Mindful Bites: Insights For Enriching Your Meditation Practice

Words and language complicate our direct experience and can get in the way of the underlying value of "meditation." In this lesson, consider words and language as like a finger that is pointing us to the direction of an experience that cannot be put into words.

Experiment with "empty space" and notice whatever habitual tendencies you may have developed to avoid it. Instead, this space can be used as your greatest ally.

Consider the meaning of "mindfulness" as it relates to listening to music. When is the only time you can actually listen to, experience, and enjoy music? It is not when you're pressing fast forward or rewind.

Consider conscious experience as divided into two core modes: Doing and Being. Then, explore why it can be so hard to ever just experience Being.

Charles presents a basic description of the underlying principle behind meditation practice that may unify various types of practices and traditions.

Charles uses the analogy of light (different types and qualities of light) to describe three core forms meditation practice: 1) Focused attention 2) Open monitoring 3) Loving kindness and compassion

Charles uses the metaphor of a glass of water to explain the process of Focused Attention Meditation.

Charles explains a powerful technique that can help you notice your distractions during meditation. Simply notice clearly again and again. This practice can also be used in your everyday life.

In life, we experience a certain amount of inherent pain and suffering. In this lesson, Charles utilizes a metaphor to help us explore the pain and suffering we add in reaction to the first kind (the inherent pain), and presents the possibility of freeing yourself from the second kind.

Charles uses a metaphor he often uses in his psychotherapy work to describe the ways we may be holding on to ways of living that were once helpful but have become harmful, or that hold us back from living how we really want to live, here and now.

Explore the possibility of experiencing the observing "witness" of everything - that experience that exists before words attempt to symbolize it.

Attempting to control our emotional experience is like attempting to control the weather. In this session, explore the possibility of finding shelter in different types of weather.

Charles presents a visual practice of noticing whenever you've stepped on a habitual "train" and then, developing the ability to step off before the doors close simply by noticing clearly.

Identify your own personal anchor that connects your meditative practice to experiences in daily life, especially those you struggle with.

Charles presents a grounding exercise that you can use anywhere. This can help you reset in the moment. By attending fully and spontaneously to your present sensory experience, you will have completely changed the momentum of whatever was occurring before your engaged in the exercise.

Use this metaphor as a way of understanding the importance of letting go completely. If the mind is a glass of water, we may try to hold it still with force and attempt to “make” it be still. But there’s only one way for it to begin to settle on a deeper level…

Charles presents a way of deconstructing our experience of emotion. By exploring the nuances of your emotions, you may feel less controlled by them.

Explore the value of having a clearly defined life organization system to act as your “external brain.” Without a clearly established and reliable external brain, meditation may become clouded by task lists, planning, and worrying.

What are we seeking in life? In this lesson, Charles explores the difference between happiness and contentment, and how the pursuit of happiness may set us up for inevitable frustration.

Charles explores how our experiences of discomfort and strong reactions in life may be related to the inner child still living inside us. They may continue to call out for something that was never given to them. Could you somehow provide it now?

Charles describes a form of meditation referred to as "open monitoring", also sometimes referred to as mindfulness meditation. No good or bad, just noticing.

Daily life is made up of a series of many small decision points. In this lesson, explore the impact of these small decisions on the quality of your entire life, and the possibility to make less distracted and more clearly aware decisions and actions in the moment.

Charles presents a reframe of the experience of anxiety. Instead of it being something to avoid or attempt to eliminate, explore the use of this feeling as an energizing guide to what's important and meaningful to you in life.

Charles presents a form of meditation referred to as "Loving kindness" or compassion practice. Explore the possibility of connecting with genuine feelings of love and acceptance for yourself and others, including those you may dislike or even hate.

It's a great challenge to ever truly experience "what is new as new." In this lesson, explore the value of continuing to become aware of how we filter our present experience through the lens of the past. Simply by becoming aware of our own personal filter, we can wipe off the lens, be less burdened by our past, and be able to experience much more of what's happening only right here and now.

Charles presents a possible paradigm shift for social interactions that can both take pressure off of you (to have to impress others) and actually enhance your connection at the same time.

Life is mediated by language, and that language can lead to particular stories that we believe about ourselves. In this lesson, identify and notice your particular storylines more clearly and possibly see them as "stories," as a collection of words. In doing this, you may free yourself from the confines of these stories and engage more creatively with life as it happens.

You can become aware of an intention or urge to act in a particular way (an action tendency) and ultimately, choose not to act that way. In this lesson, Charles offers ways of playing with action tendencies to loosen you from habits you have been trying to break.

Charles explores the value of pre- and post-meditation rituals to vitalize your practice and enhance the connection between meditation and the rest of your life. Maybe, ultimately, it’s all the same – simply conscious flow of experience.

In order to be able to accept the present moment as it is, there is something in particular that fundamentally needs to be included in this acceptance. In this lesson, Charles explores what this key ingredient is and presents the possibility of being part of a counter-cultural "you are good enough as you are right now" movement.