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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, welcome to Day One of our seven day meditation challenge. My name is Cory Muscara. And to kick off this series, I'm going to share a simple mindfulness practice that you can utilize to step out of the chaos of your mind and reground yourself back into the present moment. I like to call this strategy 'shifting your what if to what is'. What if, to what is.
So what is the 'what if mind'? Well, we're all familiar with it, whether we realize it or not. The, what if mind is when we get caught up in thoughts about what could happen? What if that happens? What if this happens? What if this doesn't go well? What if they don't like me? What if I fail? What if, what if, what if. And of course we can all point to times where the what, if mind can be useful. It can help us prepare for something that can go wrong and take necessary action. But if you're also like most people, you've experienced how the what if mind can create unnecessary stress, and tension, and anxiety, and get us caught in these cognitive loops that don't really serve us in the present moment.
But they just tend to create more worry, more stress, more anxiety. And so as a foundational mindfulness practice, one thing we can do when we find ourselves caught up in the what if mind is to drop back into what is. Shift what if to what is. And so what do we mean by what is? Well, this is just what is the reality of your moment right now? And so you could do it as you're listening. For me, I notice that I'm sitting.
So I feel my, my seat on the cushion. I can see what's around me. There's a roof over my head. I feel my hands on my thighs. I feel the breath moving through my body.
And just notice for you. What what, what is here right now? Maybe there's seeing me. Perhaps there's anything that you can hear, including the sound of my voice, or sounds outside, around you. Maybe there's anything that you can smell or feel in your body. The interesting thing about tuning into what is, is that often what is here is a little less of a catastrophe than the mind is making it out to be.
And the mind has this incredible ability to think about the future and to imagine, and to create. And it's absolutely wonderful. But it also has this ability to create catastrophes that haven't yet happened yet. It makes me think of the Mark Twain quote in where he said, uh, "I've lived a lot of tragedies in my life. Some of them actually happened." You know, this is the what if mind at play.
It takes us into potential suffering and has us live there as if it's already happening. But often when we shift our what if to what is, we see that this moment is a little bit more okay. Not always. Sometimes the catastrophe that the mind is making out does accurately represent the reality of this moment. But I would say more often than not, the mind likes to compound our suffering and creates a lot of stories about what could happen.
And often those things don't even end up happening. So as our first step for this series, the encouragement is to spend today noticing when you get caught up in the what if mind and see if you can drop that into what is here, what is here right now. Try it out. Have it some fun with it. It's great to be here with you.
Thank you for your practice. Now let's settle in for the meditation.
What If to What Is
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 Day One of our seven day meditation challenge. My name is Cory Muscara. And to kick off this series, I'm going to share a simple mindfulness practice that you can utilize to step out of the chaos of your mind and reground yourself back into the present moment. I like to call this strategy 'shifting your what if to what is'. What if, to what is.
So what is the 'what if mind'? Well, we're all familiar with it, whether we realize it or not. The, what if mind is when we get caught up in thoughts about what could happen? What if that happens? What if this happens? What if this doesn't go well? What if they don't like me? What if I fail? What if, what if, what if. And of course we can all point to times where the what, if mind can be useful. It can help us prepare for something that can go wrong and take necessary action. But if you're also like most people, you've experienced how the what if mind can create unnecessary stress, and tension, and anxiety, and get us caught in these cognitive loops that don't really serve us in the present moment.
But they just tend to create more worry, more stress, more anxiety. And so as a foundational mindfulness practice, one thing we can do when we find ourselves caught up in the what if mind is to drop back into what is. Shift what if to what is. And so what do we mean by what is? Well, this is just what is the reality of your moment right now? And so you could do it as you're listening. For me, I notice that I'm sitting.
So I feel my, my seat on the cushion. I can see what's around me. There's a roof over my head. I feel my hands on my thighs. I feel the breath moving through my body.
And just notice for you. What what, what is here right now? Maybe there's seeing me. Perhaps there's anything that you can hear, including the sound of my voice, or sounds outside, around you. Maybe there's anything that you can smell or feel in your body. The interesting thing about tuning into what is, is that often what is here is a little less of a catastrophe than the mind is making it out to be.
And the mind has this incredible ability to think about the future and to imagine, and to create. And it's absolutely wonderful. But it also has this ability to create catastrophes that haven't yet happened yet. It makes me think of the Mark Twain quote in where he said, uh, "I've lived a lot of tragedies in my life. Some of them actually happened." You know, this is the what if mind at play.
It takes us into potential suffering and has us live there as if it's already happening. But often when we shift our what if to what is, we see that this moment is a little bit more okay. Not always. Sometimes the catastrophe that the mind is making out does accurately represent the reality of this moment. But I would say more often than not, the mind likes to compound our suffering and creates a lot of stories about what could happen.
And often those things don't even end up happening. So as our first step for this series, the encouragement is to spend today noticing when you get caught up in the what if mind and see if you can drop that into what is here, what is here right now. Try it out. Have it some fun with it. It's great to be here with you.
Thank you for your practice. Now let's settle in for the meditation.
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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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