This book began with an introduction to the practice and principles of mindfulness broadly, providing you with an opportunity to start meditating immediately. Then it branched out and drilled down on different areas, clarifying, explaining, and expanding your knowledge.

If you have worked through all the Meditations and Glimpses, you now have a strong set of tools in your mindfulness toolbox and will be able to integrate the practice into your daily life….

On its own, mindfulness will be a tremendous boon to your mental state, relationships, and overall functionality; but there are some complimentary practices that when combined with mindfulness, can produce additional benefits in the practitioner’s life.

Not everything that follows will be for you and that is okay. Consider these as optional extras, or side dishes to the main that is mindfulness. They are certainly not necessary, but some people swear by them…

The sense of self is an illusion.

When we introspect, we see that there is nothing stable to hold onto. Our moods, thoughts, desires, behaviours, and opinions constantly change.

“Who am I other than constant change?”

Turn the camera inwards and observe for yourself. Watch the thoughts come and go. Notice how you did not choose the thoughts that came, nor the thoughts that replaced them. They just appeared and disappeared of their own volition. Watch, and see how emotions, memories, moods, and other mental phenomena arise.

Where are they arising from?

Want to gain control of your mind?

In this course you will learn how to mindfully meditate and to establish it as a daily practice in your life.

This Course Contains:
- Seven guided meditations (1-20 minutes long)
- Deep level instruction on mindfulness meditation
- Introductions to eight supplementary styles of meditation
- Practical solutions for common problems with meditation
- Opportunities to receive feedback and personal assistance…

Zen suggests that when sitting, you simply sit. If enlightenment comes it comes. But you should stop striving for it. There should be no expectations of growth, change, happiness, or insights. You should sit for sitting’s sake, or more specifically, you should just sit…

Before we progress into the advanced practice component of this book, it is important to address some common myths and misconceptions about mindfulness. Below you will find some of the questions, beliefs and concerns people have prior to starting a mindfulness practice, as well as some of the things they wished they knew earlier on….

‘‘‘To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.’ – Lao Tzu

One of the goals of our meditation practice is to bring the mindfulness state off the meditation mat and into our everyday lives. Just as we lift weights in the gym to be strong in daily life, we meditate formally so we can be mindful in daily life. But there need not be a distinction between the end of a formal session and the rest of our day. Indeed, with practice we will be increasingly able to become mindful at any time. First with small glimpses, and then over longer periods of time…

‘‘We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.’ – Jack Kornfield

Knowing if you are meditating correctly is uniquely challenging. Unlike most other pursuits, it is completely internal, and the results are entirely subjective. You could watch two people sitting, one in deep meditation and the other lost in a daydream, and not be able to tell who was doing what. In fact, the day dreamer may emerge from their sit appearing more refreshed and relaxed than when they began, whereas the meditator may appear exhausted….

Some days, meditation can seem like a chore. It can feel like you are totally out of focus for the entire session. That your mind is wandering out of control, and it is all you can do to stop yourself from getting off the mat and ending the session early. Perhaps you are plagued by embarrassing memories, find yourself bombarded by strong emotions, or are simply falling asleep. Whatever the reason, that meditation session just sucked. Please do not stress, this happens to everyone. It is not a sign of regression, or that you are meditating incorrectly. The truth is that you can only have the meditation you are having. Whatever happens, happens and that is okay.

For some people, their meditation practice is greatly enhanced in the presence of others. Getting together with a group of like-minded people to practice can be quite rewarding. A good meditation group will be motivating and help keep you accountable. It is one thing to skip a session when you are alone, but quite another when you have agreed to meet up with a group. This is a form of positive social pressure and is a great tool to harness the positive effects of peer pressure. What is more, when you are meditating with others, you will have a wealth of experiences and resources to draw upon should any questions or concerns arise.

“Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living and truth loving.” – James E Faust

Unless you are completely honest with yourself, your actions will be out of line with your true purpose. By ‘true purpose’ I am not referring to anything religious or spiritual. I am referring to what you as an individual, given your unique set of genetics and environmental influences, is best set up to do.

Daily meditation will help you to reduce the severity and duration of distressing thoughts, emotions, moods and mind-frames by getting you out of your head and into the present moment.

It will give you some space between you and your mental phenomena, allowing you to observe what is happening without falling into it completely.

Some of the most common questions about meditation relate to posture. ‘How should I sit? Should I open or close my eyes? What do I do with my hands? Can I use a chair and a cushion? What if I don’t have the flexibility?’ Depending on the tradition of your instructor, you will receive different answers to these questions, some of which will be contradictory, all of which will seem very convincing.

When meditating, if we notice our attention wandering, we gently bring our focus back to the meditation object again and again. This approach works fine, but there is another layer to the practice that can help you to stay focused and mindful for longer and far more effectively.

In order to get the best out of our formal meditation sessions, we need to ensure that our internal and external environments are optimized.

To be clear, mindfulness is not the act of meditating. It is the state that arises from our meditation practice. Therefore, mindfulness is not dependent on the use of the breath as a meditation object. Anything can be used: sounds, sights, physical sensations, thoughts, and even awareness itself. In fact, if we want to integrate the benefits into our everyday life, it is vital that we explore mindfulness across a broad spectrum of meditation objects. That way, we will have the tools of mindfulness readily available to employ, wherever and whenever we need them. What is the point of our practice if the benefits do not transcend the meditation mat?

‘I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.’ - Mahatma Gandhi

We do not meditate when we feel like it, or just when the mood strikes. No, we meditate every day, without fail.

It is important to highlight something here about habit acquisition. Go slowly and make sure all changes are life appropriate. If we go too hard too soon, we risk dropping the practice entirely.

Exercise and meditation are remarkably similar. Both require focused attention, dedication, education, and practice. Both are tremendously beneficial to physical and mental health. And both require a level of faith.

With practice, your ability to maintain focus will naturally improve. However, there are three techniques, counting, labeling and intention setting, that can be added to the above meditation that will provide you with immediate improvements.