Session 1: Being Here / Being Home
Regularly practicing mindfulness meditation helps to rewire your brain to be more calm, even in this very busy culture we live in. Yet the transformational power of mindfulness goes much deeper than simply helping you to be calmer.
Guided Meditation
Try to practice mindfulness meditation every day during this course. Feel free to use these guided meditations or your favorite mindfulness app. Insight Timer is a free app with lots of guided meditations to choose from.
Coffee / Tea Meditation:
Approx. 8 minutes
Mindfulness of Breath & Body:
Approx. 10 minutes
Books and Videos
If you are interested in reading more about mindfulness, here are a few suggestions:
- Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us, by Justin Michael Williams. This book has a very accessible approach to mindfulness. It’s also designed with a fresh, modern look and feel.
- Real World Mindfulness for Beginners: Navigate Daily Life One Practice at a Time, edited by Brenda Salgado. A compilation of practices from some of the worlds most renowned mindfulness teachers.
- A Wise Heart, by Jack Kornfield. A compelling challenge to much of Western psychology and to the materialism, cynicism, and despair found in Western culture which profoundly influences modern-day religions. The book outlines a radical and positive approach to psychology and human life.
There are many great TED talks on mindfulness. I like this one because it shows how mindfulness actually can change the emotional roller coaster in our brains. How mindfulness changes the emotional life of our brains | TEDxSanFrancisco