Pain, Trauma & Addiction

enhancing non-judgmental moment-to-moment awareness   Hi All!  Here is your weekly dose of "5 Mindful Musings", a brief list of what's helping me live a more mindful life. What Helps Me Be Kind To Myself Compassionate Body Scan Meditation. Kristin Neff guides this powerful meditation to bring kind, caring awareness to sensations in the body, even if it's uncomfortable in the moment. Very helpful for processing emotions, feeling a sense of ease, and also for falling asleep.  What I'm Reflecting On 6 Reasons Why Mindfulness Is A Superpower These remind me how I can choose how to relate to any kind of experience, to refrain from judgment, to be with what's uncomfortable, to remember to breathe, to widen or narrow my perspective, to balance doing with being, and remember what's most important.   7 Things To Try When Mindfulness Doesn't Work These remind me that mindfulness alone is not always enough. Humans are complex, so we need a wide range of modalities to heal, grow and thrive. What I Wish My Own Schoolteachers Had Access To Teaching Mindfulness To Empower Adolescents. This is a powerful guide to help school teachers master the essential competencies needed to successfully share mindfulness practices with teens and adolescents.  "Wise and revolutionary. These are skilled and caring teachers giving you the real deal. They show how to soothe, inspire, and awaken the teenage spirit." - Jack Kornfield, PhD, bestselling author of A Path with Heart What I'm Exploring 20 Best Mindfulness Meditation Podcasts of 2020. This list from the team at Positive Psychology includes many wonderful mindfulness podcasts I had never heard of. Worth a look.  A Quote That I Love "The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes." - Pema Chodron *Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for exclusive free mindfulness trainings.   And, as always, please share your feedback in our Mindfulness Community Forums. Which musing above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Just add a post to the forum and let me know!  Wishing you well,    Sean Fargo Founder, Mindfulness Exercises       P.S. Spring Washam will join Mindfulness Mastermind on August 27th at 12pm PST!   Spring Washam is a well-known meditation teacher, author and visionary leader based in California and Peru. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage and Wisdom in Any Moment.  Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based healing practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founders and core teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA. Spring received extensive training by Jack Kornfield, is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California, and has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism for the last 20 years.  Members of Mindfulness Mastermind can access details about the workshop and the video link inside the Member Dashboard.

This week's question asks: What are some of your personal beliefs that you want to bring greater mindfulness to? We all hold somewhere within us beliefs that do not serve us. Which of your own beliefs would you like to bring greater mindfulness to? When you become aware of limiting or negative beliefs within you, what do you 'do' with them?

Hello Athena! Wonderful to meet you here. I've never tried labyrinth walking but am intrigued! Do you have any tips or resource recommendations?

Hi Priyanka! Great recommendation. I love this breathing technique.

Hey Ali, I haven't read that book so can't recommend from my own experience, but the description sounds great and probably very aligned with what you are looking for. If you read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts and reflections on it. Your expression of feeling depressed because of where you could be is not uncommon; I've heard quite a few others share how down they feel do to so much time spent caught up in bad habits and addictions. I know it can be a difficult feeling to experience, but it is a huge win (even if it doesn't feel like it) that you now feel a renewed yearning to work through this. That takes strength and courage!