I recently stumbled across a 2016 NY Times article about Google’s quest to understand what makes some teams so successful, so productive, so creative while others stumble time and again.

The first step in awakening is learning how to be with whatever arises in the moment WITHOUT judgment. This is removing the secondary layer of pain to any situation. The first layer of pain is the actual thing that hurts {you stub your toe}, and the second layer of pain is how you feel about yourself for stubbing your toe {i.e. “I’m so stupid for running into that chair!”}. Join me today for this mini-meditation and practice simply being with your experience and noticing what judgments arise. Curious about the stages of awakening as we work this practice? Be sure to tune into last week’s episode {Finding the Fun part 2} to learn more about what is happening as you practice.

In today’s episode of The Mindful Minute, we are taking a look deep inside the brain to understand what is actually happening when we meditate, especially as we start to lighten up and enjoy life more! 

Have you ever wondered if your meditation practice is working? If so, this is the episode to help you answer that question!

Hermann Hesse wrote, “the high value put upon every minute of time, the idea of hurry-hurry as the most important objective of living, is unquestionably the most dangerous enemy of joy. My advice to the person suffering from lack of time and apathy is this: seek out each day as many as possible of the small joys.”

Today’s episode of The Mindful Minute kicks off a new series for us: Finding the Fun in Meditation…

Fun. It feels almost clumsy in its simplicity. Like it doesn’t belong here. After all, meditation is a serious practice. With 2500 years of traditions, of monks in robes and vows of renunciation, meditation carries its own weight, and, because of this, it is easy to overlook a simple yet crucial element. 

Let’s take a moment to set a mindful intention for the holiday season whether you intend to shop, decorate or ignore the holiday completely! Let’s choose chill. Join me for today’s mini meditation and don’t hesitate to revisit frequently in this often overly-busy time of year!

Synchronistically, as we explore abundance this month as our community intention, within our Yoga + Meditation Teacher Training here at Sacred Chill {West}, we are also discussing non-stealing. Non-stealing is one of the Yamas & Niyamas, which are essentially tenets of living a mindful life.

This week for our mini practice, rather than thinking of abundance as a list of “wants” for our lives, let’s explore abundance as a feeling in our everyday, day-to-day moments. Shifting from a reverie of lack to an expression of the abundant life.