Make it your own. 

• Find the meditation practices that resonate for you and leave the rest. 
• Customize your meditations (rather than whispering: breathing in, breathing out; try rising, falling; or breathing in peace, breathing out peace

Foundations of Mindfulness

• Mindfulness of Body & Breath

• Mindfulness of Emotions

• Mindfulness of Thoughts

• Mindfulness of Life Itself

What’s the point?

• The point is NOT to stop thinking.
• The point is to PAUSE in the midst of it all. When we pause, we begin to

  • see the impermanence of the waves

  • see the ungovernability of thoughts & feelings

  • see what entangles us into suffering

  • see what frees us into joy

  • Seeing those things is what opens the door to liberation.

  • “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

  • If suffering is point A and suffering less is point B. We get to point B by fully being at point A. By being there with awareness and a kind, non-judgmental awareness.

Mindfulness of Body Meditation

• Anchors to return to whenever you feel overwhelmed or need grounding:
  • sensation of the hands
  • sensation of the feet, connection to the earth
  • sounds
• Notice where you feel the breath physically. 

  • “Breathing in, I’m aware I’m breathing in. Breathing out, I’m aware I’m breathing out.”

    • gradually shorten to “breathing in / breathing out” or simply “in / out”

    • make it your own: “rising / falling” or “breathing in peace, breathing out peace”

  • When you realize that your mind has wandered, celebrate that moment of realization. That is an awakening! Reward your awareness with an inner smile or a bow. You can whisper “welcome back”. Rest for a moment in the spacious awareness before gently returning to the breath.

• George Schaller (groundbreaking researcher & mentor to Dian Fossey “Gorillas in the Mist” was based on), when asked how he was able to learn so much more about gorilla life, family structure, communication, and culture than anyone who had gone to study them in the jungle before, said, “It’s simple. I didn’t carry a gun.” Let’s approach our inner world in meditation like that: humble, attentive, and unarmed.
• If suffering is point A and less suffering is point B, we get to point B by fully being at point A.
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Invitation to daily practice

• This week, please practice meditation for a minimum of 1 minute/day. If you already have a daily sitting practice that is longer than 1 minute, carry on with that. It is much more powerful to sit for 1 minute every single day, than 1 hour 1 day and none the next.
• If you fall off the wagon, forgive yourself completely and get right back on