Finding happiness in the midst of life’s difficulties (part 4): the practice of lovingkindness
The practice of loving kindness is an intentional practice to open and awaken our heart and grow feelings of caring and warmth, first towards ourselves, then towards others, and to the whole of life. Today, we will explore how seeing the goodness in ourselves and people around us supports our lovingkindness practice. “when we treat others around us with respect and dignity, honoring their inner beauty, it creates a channel for their own goodness to come through and shine.”
Finding Happiness in the midst of life’s difficulties (part 3): the practice of generosity
In this article we will explore how the practice of generosity leads us to experience a natural joy. Generosity expresses and builds connection. and is a fundamental pillar of spiritual practice, as it teaches us to let go in a deep way.
Cultivating happiness in the midst of difficulty (Part 2): the practice of gratitude
The meditation teacher Jack Kornfield defines gratitude as “beginning to sense the delight and the mystery of being alive and supported in all the unseen ways of life.” In this article we will explore further what gratitude actually is, why it is beneficial to develop feelings of gratitude, what gets in the way of us feeling grateful, and practices that help us deepen our gratitude.
Cultivating happiness in the midst of difficulty (Part 1)
In this article we will start exploring how our mindfulness practice can help us open our heart and mind so we can touch a profound happiness that is not dependent on the ups and downs of our life, what we call “happiness for no reason”.
Allowing life to be just as it is
A source of ongoing stress in our life is our resistance to our experiences, our difficulty to accept what is happening, what Jack Kornfield calls being at war with ourselves, all our inner judgments and inner conflicts. We make war with the way things are, and this creates stress and tension inside us. Meditation practice gives us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but organically, through understanding and gradual training.
The importance of practicing relaxation in times of heightened stress
I have spoken about this before, when we had the first wave and the first lockdown, and I was reminded of this recently, as I was reading an email by the Dr Marty Rossman, who specialises in mind-body medicine. It is the importance of practicing deep relaxation in times of heightened stress.
Mindful with screens
Over a decade ago, researcher Linda Stone noticed that a majority of people (possibly eighty percent) unconsciously hold their breath, or breathe shallowly, when texting or emailing. She called it “screen apnea.” It is possible that a reason for our exhaustion is that we hold our breath when we are on our screens.
Bringing self-compassion to our difficult emotions: the practice of RAIN
In this article you will learn how to bring self-compassion to your difficult emotions through the practice of RAIN. RAIN stands for Recognize , Allow, Investigate and Nurture.
The health benefits of learning to relax
Learning to relax deeply the body and mind is necessary to help re-establish or maintain our natural state of equilibrium. Learn here how relaxation can support your health.
How do we practice relaxation?
There are different ways to practice the relaxation technique. One of them is the Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), whereby we contract and relax the muscles in a specific body part, holding our attention on the feeling this produces. Another one is to practice the body scan, we move our attention systematically through the various parts of our body, with the intention to feel each part from the inside out.
