“Every time the mind wanders away from the awareness of the breath, notice that it has wandered and bring your awareness back to the breath. This can be likened to a rep in the gym—every time you bring your mind back, you are building your "muscle" of attention.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“By choosing to become aware, you choose to take back control of your attention and perspective, which can transform even mundane tasks, such as washing dishes or making coffee, into something joyful and beautiful.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Achieving the advanced state of no-thought is not about stopping the thinking process, but rather, it’s about cultivating an expansive sensitivity to a level above the thinking mind.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“If your mind wanders, all that means is that you’re alive and your brain is functioning normally, which is great news!”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Your mind wanders, you bring it back. This is the exercise—and the practice—of meditation.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Thoughts are the input and output of the mental process. Making thoughts is what the brain is built for—like the heart beats, the mind thinks.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Be aware that the concept of meditation is to shift your focus to the awareness of the thinking process, rather than the content of the thoughts.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Count on your beginner's mind to help you through any times when you might feel resistant or self-conscious about your practice.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“In zazen, you create the conditions for your mind to “decompress” from its habitual mode of thinking and open up to new perspectives and insight.”
“Zazen can ultimately retrain your mind to see the world from an entirely new perspective.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“The monks find comfort, contentment, and even joy in the simplest of tasks, living each moment to its fullest by grounding themselves in the present.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“A beginner’s mind allows you to remain flexible and open, even as you encounter new things that may seem strange or even uncomfortable at first.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“A beginner’s mind allows you to remain flexible and open, even as you encounter new things that may seem strange or even uncomfortable at first. It also allows you to experience something mundane from an entirely new perspective, whereas an expert might approach something believing they “already get it.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“With a beginner’s mind, we can all become more fluid in our understanding and thereby pave the way for a more fulfilling and balanced future.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Sitting for meditation is the classic technique for a reason: Being physically still can help you still your mind.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“In the modern world, there seems to be a collective understanding of the word Zen—it has become synonymous with serenity, relaxation, and a calm demeanor.”
“Unlike many other traditions, in Zen, emphasis is placed on the direct experience of enlightenment—experiencing insight through meditation—rather than on the study of the sacred texts of Eastern traditions.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Zazen is a great technique to start with because it is so straight- forward and uncomplicated.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Attention focused on the breath redirects your awareness from outside your body to inside it. It is an exercise in controlling the focus of your awareness.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Zazen practice develops our understanding of our connectedness to the world into which we were born, the world in which we live—which is also the world we are creating together, moment by moment.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Zen is an especially intriguing school of Buddhism because it brings to mind paradoxical images of monks happily living quiet lives, meditating on mountaintops, as well as powerful martial artists.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“In the ever-accelerating modern world, with new technology constantly bombarding our senses and demanding schedules pulling us in different directions, the benefits of a practice like zazen are easy to overlook but profoundly powerful to practice.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Slowly and steadily, as the rush to “gain the benefits” of meditation fades away and the depth of the experience itself becomes apparent, your patience will strengthen and your need to be “moving on to the next moment” will begin to recede.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“As the grounding effect of breath awareness disengages you from the often-overwhelming chatter of the mind, the level at which you think will seem to transcend the noise.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“The chronic tension the average person experiences in modern life finds its way deep into the body, and we live most of our lives in the “whiplash” of past experiences—mentally rehashing and physically re-experiencing past stressors.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“The practice of breath awareness relieves tension by shifting attention to the present, and the mental pressures of worries, concerns, and ambitions lift.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“As a result of regular mindfulness practice, you’ll begin to see your role in different circumstances, recognize your oppor- tunities to grow, and develop a relationship with yourself that is more loving, forgiving, and open to new possibilities.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Appreciating the simple things, the great temporary gift of life and the beauty in all aspects of living, is perhaps one of the most power- ful, fulfilling benefits of practicing breath awareness.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Meditations on Christ will help us deepen the connection to His qualities and make them our own.”
Source: Meditations on Christ: A 5-Minute Guided Journal for Christians
“In Matthew 7:20 (KJV), we are taught a profound secret for discerning of the Spirit: "Where-fore by their fruits ye shall know them." This means that we look to the health of the part (the fruit) to gauge the health of the whole. A healthy tree will bear good fruit; an unhealthy tree will bear low-quality fruit.”
“Mindfulness practice can teach us about the nature of thinking, and perhaps even more importantly, it can teach us that we are not our thoughts.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Mindfulness meditation practice will help you discern which thoughts support your goals and well-being and which thoughts are destructive or unhealthy and should be discarded.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“This sixth sense of thought often comes to the foreground in mindfulness practices like meditation.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Thoughts provide important information, but they are not fundamentally different from or more important than, say, the taste of a pear or hearing a Mozart symphony.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Just because you think something doesn’t mean it’s true, or even particularly important.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“If you’ve been thinking negative thoughts for long enough, you have probably come to believe in and identify with them.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“You are not your thoughts; you are the thinker of the thoughts.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“You should always try to meditate in a place where you will be safe and as undisturbed as possible, but keep in mind that in any meditation practice, a crucial component is to allow—even welcome—changes to the outside environment without interrupting the meditation. Simply observe, experience, and allow things to be as they are.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“By holding an open-focus awareness, you create a larger mental “container” for your thoughts to pass through.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“The mental perspective to hold here is that you accept and allow the dog to bark and the car to drive by, without entertaining the desire for things to be any different than they are.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“We can compare our attention to light: If we focus our concentration on something, we might say that we are “shining a spotlight” on it. When we practice open awareness, rather than shining a spotlight on one particular thing, we might say that we allow our awareness to “shine” in all directions around us, like the glow of a candle flame.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“When we simply notice and allow things to be as they are, we naturally disengage from the impulses that would try to control or change things. This is not a practice in passivity or ignorance—quite the opposite. This is a practice in opening your mind and allowing yourself to receive all the information you possibly can before making any moves or taking any action. Notice the word allow. We do not force ourselves to pick up on sensory input; the awareness expands naturally from a practice of calm, relaxed allowing.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Through practicing mindful awareness, we cultivate discernment by being more sensitive to the bigger picture and how the present moment relates to it.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“As you practice observing your thoughts, you will become more aware of the tone of your internal voice and the kinds of thoughts you are having and develop the ability to intervene before saying or doing something you might regret.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Envision your awareness as a glow in all directions around you, mentally scanning all directions at once—simply witnessing the moment as it is.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“By becoming more attentive and aware of the thoughts arising in your mind, you will create the opportunity to question and reframe them.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“If the mind wanders, bring your awareness back to the breath as it expands and contracts, and expand your awareness in all directions around you from there.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Transitioning mindfully out of meditation helps you keep the relaxed state developed during your practice, thus extending the “shelf life” of the benefits of calmness, clarity, and openness.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Do a mindful check-in at work—Take a brief moment to mindfully experience the workplace from your usual spot. Mentally scan in all directions around you.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You
“Do a mindful check-in during your meals—Notice the fragrances, the sounds, and the thoughts arising in your mind.”
Source: Practical Meditation for Beginners: 10 Days to a Happier, Calmer You