March 1 – Mindfulbalance

The basics of Mindfulness practice 5 : Becoming a witness

January 14, 2012January 11, 2012 Karl Duffy2 Comments

Mindfulness is cultivated by assuming the stance of an impartial witness to your own experience. To do this requires that you become aware of the constant stream of judging and reacting to inner and outer experience and learn to step back from it.

When we begin practicing paying attention to the activity of our own mind, it is common to discover that we are constantly generating judgments about our experience.

Jon Kabat Zinn

First steps in mindfulness: Feel the breath

February 3, 2011February 28, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

As you start the practice, you have a sense of your body and a sense of where you are, and then you begin to notice the breathing. The whole feeling of the breath is very important. The breath should not be forced, obviously; you are breathing naturally. The breath is going in and out, in and out. With each breath you become relaxed.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Mindfulbalance supports the patient practice of mindfulness meditation as a way to increase wellness, reduce stress and develop greater health, happiness and meaning. It contains reflections to encourage the practice of meditation, guidance if you are just starting, as well as occasional posts on psychology and spirituality. The daily themes are prompted by Rilke's advice: "Write about what your everyday life offers you; describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty" Written in Co. Kildare, Ireland