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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! Welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, we're going to explore how our thoughts can create stress and anxiety, and how to unhook from those thoughts, and return to a calm center. So, how do our thoughts create anxiety? Well, one thing is when the mind casts itself into the future and it plays "what if" scenarios, or it imagines what could go wrong? When it catastrophizes, you know, that is, it predicts bad outcomes that haven't and likely will never eventuate. When we think those thoughts, our bodies respond to them as if the threats were real. The result? We feel stressed, worried, and anxious.
But if we can begin to recognize these thoughts when they arise, identifying them as, just that — thoughts. Uh, not something we have to take seriously or buy into. They start to lose their power to pull us into emotional reactivity. So in this way, we unhook ourselves from our anxious thoughts and we can be more calm entities within ourselves. An analogy: Picture yourself, sitting on the banks of a river and watching leaves floating down the stream.
So from the banks, you can calmly observe the many shapes, sizes and colors of the leaves, just watching them float by, without getting caught in the current. That's how we want to train in observing our thoughts. We want to learn to observe them like leaves on a stream from place of acceptance and objectivity, rather than letting them kind of draw us in and sweep us away in the current. So, in today's meditation, we'll work on developing this ability to relate to our anxious thoughts in a new way. We'll train in observing, non-reactively, seeing them as simply mental events.
And whenever we do get caught up in our thoughts, we'll train in finding a way to unhook from them and return to the stability and steadiness of mindful awareness.
Unhooking from Thoughts
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 to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, we're going to explore how our thoughts can create stress and anxiety, and how to unhook from those thoughts, and return to a calm center. So, how do our thoughts create anxiety? Well, one thing is when the mind casts itself into the future and it plays "what if" scenarios, or it imagines what could go wrong? When it catastrophizes, you know, that is, it predicts bad outcomes that haven't and likely will never eventuate. When we think those thoughts, our bodies respond to them as if the threats were real. The result? We feel stressed, worried, and anxious.
But if we can begin to recognize these thoughts when they arise, identifying them as, just that — thoughts. Uh, not something we have to take seriously or buy into. They start to lose their power to pull us into emotional reactivity. So in this way, we unhook ourselves from our anxious thoughts and we can be more calm entities within ourselves. An analogy: Picture yourself, sitting on the banks of a river and watching leaves floating down the stream.
So from the banks, you can calmly observe the many shapes, sizes and colors of the leaves, just watching them float by, without getting caught in the current. That's how we want to train in observing our thoughts. We want to learn to observe them like leaves on a stream from place of acceptance and objectivity, rather than letting them kind of draw us in and sweep us away in the current. So, in today's meditation, we'll work on developing this ability to relate to our anxious thoughts in a new way. We'll train in observing, non-reactively, seeing them as simply mental events.
And whenever we do get caught up in our thoughts, we'll train in finding a way to unhook from them and return to the stability and steadiness of mindful awareness.
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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
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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