This is one of my favorite meditations. I just generally feel more positive and ready for the day afterward. Check it out! Many of Jonathan Lehmann’s meditations are in French, but he has others (including this one) in English on Insight Timer.
Category: Mindfulness
Reflection — Meditation Retreat
This past Saturday, March 24th, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a free meditation retreat run by Linnie for GSU students at the Indian Creek Lodge. This was my second retreat, and I’ll suffice it to say that it was a very different experience than the first one last November. There is something incredible about being mindful for a full 8 hours (not just sitting for 8 hours straight, but with multiple activities). Everyone seems to go through a different experience, and it is pretty incredible to lose track of time, enjoy and be with nature, sit with oneself however one is, and just be. An 8 hour retreat is not a trivial event, especially to someone new to meditation and not as used to it. That being said, mindfulness meditation is a journey, and there’s no “mastery” of it.
As Linnie sometimes says (paraphrasing),
“Are you aware of what you’re doing? Right now?”
One idea this reminds me of is that no one is mindful all the time, and one can fall in and out of the habit of practice. It has been easy in the past for me to think once I’ve fallen off the horse, I’ve failed. But as I’ve come to learn from some of Linnie’s meditations, we can start again, in this moment, both in the midst of a meditation practice and in life. “You can start now, with this breath. Or this breath.” I can decide to set aside time to meditate each day, maybe just for a little while, or maybe for 30 min at least X times per week. The trick is to simply start, and to be kind to yourself. After all, you’re starting (again)! That’s commendable.
Returning to the topic of the retreat, my experience this time was one of somewhat content discomfort. I have been going through a lot of changes, and that day in particular I wasn’t especially happy with some of them. I was worried. But I was aware of these feelings. I was aware of having fewer thoughts than I’m used to and how that made me uncomfortable, too. And in the awareness there was a sort of comfort — nothing especially bad happened for being aware. I was simply aware of how I felt and thought in those 8 hours. And a sort of consistent awareness didn’t happen right away (or arguably at all — distractions are inevitable). I fell asleep a few times, and I reminded myself that this was okay, too, being aware of the tendency I occasionally have to feel guilty or like I missed something. At the end of the day, I was reminded of how being mindful is being aware of and accepting things as they are in the moment — this does not mean one cannot want to and take actions to change. But in the moments of mindfulness, this is not the focus, and in fact, taking things in as they are has helped me better inform the changes I want/need.
A quote as you continue on with your day:
“To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh
Benefits of Mindfulness
I found this article that does well discussing some of the benefits of mindfulness. It has references to some of the studies that have been done.
Here’s What Mindfulness Is (and Isn’t) Good For by Daniel Goleman
Spoilers!:
The benefits include:
- “Stronger Focus
- Staying Calmer Under Stress
- Better Memory
- Good Corporate Citizenship”
A quote for the day:
“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.”
Self Compassion Activity
Activity — Getting in touch with and meeting one’s needs:
Think of a need you have that you have been ignoring. This can be de-stressing, being creative, socializing… anything you feel you need more of to keep a healthy balance, but have been neglecting.
I invite you to write down 5 ways you may be able to satisfy this need throughout the week. This can be difficult; you may only be able to come up with one or two, and that is perfectly fine. See if you can plan some or all of these ideas throughout the next week.
This is so that you remember that this need *is* important, important enough to devote time and effort to. You are important.
Some Background:
Self compassion can exist in multiple forms — we all have times when we’re hard on ourselves. Maybe we wish we performed better during a test, interview, etc., or perhaps we don’t think we should feel angry, sad, or another way. In these cases, a little bit of self compassion in the form of forgiveness or acknowledging it is human and OK to have a variety of emotions, can ease a good deal of stress and negativity. This clears the way for something healthier.
Another situation we might find ourselves in is the following: we can be so caught up in something, that we ignore our needs. One can be caught up in doing well (e.g. in school), being what we think we’re “supposed” to be (e.g. a good student, a friendly person, a perfect romantic partner), or even maintaining a busy schedule (school, work, hobbies, social life, sports, etc.). A variety of distractions can lead to a disconnect from what one needs. And these needs can be anything: a day off, time alone, a good cry, a good laugh, being with loved ones, focusing on an interest or hobby, meditating for longer, seeing the dentist for that toothache you’ve been ignoring, etc.
Sometimes, we don’t like to even admit to ourselves that we have these needs, but even if we ignore them, they are still there whether we like it or not. More often than not, I believe it is beneficial to acknowledge these needs and address them.
There is much, much more to be said about self-compassion, and I myself am learning. Still, I wanted to share this viewpoint and exercise. I hope it benefits you as it has benefited me.
Enter, the Blog
I am beginning the blog with daily/weekly quotes/poems/meditations/activities, etc. to help us all expand our horizons! Stay tuned for more, coming soon!
For now, here is a quote to continue your day with:
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.“
— Jon Kabat-Zinn (Chapter title in Wherever You Go, There You Are)
image credit — colored image from Samsung’s PENUP app
Michele L. Silverstein, Ph.D. 