Mind Training Meditations

We experience fear as worry or doubt. On the basis of peace, clarity and compassion we can transform it into courageous actions. Courage is the key to enjoying life.

"The Nightingale" is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It is about an emperor who loves the sound of a clockwork bird more than the song of a real nightingale. When the Emperor is nearly dies, the nightingale's song restores his health.

Meditation is a practice to become aware of awareness. Awareness is the field of presence in which ordinary consciousness appears. Our thoughts inhibit our awareness by identifying with our loneliness, worries or low self-esteem. A stability of awareness allows us to look at any experience with equanimity.

Gratitude is the key to happiness and joy. By welcoming the present moment we appreciate life as a gift. If we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have can make us happy, as we will always want more or something else. Being grateful makes our life meaningful.

There is no rush to healing. To avoid getting lost in aversion we approach pain slowly and with an open mind. Curiosity allows us to welcome what is there, one step at a time. By receiving each sensation with loving kindness, we can feel compassion with our suffering. This guided meditation was written in 1991 by Stephen Levine. Thanks to (c) Ondrea Levine, and to Dale Borglum. www.livingdying.org

The pause between the in- and the out-breath is a moment of silence and calm. It suspends the thinking and doing mode, allowing us to just be and to restore our energy. Calming and clearing your mind enables you to approach the task at hand with ease and freshness.

This guided meditation will ease your mind and body into the peace of “just being”. By encouraging deep relaxation through mindfulness, you can step out of the busy doing mode. Relaxing into the here and now allows a mindful sense of your authentic self to arise.

Mindful eating means connecting with your senses. Without distraction we enjoy more intensely. We will touch, smell and taste a piece of chocolate at length. Notice that whenever you are caught in thoughts or memories, the taste disappears. Welcome the distraction, and return to tasting. Enjoy!

Our true nature is love. However, usually at an early age, some thing happened that caused us to feel inadequate and lonely. Naming and judging separated us from the truth of who we are, making us feel fearful. By surrendering, we can understand that we are the love we are looking for.

Emotional pain blocks our compassion. To escape these feelings we flee into distraction. In order to open ourselves, we must become aware not only of our vulnerability, but also of our goodness of heart. Trust arises when we trust ourselves. This is also the key to our love, to being connected with others, to creativity and to trusting others.

Compassion is a quality of the heart. This loving quality remains with us, regardless of what we do. By embracing ourselves and all other beings, we cultivate compassion and loving kindness. By sharing our compassion, we feel balanced and strengthened.

If you want to live without fear, you must first learn to welcome it. Only what you allow completely can bring you into a state of peace. Awareness is prior to every experience. Notice the difference between what you experience and being aware of what you experience. Become aware that you are not your fear, you are aware of your fear.

In Yoga Nidra we relax our body and mind deeply. The inwardly directed clarity allows stress and belief patterns to be released. We experience our inherent source, and a feeling of being balanced, centred and calm.

There can be many reasons why we can't fall asleep. By connecting with the body, we can let go of thinking. This deeply relaxing practice of yoga Nidra naturally encourages sleep. The podcast gently guides you to your source and into sleep.

This meditation shows how our unlimited awareness is embodied as space. This incorporates a feeling of intimacy, and of being in contact with who we really are. Our world-view depends on whether we experience our body as separate or as an intact part of everything.

The meditation has two parts: A) Attention is a movement of the mind. It moves about on its own, registering sounds and sensations without becoming involved. We direct it with intentions and desires. B) By setting an intention we focus on what we want to experience in the future. It helps us to hold what is most important to us in the present moment. Intentions get things done.

We often get caught up in the movements of our mind, overthinking, being overly ambitious and judgemental. This is the moment to JUST STOP, to take time out, to feel empty and light. By stopping and letting go, we can just be and allow joy to arise.

Happiness is based on inner peace and solidity. This meditation helps us to achieve the desired peace of mind and body by resting as a pebble on the riverbed. When we are at peace with ourselves, we can approach others and really help them. This meditation is based on the pebble meditation of Thich Nath Hanh.

Awareness is the basis of all experience. After moving our attention from thinking into our body, we open up to our awareness of hearing. Recognising the present moment, the here and now, helps us to understand where our true home is.

Looking at objects with a narrow or an open focus encourages you to consciously move from a doing mode to feeling open, silent and available. When we look at objects with central vision we concentrate, name and judge. This makes us feel tight and separate. Looking at the same object as part of the background allows a feeling of openness and connection to arise. The same applies to listening with a...

Awareness and love appear together. When you smile from your heart, thinking decreases and love spreads. Love does not judge. It welcomes everything that appears. For a moment just be the vastness and silence. Smile light-rays of loving kindness from your heart to the world around you.

First we relax body and mind with the breath. This is followed by the visualisation of light. The light flows over and through the body helping to let go of worries and fears. The deep relaxation lowers stress and anxiety creating a basis for self-confidence.

Between two moments of thought there is a brief pause. Recognising this gap in the habitual stream of thinking allows you to experience silence, movement and consciousness together. Find the gap between the thoughts to let go of habits and suffering. Become aware of the quiet, clear expanse in the gap. The mind is empty, without form, clear, without obstacles, and always aware.

Smiling is a way to send loving energy to yourself or to someone else. We can smile at someone with our face. But we can also smile the feeling of love from our heart. Energy follows attention. Wherever we smile, loving energy follows. This is also true for the thoughts that determine our feelings and for the feelings that trigger our actions. Loving energy stimulates healing energy.

We are both connected with everything that is, and an independent individual. In this insightful and comforting practice, we will surrender into the state of merely being, and engage in a practice of open awareness. In this practice, we will learn to move at will between being wide open to all that is around us, and becoming grounded within, harnessing a strong inner focus. Photo: InsightTimer