Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is a very straightforward type of meditation that is quite easy to learn. This meditation will help you to turn off any negative thoughts that might be circulating in your mind, and it's a powerful weapon against depression, anxiety and stress. If you are like most people, your mind is probably full of repetitive thoughts. Perhaps some of these thoughts are disturbing or even upsetting to you. This meditation will train you to stop “reacting” to these thoughts, so that they lose their power and begin to fade away, and it will leave you feeling far more emotionally balanced. This one of of the main reasons why mindfulness meditation has become so popular with psychologists and other health care professionals. Through the practise of this meditation, you can train your mind to achieve a state of tranquillity, without being disturbed by outside forces. Mindfulness Meditation is a wonderful way to developing this essential skill, so that you can find peacefulness in your life whenever you like. Mindfulness is something you can practice even when you are not meditating, so once you have tried this mindfulness meditation, please take a look at this page on mindfulness, delve into these mindfulness exercises or try some mindfulness activities. These additional exercises will boost the effects of your meditation, and really help you to help you to put a stop to that chatterbox in your mind. Please set aside some time to complete this meditation without interruption. Find a quiet place to sit and tell any other people that live with you that you need some quiet time alone to meditate. Please make sure that your phone is off. You don’t need to sit on the floor with your legs crossed for this meditation. Your favourite chair will do just fine. Make sure that you are seated comfortably and that your back is straight. If necessary, adjust your clothing so that is loose enough for you to feel relaxed and unrestricted. Close your eyes, and begin to quietly observe your breathing. You may breathe through your nose or your mouth, whatever feels more natural to you. Simply be aware of the in-out movement of your breath. If it helps, you may choose to count your breaths. As you focus on your breathing, remind yourself to relax. This exercise should not be a strain. If you find yourself concentrating too hard then your body may begin to tense up... Relax... If thoughts come into your mind, don’t be too concerned. Allow them. Observe them. Let go of them and return your awareness to your breathing. If an emotion rises up within you, simply observe it. Observe it in the same way that you would observe an everyday sign that you were walking past in the street. You see the sign, you understand it, but you don’t feel any particular attachment to it. Take this same attitude with any emotions. It’s OK to observe them. It’s OK to feel them, but do not label them good or bad and don’t resist them. Just acknowledge that the emotion is present and return your awareness to your breathing. You need not think about that emotion any more, even if it persists. Try this for just five minutes, then try it for ten minutes the following day, then fifteen minutes, then twenty. This mindfulness meditation may seem simple, but it is very effective at helping you to become peaceful, to let go of troubling thoughts and feelings, and it will help to train your mind to become free from outside disturbances. It’s not uncommon for people to say, “I couldn’t do the meditation...distracting thoughts kept coming into my mind”. If this sounds like you, then stop right here and realize that distractions are normal, and that the whole point of mindfulness meditation is to learn to deal with these distractions. No matter what arises in your meditation, just observe it and let it go. Picture your distractions as puffs of cloud in the sky. Rarely do they hang around for long. As soon as you return your attention to your breathing, they begin to drift away or evaporate altogether. Whether your distractions arise in the form of thoughts, worries, agitation, negative emotions, desires, drowsiness or doubts, you can begin to release them immediately through this mindfulness meditation. Just continue to apply this practice of observation, letting go, and returning your attention to your breathing. If you practice this meditation daily, you WILL quickly find yourself becoming more and more calm, less bothered by disturbing thoughts and more at peace with yourself.   Learn about the Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation
This article is copyrighted, however you have permission to reprint this article on your website, in your e-zine or in your newsletter provided that that you include the following footer whenever you do so: Article by Dr Christopher Lloyd Clarke from www.The-Guided-Meditation-Site.com.
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