Less Than 2 Minutes of Mindfulness

Dear One, Since I was a kid I wanted to know how to meditate and thought the idea of clearing your mind must be the most amazing thing possible in the whole world. I would try different meditations but it seemed like a dream to be to be able to clear my mind. It wasn't until I was an adult and I read Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat- Zinn that something clicked for me. The mindfulness approach wasn't at all about clearing your mind. Already this seemed more doable. The first few chapters of the book really simplified the idea for me. Since then I have practiced ( inconsistently but fairly regularly) and taken a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction which helped strengthen the skill. To me a mindfulness practice allows me to live in reality instead of being swept away by my every thought and feeling. Mindfulness was my first experience with getting out of my head and feeling into my body. The first place I started being able to recognize feelings and sensation in my body. I know a lot of my clients over the years have had a hard time grasping mindfulness. We all have so many preconceived notions about meditating and most of us who need it most find the concept appealing but nearly impossible. But all it really is, is noticing what's happening, paying attention to what is happening, right here, right now, in a non-judgmental way. Attached, I recorded a very short ( 1 minute, 44 seconds) audio for beginners to the concept of mindfulness to just get a sense of stopping and paying attention for a moment. It's based off of some of what Jon Kabat- Zinn writes in his book. Try listening a few times this week and let me know how it goes. Link to the audio Hope you're having a nice week. In Gratitude, Eileen PS- Thanks for those of you who signed up to do 4 free weeks of coaching with me! So grateful for the opportunity to develop this skill.