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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Hi, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, I want to talk about the relationship between agency and surrender. Now, agency is essentially our capacity to feel like we can impact our life on a moment to moment basis. It can even be looked at as a form of feeling like we have control and influence over what is arising. This form of having influence and control over our experience can sometimes be poo-pooed in the mindfulness space because there's so much emphasis on letting go of control and holding a spacious relationship to what is arising and seeing that thoughts are arising, emotions are arising, sensations are arising, without much input from us.
And being able to get to a place of just holding all of it without trying to change it. And that's powerful. However, having some sense of agency over our experience, even an ability to direct our attention to a different aspect of our experience is fundamental to what it means to be human. Our brains are programmed and wired to want to feel a sense of agency. It's one of the biggest buffers against depression.
When we don't feel like we have choice, when we don't feel like we have influence over our experience, we fall into a learned helplessness response. And in fact, the new research on learned helplessness shows that it's not actually learned. Our default response to a difficult situation is to be helpless, is to stop trying, and to basically like curl up in a ball and go into a freeze response. You could think of an animal in a life-threatening situation. What we have that is unique though, is a wiring that Dr.
Marty Seligman calls the hope circuit that overrides that feeling of helplessness because it's telling us no, we can influence our situation, we can get out of it, we can change it. So that part of the brain is incredibly important and it is a big buffer against depression and anxiety. So I want to make sure we're, we're holding that. At the same time, though, all we can influence is what is arising in this moment, all we can influence is how we're showing up in each moment. What happens after that, in many ways, for lack of a better phrase, is God's business.
It's the universe's business. We don't really have control over it. And so one way to look at this, the relationship between agency and surrender is to see it as being committed to the process, but detached from the outcome. Committed to the process, but detach from the outcome. In this way, we're recognizing that we have influence over how we're going to relate to this moment.
That's agency. However, we don't have influence over what's going to happen next. That's surrender. And by holding those two, we can show up in a way that makes us feel empowered, but allow life to unfold in a way that allows us to feel ease. So see if you could take this into your day, commitment to the process, but detachment from the outcome.
Thank you for your practice. Let's settle in for today's meditation.
Agency and Surrender
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, I want to talk about the relationship between agency and surrender. Now, agency is essentially our capacity to feel like we can impact our life on a moment to moment basis. It can even be looked at as a form of feeling like we have control and influence over what is arising. This form of having influence and control over our experience can sometimes be poo-pooed in the mindfulness space because there's so much emphasis on letting go of control and holding a spacious relationship to what is arising and seeing that thoughts are arising, emotions are arising, sensations are arising, without much input from us.
And being able to get to a place of just holding all of it without trying to change it. And that's powerful. However, having some sense of agency over our experience, even an ability to direct our attention to a different aspect of our experience is fundamental to what it means to be human. Our brains are programmed and wired to want to feel a sense of agency. It's one of the biggest buffers against depression.
When we don't feel like we have choice, when we don't feel like we have influence over our experience, we fall into a learned helplessness response. And in fact, the new research on learned helplessness shows that it's not actually learned. Our default response to a difficult situation is to be helpless, is to stop trying, and to basically like curl up in a ball and go into a freeze response. You could think of an animal in a life-threatening situation. What we have that is unique though, is a wiring that Dr.
Marty Seligman calls the hope circuit that overrides that feeling of helplessness because it's telling us no, we can influence our situation, we can get out of it, we can change it. So that part of the brain is incredibly important and it is a big buffer against depression and anxiety. So I want to make sure we're, we're holding that. At the same time, though, all we can influence is what is arising in this moment, all we can influence is how we're showing up in each moment. What happens after that, in many ways, for lack of a better phrase, is God's business.
It's the universe's business. We don't really have control over it. And so one way to look at this, the relationship between agency and surrender is to see it as being committed to the process, but detached from the outcome. Committed to the process, but detach from the outcome. In this way, we're recognizing that we have influence over how we're going to relate to this moment.
That's agency. However, we don't have influence over what's going to happen next. That's surrender. And by holding those two, we can show up in a way that makes us feel empowered, but allow life to unfold in a way that allows us to feel ease. So see if you could take this into your day, commitment to the process, but detachment from the outcome.
Thank you for your practice. Let's settle in for today's meditation.
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I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
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Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
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Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
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- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
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I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
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