Setting aside a few minutes to sit quietly, to meditate, to practice mindfulness, seems so at odds with our busy lives. Does anyone really have time to sit and do nothing? What could be the possible benefit?
Long-time teacher, Sharon Salzberg, describes some of the benefits of mindfulness meditation this way (Tricycle, Spring 2013):
“Mindfulness practice isn’t meant to eliminate thinking but aims rather to help us know what we’re thinking when we’re thinking it, just as we want to know what we’re feeling when we’re feeling it.
Mindfulness allows us to watch our thoughts, see how one thought leads to the next, decide if we’re heading toward an unhealthy path, and if so, let go and change directions. It allows us to see that who we are is much more than a fearful or envious or angry thought. We can rest in the awareness of the thought, in the compassion we extend to ourselves if the thought makes us uncomfortable, and in the balance and good sense we summon as we decide whether and how to act on the thought.”
Ms. Salzberg, who is also a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, also provides simple, comprehensive instructions for a mindfulness meditation practice directed at sensing and coping with difficult and challenging emotions.
