Your Mindful Coach

Today’s podcast begins with some poetry and thoughts on my recent experience with the practice of joy. The accompanying guided meditation was inspired by psychotherapist Brian Dean Williams. It uses an image of the joy of others to activate this feeling in ourselves.

The following meditation is an exploring of mudita, or sympathetic joy. In this insight practice, we use an image, an intention and phrases, to offer our wish to someone in our life who is doing well. Through this exploration, we may unlock this same emotion in ourselves. This meditation uses phrases shared by psychotherapist Brian Williams. You can hear his guided meditation at https://soundcloud.com/michaelstoneteaching/guided-meditation-on-mudita.

The following is a visualization practice. As we observe the mind, we become aware of the space between our thoughts and emotions. The formations of our mind come and go, allowing us some freedom to choose what thoughts and emotions to stay with and which to release.

The following is a lovingkindness practice. Lovingkindness uses words, images and feelings to produce an inclination towards kindness and care for ourselves and others. The repeated wish to be seen, to be comforted and to be loved is intended to foster a sense of well-being and compassion.

This week, we continue with our exploration of the breath (https://yourmindfulcoachblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/the-power-of-breath/) through a practice called Focus, Flow and Let Go. We connect with the present moment, expanding our awareness and observation through mindfulness. If you live in the Philadelphia area, please consider my retreats on April 22 and June 16-18. To learn more, visit www.yourmindfulcoach.com.

The following is a brief practice that harnesses the power of breath to calm and regulate the body. Breath can be used to pull us out of our habitual fight or flight response and into the body's natural relaxation state which connects us with our full cognitive capacity to be intuitive, insightful and moral beings. We have our breath with us wherever we go so it is a perfect tool for mindful practice.

Today’s podcast explores generosity. I begin with a story and a discussion of how generosity can drive meaning and purpose. Generosity allows us to experiment with letting go of attachments and expectations. I share some thoughts on generosity of presence and assumption before concluding with some practices you might explore on your own from the Greater Good Science Center.

Today’s podcast explores the power of inquiry through questions. Questions can be a powerful way to reframe and clarify the issues, problems and situations that you face. Questions are an important foundation of mindfulness practice which asks two basic questions, “What is happening?” and “Can I be with it?” After a brief talk, I offer a practice called the five problem solving questions that I invite you to try out with me.

Today’s podcast explores gratitude. I begin by defining and framing gratitude and continue by investigating how we use it change our mindset, what the benefits are and what specific practices we can undertake to cultivate it. Please visit my website, www.yourmindfulcoach.com to practice gratitude yourself by following the Good Things link at the top of the page. You can also send an email to marc@yourmindfulcoach.com.

The following is a meditation on gratitude. We begin with the body and allow a feeling of gratitude to arise for the gifts we hold inside of us. The ability to breathe and move, connect and engage with our world. Gratitude practice is an aspirational practice. We work to incline our mind toward recognizing those things that bring meaning to our lives. This isn’t always easy but intentional practice can be helpful to generating happiness and satisfaction with life while still acknowledging the difficulty and suffering that goes with being human.

The following is a meditation I learned and heavily borrowed from teacher Frank Ostaseski by way of Joan Halifax called “Strong Back, Soft Front.” We connect with this through an exploration of our body but the metaphor can be extended to our experience of living. With strong back, soft front, the stability of a strong back allows us to be open, to be compassionate and to love. For me, the practice emphasizes what’s called the two wings of the bird of awareness: wisdom and compassion. We can not do without both. That bird won’t fly.

The following is a type of body scan meditation where we soften areas of tightness, tension or stress in our body. In this practice, we give our mind a job to soften or relax various areas of our body. This may help to calm the busy mind and create a feeling of peace or ease. That said, an actual softening isn’t necessary. Just by offering an intention or wish for softening can trigger our body’s natural relaxation response.

This episode comes from a presentation I made to a group of teachers. One of the wonderful things about teaching is the nearly unlimited opportunities to find meaning and connection. Unfortunately, with this brings the challenge of countless missed connections, high expectations and modest compensation. This talk should be meaningful to everyone not just teachers because the idea isn’t to help you teach mindfulness to your students but instead to offer simply mindfulness practices FOR YOU to stay present amongst the hustle and bustle of a typical day. Included in the talk are three simple mindfulness practices that you may find helpful.

The following meditation is based on the work of Dr. Les Fehmi and was shared with me by my teacher, Jonathan Foust. I’ve found it a helpful meditation on those busy, hectic days where slowing down might allow me to become more focused and also relaxed. The process of "feeling or imaging" can take us out of our linear, problem solving mind into a more creative experience of spacelessness and timelessness. You might enjoy Jonathan's longer version of this meditation available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OsotDvMJmk.

In this podcast, I explore the challenges of maintaining a mindfulness or meditation practice when our life is full of distractions or our circumstances aren't ideal. I discuss the reasons to practice and how this information can be used to inform your next steps. You can also find a blog posting with links to the practices described at https://yourmindfulcoachblog.wordpress.com beginning August 21. Or visit www.yourmindfulcoach.com for even more resources and guided practices.

In the summer months, the world opens to experience. When we leave the air conditioned comfort of homes or vehicles, we can find connection and meaning in the beings and environment that surround us. Walking meditation is a wonderful bridge between the silence and stillness of sitting meditation practice and the engaged experience of living your whole life with mindfulness. Today’s guided practice begins by observing our breath and our body as well as the sensations of sound, sight and smell. The second half offers time to walk mindfully. I recommend listening to this guided practice outside. You might want to listen by putting one earbud in and leaving the other one out so you can experience the sounds of nature around you. As you get more comfortable, try it without the recording.

Our inner critic, that voice in our head that tends to cut us down and make us feel bad, can be very powerful. This episode features a brief talk and guided practice including ideas on how to approach the inner critic. We tends to treat others with kindness and care in their times of need but treat ourselves with disdain when we are suffering. The guided practice offers an opportunity "treat ourselves as we would treat others." From cultivating another, more compassionate voice to approaching The Critic with curiosity, there are mindful ways to approach The Critic that diminishes its power.

Today I offer the practice of Tonglen, which loosely means “sending and receiving” in the Tibetan language. It is different from a lovingkindness practice which primarily offers our wishes for the wellbeing of ourselves & others. In Tonglen, we begin by taking on the suffering of a person or persons who may be hurting. Suffering and compassion reside in the same area deep in our heart, our soul. In a sense, this practice offers a refuge for this suffering and creates a space to apply compassion as healing. As we transition to exploring our own suffering, we may recognize the universality of our experience. We may also recognize the impermanence of our feeling states (anger, frustration, disappointment, sadness), even though circumstances may not change. One day our suffering is debilitating, the next, it is an opportunity.

This month I’m teaching a workshop called Fierce Self-Compassion. Today, I’ll be sharing a brief lovingkindness meditation from that class that focuses on yourself. Self-love is not selfish. I see it as a crucial building block towards living an authentic, wholehearted life. You can find an extended 20 minute practice of lovingkindness on my website, www.yourmindfulcoach.com by clicking on the “guided mindfulness recordings” button and selecting the entry from September 2015, “Body Sensations and Lovingkindness.”

Our society often focuses so keenly on achievement and winning that we don’t really allow ourselves time to explore and cultivate our inner experience. Through mindful practice, self-compassion can be a wonderful way to enhance your creativity, improve your connection with people and live a wholehearted live. In the episode, I offer poetry, research, guided practices and insight that should help you navigate a path to self-compassion. Visit www.yourmindfulcoach.com for details on upcoming workshops and retreats.