy, disappointment, confusion, loneliness, or one of the other...

Understand that you are not your thoughts

The first few times you sit in meditation, it can be a bit shocking, or at the very least surprising, just how many thoughts– especially negative thoughts– run in and out of your mind within just a few short minutes. No wonder Buddha dubbed it the monkey mind. They might not be extraordinarily negative, perhaps just anxiety or stress about something you’re waiting to hear about or worry about the future. However, these thoughts, when taken in mass, can paint...