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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 compassion turns pain into strength. So one of the things that I think we all realize as we grow up is that no matter how fortunate we happen to be, we all face suffering. And although we may wish to be able to control all the circumstances in our lives, we're all going to endure things like loss, illness, pain and personal struggles. And when pain and suffering inevitably arise in the flow of our lives, often our first instinct is to fight with it, push it away or run away.
But when we fight with pain and suffering, we actually only prolong it and make it worse. In fact, fighting suffering is a lot like struggling in quicksand. So you might remember those old Western movies, right? With the cowboys, and in those movies, the cowboys never wanted to fall in quicksand, but when you're a cowboy, sometimes it just happens. So when a cowboy used to fall in the quicksand, of course, he would always have that first instinct to struggle in the quick sand. But then of course he realizes that the struggle is futile and only makes things worse.
In fact, he knows he's going to completely be swallowed up by the quicksand if he struggles. So he gathers himself and remembers that the best thing to do in quicksand is just relax and float there on top until help arrives. In the same way we never choose suffering, but it just happens in life. And we too will probably have that first instinct to resist or run from it. But if we can gather ourselves and become present, we can meet our suffering with compassionate, accepting, and kindly awareness.
And therefore we end the struggle with it. And in this way, we can learn to gently be with our pain and work through whatever's causing us distress. And when we can face pain and suffering with compassion, we can move through it. We can learn from it. And our hardship can actually be a source of incredible personal transformation and growth.
There's an old proverb, no dirt, no flower. And what this points to is the fact that although it's hard to recognize when we're in the midst of our painful moments, the adversity actually offers often our greatest opportunities for deeper wisdom, higher awareness and greater inner strength. As William Butler Yeats once said, "Every trial injured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before." So in the days ahead, see if you can meet your pain with compassion, courage, and gentleness, so it can transform your pain into strength. So we're going to practice this skill in today's meditation. So I invite you to settle in for that.
And as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us.
How Compassion Turns Pain Into Strength
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 compassion turns pain into strength. So one of the things that I think we all realize as we grow up is that no matter how fortunate we happen to be, we all face suffering. And although we may wish to be able to control all the circumstances in our lives, we're all going to endure things like loss, illness, pain and personal struggles. And when pain and suffering inevitably arise in the flow of our lives, often our first instinct is to fight with it, push it away or run away.
But when we fight with pain and suffering, we actually only prolong it and make it worse. In fact, fighting suffering is a lot like struggling in quicksand. So you might remember those old Western movies, right? With the cowboys, and in those movies, the cowboys never wanted to fall in quicksand, but when you're a cowboy, sometimes it just happens. So when a cowboy used to fall in the quicksand, of course, he would always have that first instinct to struggle in the quick sand. But then of course he realizes that the struggle is futile and only makes things worse.
In fact, he knows he's going to completely be swallowed up by the quicksand if he struggles. So he gathers himself and remembers that the best thing to do in quicksand is just relax and float there on top until help arrives. In the same way we never choose suffering, but it just happens in life. And we too will probably have that first instinct to resist or run from it. But if we can gather ourselves and become present, we can meet our suffering with compassionate, accepting, and kindly awareness.
And therefore we end the struggle with it. And in this way, we can learn to gently be with our pain and work through whatever's causing us distress. And when we can face pain and suffering with compassion, we can move through it. We can learn from it. And our hardship can actually be a source of incredible personal transformation and growth.
There's an old proverb, no dirt, no flower. And what this points to is the fact that although it's hard to recognize when we're in the midst of our painful moments, the adversity actually offers often our greatest opportunities for deeper wisdom, higher awareness and greater inner strength. As William Butler Yeats once said, "Every trial injured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before." So in the days ahead, see if you can meet your pain with compassion, courage, and gentleness, so it can transform your pain into strength. So we're going to practice this skill in today's meditation. So I invite you to settle in for that.
And as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us.
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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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Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
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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
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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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