Well… I started my planning for this week’s episode weeks ago. Drafted my talk with the best of intentions. And, then I went on vacation {again} and my baby got sick {again} and now we are home and no one has slept. We are all grumpy, tired and needing space.

This week’s mini meditation is inspired by… YOU! Well, one of you. I got the nicest email from one of you listeners telling me about the happy struggle to meditate while on a vacation in a beautiful location. As I enjoy my own vacation by the ocean, I, too, felt the pull to enjoy the view, and happily, this is actually a traditional form of meditation. You can keep your eyes open! Some people will find they respond much better to this style, while others will find it to be a little more difficult… Either way, go sit outside today, if you can, and enjoy the chance to experience your meditation practice with your eyes open. The present moment with a view!

Oh y’all… I am on vacation this week and enjoying a week of beach time. This week’s meditation is an extra special, beach-side meditation, and it’s a little different than my normal offering. If you listen to The Mindful Minute often, you know that I am a devoted practitioner of mindfulness meditation. The practice of being present, without judgment and with compassion. The downside of this type of practice is that you don’t get a guarantee of feeling good during meditation. If you are feeling super stressed or sad, you’ll feel ALL of that stress or sadness during your practice…. It is fabulous in the long-term, but in the short-term it can be tough.

The way we speak to ourselves directly informs how we speak to others. Our meditation practice is a gentle way to discover how we are talking to ourselves AND it gives us the gift of choice. Join me today for this brief meditation as we start to imbue our self-talk with kindness.

This month’s meditation series is all about taking your meditation practice deeper. One of the facets of a deepening meditation practice is known as Right Speech. The teachings around Right Speech offer us guidance for speaking in a way that gives rise to peace and happiness within oneself and others. It is a practice of speaking deep, kind truth. And, perhaps most importantly, it is a practice that begins within Self. 

Alfred Brendel tells us “The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent.”

If you want to take your meditation practice deeper, you must first become comfortable with silence. In this week’s mini meditation, we practice cultivating the skill of deep listening within our meditation practice. We will create a space that is free of agitation, distraction, and reaction. And, if you choose to grab a journal, I’m also sharing one of my favorite ways to hone the skill of deep listening.

This month’s meditation series is all about taking your meditation practice deeper. As we dive into a meditation practice, one of the common quandaries we run into is what do we DO with the practice as it starts to affect us? As we begin to quiet down and listen more, how do we work with all that we discover? When and where does change happen?

A 10-minute meditation meant to help you reconnect to yourself and your day in a more alivened way. Use this practice to support a daily, home meditation practice.