How is your practice going?
Are you benefiting from a consistent practice?
If that’s you, congratulations! That took some time and effort, but you’ve managed to craft a mindfulness practice into your daily routine. It’s a part of your life. So, what’s next for you in your practice goals? Have you considered:
– Exploring retreats (online or offline)
– Accelerating practice with techniques for integrating practice into daily life
– Sharing the benefits of mindfulness with others
Recreate your life, always. Remove the stones, plant rose bushes and make sweets. Begin again.
Have you been practicing occasionally, but it's not consistent yet?
Even occasional practice is worth celebrating. There’s something in your experience that keeps you returning to mindfulness even if it’s not a complete part of your routine yet.
For some people consistent meditation is impacted by their environment, both positively or negatively. It could be the space available, the noise level at certain times of day, or other people being around or not.
What changes could be made to the environment to assist or challenge your practice? (ex: exploring a different meditation space, changing the practice time, using headphones)
So often it’s “time” that people identify as the key obstacle to practice. But I think a lot of that has to do with how we imagine meditation happening. But listen to this, we are not restricted to sitting on the floor in a quiet space while watching the sun rise over the mountains! Take a look at these simple practice ideas
– x minutes of practice begin right after the first alarm goes off
– x minutes of practice begin when you turn on the shower
– x minutes of practice begin in the car before even starting the ignition
– x minutes of practice begin at the first street corner I come to
Now you try! Imagine the specifics around a practice trigger that interests you. Is the trigger when you hit the snooze button and the duration of practice is as long as the snooze lasts? Is the trigger when you see the steam in the shower? Is the trigger when you close the car door?
You can likely use any of the techniques you’ve learned. Just be creative with when to practice them routinely.
Do you use meditation apps?
I’ve spent hundreds of hours using different meditation apps. Do you want to learn which apps might support your practice and goals best? Be one of the first to get my mindier guide to meditation apps.
- what is each apps pricing model
- what content is in each app and how will it support your goals
- which apps have Unified Mindfulness instruction
- which apps risk being distractions
- which apps have self-guided options
Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.
Do you think your practice could use a little jumpstart?
Yay! You’ve experienced the value of practice, but then… life! So it might be a good time to explore ways to jump back into practice in a way that meets you where you are today.
One way to assist in jumpstarting your practice is to consider your happiness goals. We might think of these goals as fluid, changing as we change. Currently, where is mindfulness most interesting to you?
– Is it achieving relief in some way?
– Perhaps finding more fulfillment?
– Developing deeper insight?
– Improving self-mastery?
– Connecting with others?
It’s likely a mix of all of these, but you might imagine a spectrum or scale in each to help prioritize your current interests. I’d love to hear more from you about your current practice interests.
Shinzen Young developed something he calls the Happiness Grid that can be used as a tool to help explore these happiness goals.
Little by little becomes a lot.
Maybe you've wanted to practice but haven't started yet?
If that’s you, congratulations! You’re wanting to explore developing a mindfulness practice from the start. Perhaps you’ve dabbled, but now you’re interested in getting the full benefits of living a more mindful life. You may have questions like:
– How does this work on a routine basis?
– What techniques should I learn?
– Which apps would benefit me most?
– Where do I ask questions?
Have you wanted to improve or accelerate your mindfulness practice but could use some support?
In the upcoming months, I’ll be offering some free online coaching where we can go over your goals and create a specific mindfulness strategy to assist you. Take this quick survey (less than two minutes) and let me know your interests.
Whether it’s looking for ways to accelerate your practice, learn new techniques, or just report on your experience I hope to hear more about your mindfulness journey.
Be mindier!
-Chris