Why Meditate?

This track offers a brief introduction to the benefits of mindfulness meditation.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

Thank you for caring for yourself and listening.

You may be asking,

Why meditate?

Before I offer the scientific data regarding the benefits of meditation,

Please use the following silence to stop,

Breathe,

And listen to your answer with an open heart.

What has brought you here to this moment when you are willing to befriend yourself in this way?

Listen carefully to your response.

Perhaps it is pain,

Or illness,

Or loss,

Or ordinary everyday stress.

Perhaps a doctor or a friend or the person who cuts your hair recommended it.

And something in you said,

Okay,

I'll try it.

Perhaps it is curiosity or something palpable,

Yet difficult to name.

Whatever it may be,

Sit with it for a moment.

Breathe and allow the physical sensations,

Thoughts,

And emotions that accompany this inquiry to move through you.

Let the tender truth of your answer sustain you.

Maybe the mind would like some additional information,

Some reasons to meditate.

So let's briefly review the benefits of mindfulness meditation.

Many scientific studies have shown that practicing mindfulness meditation greatly decreases pain,

Anxiety,

Depression,

And anger.

Mindfulness practice also significantly decreases physical symptoms and medication usage.

Most importantly,

Those who practice mindfulness report that their experience is more fulfilling and peaceful,

Regardless of their circumstances.

Why mindfulness,

Or more accurately,

Heartfulness?

Mindfulness is simple.

Bring your attention into the present moment.

Mindfulness is profound.

The present moment is where our lives unfold,

Where our tenderness and strength reside,

And where choice is possible.

Mindfulness is portable.

It moves into our lives and into the world.

It can inform our interactions at home,

On the freeway,

In the supermarket,

And at work.

And mindfulness is kind.

It asks that we cultivate compassion for ourselves and others as we bumble along doing the best we can.

How does one begin?

The simplest experiment is to do a different session each day for a week.

A more complete experiment is to devote a week to each of the six longer sessions.

Ultimately,

You will want to choose the sessions which serve you best.

As you begin your experiments,

Bring kind attention to how you choose to keep your commitment or not.

Be compassionate as you investigate your engagement in the process.

Become aware,

Without judging,

Of what you tell yourself.

I'm too busy.

I'm too tired.

Someone or something else is more important.

Can you commit without shoulds and guilt?

Can you simply observe as the process unfolds,

Noting the quality of your experience on the days you choose to do one of the longer sessions,

The days you choose to do the brief sit,

And the days you choose not to practice?

This is mindfulness,

A compassionate exploration of how we engage our lives.

It is enough simply to attend to your experience.

Now,

For most of us,

This no longer comes naturally and we must practice.

That is what the meditations are for,

To help you nurture your capacity to attend to your experience.

Like learning to do a sport or play an instrument,

Our skills increase with practice.

Think of a child learning to walk.

If she falls,

She simply gets up and tries again,

Without judging or berating herself.

Perhaps you can bring this childlike willingness to this experiment.

Relish the process.

Simply get up and try again,

Here,

Now,

Whether it is returning to the breath and the moment or returning to the practices after a hiatus.

Please email me with your difficulties,

Epiphanies,

Comments,

And questions.

My contact information is on the back cover of the CDs.

May you experience the loving awareness that is your essential nature.

Reviews

Thanks a lot .🙏🙏🙏

The answer to the question was given. Message taken. Thank you 🙏

Loved it thank your!

Ok., I liked it! It sounded like a robot with a heart! Content is right on target 🎯 !

Everyone should and the world would be much happier. The new religion without fear, oppression and power. Just kindness and love. Namaste. 🙏🙏🌹

Helpful, short explanation of why one may choose to meditate and some ways to begin.

Amy thank you for sharing this wonderful information!

Very compassionate. It made me think about being kind to myself and not too rigid on how I should practise.

Very helpful! Thank you!

Thank you, lots of good info in less than 10 mins.

It is great that in the talk there are no simple universal answers but encouragement to look for answers by ourselves.

Very comprehensive.Thank you

Using this at group so I can give info to those that arent convince this works. Thanks

Thank you, Amy. I've been doing guided meditation for help with panic disorder since January and have added some for sleep as well as calmness. Now I am ready to add guided meditation to my early morning routine of daily readings.

Good explanation

Really liked it!

I appreciate the loving kindness I feel coming from Amy. I would like to practice meditation and mindfulness to bring that to me, to soothe me when I can not be there.

Nice for a beginner like me:)

Amy said a lot of good, helpful things in that short amount of time. Thank you.

Nice beginning exercise.