Over the past couple weeks, I've been spending time each morning listening to a Course on Insight Timer App called "Mindfulness Daily." The short (10 minute) talks are given alternately by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. I wanted to record my notes on each session on the blog, but maybe in chunks of 10. Here are lessons from #11-#20
Day 11: Body Scan Being mindful of body affects mindfulness. Have your body and mind in same place; provides a sense of unity and sense of peacefulness. (this is a standard body scan exercise)
Day 12: Naming Sensations. Doing this helps you focus your attention and witness it. If you do this in a tense situation, it results in reduction in the limbic system and starting executive functioning. There are two key questions: what is happening inside me right now? can I be with this? Then name things: tightening, tingling, ache, thoughts, anger. Notice that everything's always changing. Relax resistance, controlling, and go with the flow. When you drink tea, the glass is already broken. We can live with more grace and appreciation. [What sensations do you usualy notice? breathing, increased heart rate, pain, cravings]
Day 13: Working with Intense Sensations. (JK) resistance to pain causes suffering. We don't have a "solid mass of pain" usually, it's constantly changing, ever changing, pain becomes workable. He says, "let's try this" as he moves from intro). Instead of noticing pain, note 'burning, pulling, throbbing' What is the texture, density of the sensation? how large is the area? where are it's edges? Now feel/sesnse outside of pain. Sense the space between sensations. If too painful, focus on breath or 'neutral' place in body. Be a mindful and compassionate witness, building inner sense of ease ease and freedom. [How is this course helping you with your physical sensations?]
Day 14: Mindfulness of Feeling/Emotions Noticing pleasantness or unpleasantness, sorrow, anger, love, fear. This can deepen self-confidence, help us become more balanced and compassionate. It can expand our window of stress tolerance. Begin: take a posture that allows you to be relaxed and alert; deepen your receptivity with kindness; be calm and steady. Notice river of emotions. boredom, numbness are emotions. Notice the pattern of energy that is emotion. Where do feelings living. Notice feelings that live through you. [How in touch are you with your emotions? very much, somewhat attuned, I'm emotionally guarded, so I don't pay attention, very much
Day 15: Naming the Emotions. We can feel a great number of things about a person at the same time. "the mob within the heart" Emily Dickinson. The "unfinished business of the heart." We can acknowledge them before being caught in them. Tame the dragon. Oh, apprehension feels like this, amused feels like this, restless, bored feel like this. Notice with kindness and interest. When you're bore or restless or lonely, what do you do? Often you open the fridge, distract yourself, go online because you can't tolerate these feelings; instead, see what happens if you name it. Sometimes you'll feel deeper - conflict, loss. Stick with anchor, attend to it until emotion or body sense. [What emotion do you feel most difficult to handle? anger rejection sadness embarrassment]
Day 16: Working with Difficult Emotions Begin to notice complexity of feelings. Focus on difficult feelings; have compassion for them. [What do you usually do when forced with challenging circumstances? reah out to friends or loved ones, turn to unhealthy habits, try to escape, think about what to do]
Day 17: Foster Positive Emotions (Loving kindness meditation builds our compassion and strength and enhances our ability to access them. They build joy, trust, confidence, strength, well-being, kindness. It may feel unauthentic... do the practice anyway. Like water dripping on a stone, it will work. Bring your kind attention to yourself. Let your body rest in rhythm of breath for a few moments. These are planted seeds. Know joy of being alive, trust your goodness, accept yourself, live with ease and peace. Experiment with this through your day. [How adept are you at consciously practicing kindness? with effort, natural, need help, not at all.]
Day 18: Recognizing Thinking (TB) One of meditations major insights is the incessant nature of thoughts where we are the protagonist of our own movie - sometimes referred to as "seeing the waterfall." We have 60,000 thoughts per day; 95% the same as yesterday. It's a familiar cocoon obsessing over something at work, regretting something we did or didn't do, strategigizing day. Thoughts create our life and if our habit is to generate worry, we'll live with anxiety. Reflect on two words - "trouble" and "kindness." Repeate the words; how does it feel in the body? Notice the difference simply in naming a word. Thoughts create mood; they are the filter of life; they create the tone. "Prison of thought." We can recognize that we are having them, then discern is this thought helping us or keeping us in anxiety and tension. Meditation gives us the choice; and it improves our memory and executive functioning. Step 1: recogniztve that thoughts are happening: usually we are "lost in a movie." Watch for thought like cat watches jouse hole for mouse; just count the the thought. Later, add naming to practice.
Day 19: Wise Relationships to Thoughts (JK) Have a "wise relationship"... not "stop thinking." What is the set of beliefs and stories that keep us caught in self doubt, failure? We can wake up out of thoughts by naming them. I am not my thoughts. Name them: worrying, planning, judging, remembering, fantasizing. You are like a plane flying through clouds of thought. Doing this exercise provides spatiousness around thinking.
Day 20: Life Under Thoughts (TB) Some thoughts are "sticky" and hard to dismiss: resentment, worry, financial stress. They are obsessional thoughts that command our attention - these are driven by strong emotion. We find ourselves catapulted back into the story; they take up toomuch bandwidth. Meditators call them the "top 10" - the most important thing is our attitude towards it. We shoul respond with patiience, forgiveness, humor. Don't be at war with your thoughts. There is a looping (feelings to thoughts to feelings to thoughts). Try to drop in the felt experience in the body feel the roots, the felt thoughts. Where in the body do you feel it? [What kind of stuck thoughts do you often have? urgent tasks, finances, confrontations, relationships]
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