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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:
Hey, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, we're going to talk about why meditation is not about feeling good. This can be a tough one to hear because we often come into the meditation practice looking for relief from stress, or simply because we want to feel better and optimize our life. So doesn't it make sense that meditation will be about feeling good? On the one hand, yes. We're doing this practice to reduce suffering and cultivate greater wellbeing.
There's no doubt about that and that is the intention and one of the promises of mindfulness meditation. But there's an interesting paradox here, which is that in order to get to some of those deeper, more enjoyable states of wellbeing through our meditation, we need to actually let go of trying to get to those enjoyable states because they're not coming from momentary experience. They're coming from moving fluidly with the full range of our experience. This also means we need to stop evaluating our practice based on how we're feeling in the moment. There are a lot of different things that can come up in a meditation practice.
You may feel peaceful or sleepy. You may feel energized, bored, confused, or even agitated and stressed. All of these experiences are normal and can arise for a number of different reasons, depending on what's going on in your life, what's happened in your past, how you were paying attention in the meditation and so on. Meditation is not about feeling good in the moment. It's about what experience arises and how you relate to those experiences.
I've had meditations where I felt like I was floating on a cloud and other meditations where I felt restlessness, pain and frustration. One was not better than the other, although one certainly felt better than the other. Both were opportunities to practice being with the never ending flow of different experiences. Not attaching too strongly to the ones I wanted, not pushing away the ones I didn't want. But instead finding a new kind of peace that wasn't dependent on the moment being perfectly manufactured to my liking.
This is a powerful kind of happiness that can only come from not being attached to happiness. So as you continue on your meditation journey, and as you continue to bring mindfulness in your life, see if you can assess your practice less on how your moments feel and more on how you're relating to them with awareness and presence. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy a pleasurable moment when it's there, by all means savor it. But just keep in mind that our deeper well-being comes from all of these experiences arising, passing and us moving fluidly with the full range of them. The more you do this, the more you get to experience an even deeper happiness.
I'll talk to you in the meditation. As always, thank you for your practice and take care.
Meditation Is Not About "Feeling Good"
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.
Hey, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, we're going to talk about why meditation is not about feeling good. This can be a tough one to hear because we often come into the meditation practice looking for relief from stress, or simply because we want to feel better and optimize our life. So doesn't it make sense that meditation will be about feeling good? On the one hand, yes. We're doing this practice to reduce suffering and cultivate greater wellbeing.
There's no doubt about that and that is the intention and one of the promises of mindfulness meditation. But there's an interesting paradox here, which is that in order to get to some of those deeper, more enjoyable states of wellbeing through our meditation, we need to actually let go of trying to get to those enjoyable states because they're not coming from momentary experience. They're coming from moving fluidly with the full range of our experience. This also means we need to stop evaluating our practice based on how we're feeling in the moment. There are a lot of different things that can come up in a meditation practice.
You may feel peaceful or sleepy. You may feel energized, bored, confused, or even agitated and stressed. All of these experiences are normal and can arise for a number of different reasons, depending on what's going on in your life, what's happened in your past, how you were paying attention in the meditation and so on. Meditation is not about feeling good in the moment. It's about what experience arises and how you relate to those experiences.
I've had meditations where I felt like I was floating on a cloud and other meditations where I felt restlessness, pain and frustration. One was not better than the other, although one certainly felt better than the other. Both were opportunities to practice being with the never ending flow of different experiences. Not attaching too strongly to the ones I wanted, not pushing away the ones I didn't want. But instead finding a new kind of peace that wasn't dependent on the moment being perfectly manufactured to my liking.
This is a powerful kind of happiness that can only come from not being attached to happiness. So as you continue on your meditation journey, and as you continue to bring mindfulness in your life, see if you can assess your practice less on how your moments feel and more on how you're relating to them with awareness and presence. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy a pleasurable moment when it's there, by all means savor it. But just keep in mind that our deeper well-being comes from all of these experiences arising, passing and us moving fluidly with the full range of them. The more you do this, the more you get to experience an even deeper happiness.
I'll talk to you in the meditation. As always, thank you for your practice and take care.
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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.
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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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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.
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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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