Tag Archive for: aversion

profile of black and white face superimposed on sunrise over a green field

Mindfulness of Habituation

Have you ever noticed that something that once brought you great joy now seems kind of meh? Ever wonder why people stay way too long in bad relationships or toxic work environments even when it seems like nothing should be holding them back from making a change? Habituation may hold the keys and mindfulness can help unlock the doors to needed change.
people mindfully engaging in everyday tasks

The Gifts of Everyday Mindfulness

On this day of giving thanks, I reflect on the everyday gifts of mindfulness in my own life and in the lives of all who practice and all those they touch
two faces, one happy one angry behind a gavel

Taming the Judging Mind

A dedicated practice of mindfulness helps us harness the built-in human survival strategy of judging so that we can respond with wisdom.

Mindfulness of Surrender

The relinquishment of the illusion of control we call surrender can be life affirming and even sweet when what we're letting go into is inevitable - mindfulness can help us discern when it makes sense to do so.

Mindfulness of Resistance

To be alive is to experience resistance and mindfulness can help us meet this very human experience with compassion and wisdom.

Relinquishing the Uncontrollable, Unhelpful, and Unowned

Mindfulness can help us recognize when our hanging on isn't skillful and cultivate the skills we need to let go of what is uncontrollable, unhelpful, or unowned.

Mindfulness of Arousal and Challenge

The beauty of mindfulness is that it can help us open to all kinds of life experiences under any circumstances, so that we might see things more clearly and respond more skillfully. But, in order to realize these more profound effects, we have to be willing and able to explore the more challenging aspects of our experience.

Mindfulness of Fear

Our reactivity to fear is at the root of many of the worlds most pressing problems. Fortunately, there is an antidote to fear and our mindfulness and heart practices can help.

Mindfulness of Backlash

Mindfulness can help us avoid being swept away by backlash and create space for wise responding in alignment with our highest values.
raven on the wind

Mindfulness of Renunciation

We all desire relief from the background of unease, dissatisfaction, or restlessness that tends to accompany us everywhere we go when we are in a mind state of wanting, or its mirror image twin not-wanting. Renunciation, or deciding not to act on our wanting, uncovers truths that may typically be camouflaged by our unexamined drives and habits.

Is Mindfulness Working for Me?

How can mindfulness teachers and practitioners embrace trauma sensitivity and welcome the diverse spectrum of human needs, while avoiding being overprotective or inadvertently reinforcing a mainstream, culturally sanctioned "me first, right now" attitude?
hide in bed in fear

Mindfulness of Dissonance

In this post-fact era when uncertainty seems rampant, mindfulness can help us examine the dissonance that arises when evidence challenges our usual ways of thinking and being.

Mindfulness of Miswanting

One powerful benefit of a dedicated mindfulness practice is it can help us see through our problematic human habits and unconscious biases, including the miswanting that keeps us running ourselves ragged on a hedonic treadmill.

Meeting Crossroads with Mindfulness

There are many times in our lives when we come to a crossroads and we’re presented with a choice about the path ahead. Times of crisis or turmoil, such as the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, offer opportunities to reconnect with our deepest truths and to remember who we really are, if we are open to it. Mindfulness can help us notice choice points as they arise, manage fear and uncertainty, see experiences clearly, connect with our values, and choose responses wisely.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema

Mindfulness of Distress

A dedicated mindfulness practice can help prepare us to meet life's inevitable challenges with greater wisdom and ease. This might allow us to decrease our own suffering and prevent ourselves from mindlessly causing or exacerbating harm to others.

Building Confidence Mindfully

Life serves us up a rollercoaster ride of experiences that can leave us feeling insecure and confused. The practice of mindfulness can help us cultivate the equanimity needed to feel anchored, confident and balanced amidst the fickle winds of worldly concerns.

Mindfulness of Indifference: Finding Refuge in Neutral

When we practice the mindful attitude of equanimity rather feeling indifferent to our neutral experiences, we can learn to take refuge in the blank canvas moments of our lives.

Liberation: The True Meaning of Freedom

True freedom comes from within. Through the practice of mindfulness we cultivate an understanding of, and a new relationship with, the things that most often hold us captive, such as ignorance, attachment and aversion.