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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, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about how to deal with doubt on the path of mindfulness. So as you begin to practice meditation on a regular basis, you may encounter moments of doubt. That's actually really normal. So doubting thoughts may arise like, I don't know if I can even do this practice or is this really doing anything useful for my life or, you know, I don't even know if this is worth the time.
I'm really busy. Now of course, thoughts like this have the potential to actually just stop us from doing our meditation at all. We may not have even gotten to the point of sitting down for our practice yet, and these thoughts are already arising. So this can be a real hindrance to regular practice and can actually stop us from, you know, getting all the benefits that practice offers us. And I think it's worth noting as well that this doesn't just happen for just for beginners.
Even if we've been meditating for years, and even if we know that mindfulness has brought significant benefits into our lives, we can still have moments like this of doubt. In fact, sometimes I think it can even be that we've had deeper layers of doubt, you know, maybe even existential doubts and fears that are coming up in our practice. There can be a real feeling of just like, I don't know if I really want to go any further. And so these thoughts and feelings can really pull at our attention and feel like a block. But I think the main intention to just keep coming back to, is just to treat, these kinds of thoughts and feelings in the same way we treat all thoughts and feelings in our practice.
We simply want to observe them without buying into them. So we don't need to push them away. We don't need to kind of cling on and get swept away by them either. Instead, we just want to see them clearly, let them arise and unfold, and pass in their own time. So just keep meeting what arises with awareness, compassion and steadfastness as best we can.
And when we do that, something really wonderful starts to happen. The doubts usually actually start to dissolve and we're able to open to new depths of insight and presence. So if we can do that, if we can let go of the doubt a little, then we can start to rely more on our firsthand experience of what the effects of meditation do for us in our body, mind, and life. So we can observe firsthand how we feel at the end of each meditation and continue to tune into and acknowledge the effects that mindfulness has in our lives, like feeling a bit less stressed, a bit less reactive, more calm or self-aware. So instead of doubt coming in, we can let our firsthand experience be our guide.
And in this way, we gain greater confidence and trust in the practice. And we can rely on that to keep us steady on the path forward. As always, thank you for your practice and for being here in this community. Let's settle in now for today's meditation.
Dealing With Doubt
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 how to deal with doubt on the path of mindfulness. So as you begin to practice meditation on a regular basis, you may encounter moments of doubt. That's actually really normal. So doubting thoughts may arise like, I don't know if I can even do this practice or is this really doing anything useful for my life or, you know, I don't even know if this is worth the time.
I'm really busy. Now of course, thoughts like this have the potential to actually just stop us from doing our meditation at all. We may not have even gotten to the point of sitting down for our practice yet, and these thoughts are already arising. So this can be a real hindrance to regular practice and can actually stop us from, you know, getting all the benefits that practice offers us. And I think it's worth noting as well that this doesn't just happen for just for beginners.
Even if we've been meditating for years, and even if we know that mindfulness has brought significant benefits into our lives, we can still have moments like this of doubt. In fact, sometimes I think it can even be that we've had deeper layers of doubt, you know, maybe even existential doubts and fears that are coming up in our practice. There can be a real feeling of just like, I don't know if I really want to go any further. And so these thoughts and feelings can really pull at our attention and feel like a block. But I think the main intention to just keep coming back to, is just to treat, these kinds of thoughts and feelings in the same way we treat all thoughts and feelings in our practice.
We simply want to observe them without buying into them. So we don't need to push them away. We don't need to kind of cling on and get swept away by them either. Instead, we just want to see them clearly, let them arise and unfold, and pass in their own time. So just keep meeting what arises with awareness, compassion and steadfastness as best we can.
And when we do that, something really wonderful starts to happen. The doubts usually actually start to dissolve and we're able to open to new depths of insight and presence. So if we can do that, if we can let go of the doubt a little, then we can start to rely more on our firsthand experience of what the effects of meditation do for us in our body, mind, and life. So we can observe firsthand how we feel at the end of each meditation and continue to tune into and acknowledge the effects that mindfulness has in our lives, like feeling a bit less stressed, a bit less reactive, more calm or self-aware. So instead of doubt coming in, we can let our firsthand experience be our guide.
And in this way, we gain greater confidence and trust in the practice. And we can rely on that to keep us steady on the path forward. As always, thank you for your practice and for being here in this community. Let's settle in now 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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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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