Browse
Top articles
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Try free for 7 days.
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
00:00
00:00
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 to you about overcoming limiting beliefs. So there's an old story about this. A man was walking through the circus one day and as he was walking past the elephant camp, he suddenly stopped, really confused by what he was seeing in front of him. There were these huge, powerful creatures, these elephants and there were being held there in the camp by just a small rope, tied to their front leg connected to a little wooden stake in the ground.
No chains, no cages, no steel. It was completely obvious that these elephants could at any moment just break away from their bonds. But for some reason they didn't. And he was curious. So he saw a trainer standing nearby and he went up to him and asked him, "Excuse me, sir.
But can you tell me why these elephants are not going away when they clearly can?" "Well," the trainer said, "when they're very young and much smaller, we use the same rope and stake to tie them. And at that age it's enough to hold them. And then when they grow up, they are conditioned to believe that they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them. So they simply never try to break free." The man was amazed.
These animals could break free from their bonds at any moment, but simply because they believe they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were. And like the elephants in this story, we all tend to have ingrained stories about who we are and what we're capable of. Some of the stories are helpful. Some of the stories are really unhelpful. They limit our potential, block our passion for life, and they can really hurt our self esteem.
Much of our conditioning was formed a long time ago. Perhaps a parent, a teacher or a peer said something, or we had a particular experience that made us decide we're not very smart, we're not good at certain things, we're not attractive, we're not a create, creative person, whatever the stories are. And when the stories we tell ourselves are self-critical, self-doubting and limiting, we really end up tethered in place by our past conditioning. We stay in our comfort zones and repeat the same thinking and behaviors again and again. To find freedom of mind and unlock our potential, we need to really question and change our stories.
This really starts by challenging them. So we can do that by asking ourselves when these stories come up, where did this story come from? Is it entirely true? Is it helpful? Do I really want to keep buying into this story? Is it just some old conditioning? So by questioning or challenging our old beliefs, we can begin to soften them and let them go. So today I invite you to consider the beliefs and the conditioning you might be carrying that you might want to let go of. As you continue to question limiting beliefs slowly over time, you'll find more and more freedom of mind and create new landscapes of possibility and creativity in your life. So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us and inviting you now to settle in for today's meditation.
Freedom From Limiting Beliefs
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 to you about overcoming limiting beliefs. So there's an old story about this. A man was walking through the circus one day and as he was walking past the elephant camp, he suddenly stopped, really confused by what he was seeing in front of him. There were these huge, powerful creatures, these elephants and there were being held there in the camp by just a small rope, tied to their front leg connected to a little wooden stake in the ground.
No chains, no cages, no steel. It was completely obvious that these elephants could at any moment just break away from their bonds. But for some reason they didn't. And he was curious. So he saw a trainer standing nearby and he went up to him and asked him, "Excuse me, sir.
But can you tell me why these elephants are not going away when they clearly can?" "Well," the trainer said, "when they're very young and much smaller, we use the same rope and stake to tie them. And at that age it's enough to hold them. And then when they grow up, they are conditioned to believe that they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them. So they simply never try to break free." The man was amazed.
These animals could break free from their bonds at any moment, but simply because they believe they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were. And like the elephants in this story, we all tend to have ingrained stories about who we are and what we're capable of. Some of the stories are helpful. Some of the stories are really unhelpful. They limit our potential, block our passion for life, and they can really hurt our self esteem.
Much of our conditioning was formed a long time ago. Perhaps a parent, a teacher or a peer said something, or we had a particular experience that made us decide we're not very smart, we're not good at certain things, we're not attractive, we're not a create, creative person, whatever the stories are. And when the stories we tell ourselves are self-critical, self-doubting and limiting, we really end up tethered in place by our past conditioning. We stay in our comfort zones and repeat the same thinking and behaviors again and again. To find freedom of mind and unlock our potential, we need to really question and change our stories.
This really starts by challenging them. So we can do that by asking ourselves when these stories come up, where did this story come from? Is it entirely true? Is it helpful? Do I really want to keep buying into this story? Is it just some old conditioning? So by questioning or challenging our old beliefs, we can begin to soften them and let them go. So today I invite you to consider the beliefs and the conditioning you might be carrying that you might want to let go of. As you continue to question limiting beliefs slowly over time, you'll find more and more freedom of mind and create new landscapes of possibility and creativity in your life. So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us and inviting you now to settle in for today's meditation.
Duration
Play in-app
Scan the following QR code with your camera app to open it on our mobile app
Get Unlimited Access
A Mindfulness Plus+ subscription gives you unlimited access to a world of premium mindfulness content.
Email Missing
We couldn’t detect your email with the SSO provider you have selected.We are here to make a positive impact on the world. We never want to sell you something that hasn’t helped you live a better life. That’s why if you’re unhappy with any purchase from us, you have 30 days to get a full refund and your money back.
If you subscribed to Mindfulness Plus+ and are unhappy with your purchase, please get in contact with us within the 30-day period and we’ll refund your purchase.
Learn more about our Mindfulness Guarantee.
Mindfulness
We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.
Private Browsing
We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.
Annual membership
$0
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
Thank you for joining us
Dive into the full library and enjoy all it has to offer!
Claim your free access
Create a mindfulness account and we’ll unlock this premium session in your account forever.
7-Days free trial, cancel anytime.
Complete a few quick questions to make your own personalized mindfulness plan.
Sign up or login to your mindfulness account to proceed.
Sign up or login to your mindfulness account to proceed.
Mindfulness
One membership to gain access to a world of premium mindfulness content created to help you live happier and stress less.