The Key to Developing a Unique Self Meditation Practice
I teach a workshop online that I call Designing Your Unique Meditation Practice. Well, why should we have a unique meditation practice? Isn't there like one basic practice that everybody should do? No.
You are a unique being. Why should you do exactly the same meditation practices that everybody else does? So in order for you to develop your own unique meditation practice, you have to dive deeply into clarifying who you are as unique being. And that is part of the process we explore in the Designing Your Unique Meditation Practice Workshop, clarifying your notion of your unique self, so that when you do come up with a meditation practice, it fits you like a glove.
The simplest meditation: Here-Now
In all my years of teaching meditation, the most common question I get asked is, what is the most basic, simplest way for me to meditate? I was thinking about that this morning. It occurs to me that about the most direct way to meditate is simply this. On the inhalation, imagine the word here, and on the exhalation, imagine the word now. And
without actually saying those words in your head, just here, now.
And then...
Any thought that occurs to you that is not consistent with either of those notions of here and now, just let it drift away.
What'll happen is all of those control strategies to try to deal with your fears about tomorrow just vanish. Just focus on here and now. Everything else is irrelevant. Try it.
Meditation rescues us from our delusions about time
Free Yourself from the Delusions of Time Through Meditation
In this insightful blog post, explore how meditation offers an escape from the mental traps of past regrets and future fantasies. Through the practice of mindfulness, we can release ourselves from the weight of "if only" and the endless projections of what may come. Discover how grounding yourself in the present moment through meditation can restore clarity and peace, freeing you from the illusion of time. Learn why letting go of these delusions can help you live more fully, in reality, and find balance in a fast-paced world. Dive into the practice and take the first step towards a more centered life.
Meditation as deep rest
I've taught a lot of people meditation and mindfulness practices for a lot of years. And almost invariably, when I ask the folks I've taught a particular meditation to how it went and how they feel after it, almost invariably they say, “I feel rested” or “relieved” or somehow “restored”. I hear “restored a lot”.
Why do you suppose that is? Regardless of what I've taught them, regardless of what meditation they've done, whether it's breath counting or something more elaborate, meditation is restorative.
Why is that, you might ask?
Here's one theory. I believe we are all or most of us are weary at some level. What are we weary from? We're weary from carrying the burden, the weight of all of these various roles we play. I'll just take myself for example. CEO, psychologist, concerned citizen, dutiful, loving partner, caring parent, responsible citizen, man — all of these roles can carry a certain weight to them. Most of my thoughts are related to needing to do something in one or more of these roles. Meditation of so many sorts allows us to put down these roles, to put down these identities, and take a deep rest, even if only for a few minutes or an hour.
To just take a deep rest and not have to be one of these things that we've taken on.
Treat yourself to a deep rest.
What’s stuck in your body?
What’s stuck in your body? As it turns out, what’s stuck is countless blockages of energy, emotions that you didn’t fully process when they arose and that you stored away for later processing. These blockages operate outside of your conscious awareness to limit your possibilities and keep you from being the person you yearn to be.
Tom Brady doesn’t have time for that …
A brief exploration of the clarification of what matters in one’s life and the alignment of that life with what matters.
Navigating Fog
Fog is a given. Mastery is in navigating the fog.
Turn your next expletive into the YES! Practice.
Transform each expletive, uttered or silent, into a “YES!!!”
The Cosmic Feedback Loop
In each moment, Reality is giving each of us and all of us its feedback. Can we receive it? We fail to receive it at our own risk.
I See You
Entertainment and Diversion
What’s the role of entertainment in your life? Is it supporting who you want to be, or diverting your attention?
We live in a bad zoo.
In this post, Dr. Goddard first describes the characteristics of a bad zoo, then points out that most humans live in one, a zoo of our own making.
Responding to Crisis with Exquisite Self-Care
What is your response to personal crisis? Is it to radically ramp up your self care, to what Dr. Goddard calls “exquisite self-care”? If not, read on to why you might want to try it on.
Forget doing and being; you are Becoming!
Certainly you are more than a human doing. But you’re also more than a human being. You are a human becoming!
You are Integral
You are integral. Everything within you is connected to everything else. To achieve your deepest heart’s desire, you’re better off realizing that you’ll need to take an integral approach.