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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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Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about our habit of living on autopilot mode and how we can take back some control of our attention and steer our lives more deliberately. There's an old Zen story about this. A lady in a village saw a man on a horse suddenly come galloping through the streets at high speed. So it seemed as though this man had somewhere very important to go in a hurry.
So she shouted out to him, "Where are you going?" And the man on the horse replied, "I don't know, ask the horse." So this story is a metaphor for how we can all get kind of swept up in and swept along by our habit energy. The horse is like the momentum of our conditioning that just kind of pulls us along. And as it does pull us along, it often ends up driving us to rush and hurry and busy ourselves. So we're doing, doing, doing day after day. And we can kind of get caught up in this haze of habitual activity.
It's a really easy thing to get caught up in and hey, we all do this sometimes. But if we continue galloping through our lives without stopping every now and then to pause and take stop, it's pretty easy to end up with a sense that life is passing us by and we can end up in places we may not have wanted to go. So, you know, potentially we can end up with our health or lifestyle way off course, our relationships breaking down, or maybe we end up living that sense of just being out of alignment with our values. And despite all the activity and doing and rushing, it's not bringing us any closer to actual fulfillment. And this is part of the reason why it's so important to learn how to take back the reins of attention and take back the reins of our mind and steer our lives in a more deliberate way.
Now, of course, mindfulness meditation is the most effective way to train our attention and our minds to be present so we can live more deliberately in the long-term. But a simple invitation for today is, as you go about daily life, see if you can notice when you have that sense of just going through the motions, that sense of autopilot mode. It often has a bit of a dullness to it, or a bit of tension to it. And when you notice you're on autopilot mode, see if you can just pause, take a mindful breath. And in that moment, you can be present again and take back the reins of attention and then continue your day with more presence and intentionality.
If you can continue to bring lots of these little short moments of awareness and intention into your day, you can keep steering your life in the direction of wellbeing, joy, and genuine fulfillment. So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And now let's settle in for today's meditation on intentional living.
Are We Steering Our Lives?
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, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about our habit of living on autopilot mode and how we can take back some control of our attention and steer our lives more deliberately. There's an old Zen story about this. A lady in a village saw a man on a horse suddenly come galloping through the streets at high speed. So it seemed as though this man had somewhere very important to go in a hurry.
So she shouted out to him, "Where are you going?" And the man on the horse replied, "I don't know, ask the horse." So this story is a metaphor for how we can all get kind of swept up in and swept along by our habit energy. The horse is like the momentum of our conditioning that just kind of pulls us along. And as it does pull us along, it often ends up driving us to rush and hurry and busy ourselves. So we're doing, doing, doing day after day. And we can kind of get caught up in this haze of habitual activity.
It's a really easy thing to get caught up in and hey, we all do this sometimes. But if we continue galloping through our lives without stopping every now and then to pause and take stop, it's pretty easy to end up with a sense that life is passing us by and we can end up in places we may not have wanted to go. So, you know, potentially we can end up with our health or lifestyle way off course, our relationships breaking down, or maybe we end up living that sense of just being out of alignment with our values. And despite all the activity and doing and rushing, it's not bringing us any closer to actual fulfillment. And this is part of the reason why it's so important to learn how to take back the reins of attention and take back the reins of our mind and steer our lives in a more deliberate way.
Now, of course, mindfulness meditation is the most effective way to train our attention and our minds to be present so we can live more deliberately in the long-term. But a simple invitation for today is, as you go about daily life, see if you can notice when you have that sense of just going through the motions, that sense of autopilot mode. It often has a bit of a dullness to it, or a bit of tension to it. And when you notice you're on autopilot mode, see if you can just pause, take a mindful breath. And in that moment, you can be present again and take back the reins of attention and then continue your day with more presence and intentionality.
If you can continue to bring lots of these little short moments of awareness and intention into your day, you can keep steering your life in the direction of wellbeing, joy, and genuine fulfillment. So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And now let's settle in for today's meditation on intentional living.
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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
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
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
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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