Category Archives: Mindfulness

A Typical Meditation Session

I walk into the guest room and lock the door behind me. The door has a lever handle that my cat can open (not unlike a velociraptor), so if I don’t lock it, I might have a curious visitor that interrupts my concentration.

I reach under the bed and grab my meditation bench and cushion. I lay the cushion down, kneel on it, and place the bench under me. Continue reading →

Meditation Tip: Noting

Last night, I considered going to a talk that was given by a monk at a local meditation center. Julie is out of town, so I had some free time. However, the local poker room was running an infrequent Omaha game, so I decided to go to that, instead. In lieu of the monk’s talk, I listened to a talk by Joseph Goldstein about impermanence on the way there

Impermanence means, simply, that nothing is permanent. Everything is constantly changing. Not only is this true about the universe and the world outside of us, but also inside ourselves. The sensations in our bodies, the thoughts we’re thinking, our current mood. Nothing is constant. Continue reading →

How Mindfulness Stops Stress

Stress is caused by thinking.

“I don’t want to go to work.”

“This 5000 word essay is going to suck.”

“That asshole cut me off!”

These thoughts create turmoil in your mind, and the more you feed them, the more stressed you feel. You might think stress is caused from these external things (work, essays, assholes), but it’s really your reaction to them that creates it. Continue reading →

The Best Personal Development Tool: Meditation

I started meditating two and a half years ago. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface, but I’ve learned quite a bit. The most helpful benefit I’ve learned so far is the ability to monitor myself.

At about the same time, I started learning about personal development, and I’ve found the two go hand-in-hand. If you can monitor yourself, you have an easier time changing. Continue reading →