"If this fear is here for the rest of my life, it's okay." Joseph Goldstein

There is nothing beyond right here and now. You cannot know this intellectually, only by experience.

If you are anxious, sit in silence and without distraction. Feel the weight of your body. Feel your breathing. Now give yourself love and compassion, even if it feels wrong. Let your thoughts come and let them leave as they wish. There are no intruders in the house of the mind. #meditation

Thoughts are like wild, restless dogs. They are kept away, unseen from the conscious mind as we find ourselves going from one distraction to the next. When we sit and meditate, we allow these dogs to run free and sprint until they are tired. They lose their energy and come back calmer and relaxed.

When we sit, we allow all our rushing, trapped thoughts to be released into awareness. Giving awareness to these thoughts allows them to find their rightful place in our lives.

Life moves quickly. We must sit to remember how it feels to be slow. #mindfulness #meditation

Trust yourself completely:

Everything is exactly as it's meant to be in this moment.

This pride I feel is not an ego pride, it is a self love pride. I am taking action in following my interest and my inner voice or intuition. I am loving myself and allowing myself joy and pride for going for something and investing time in something I love and completing it. I am celebrating myself.

Tomorrow I will complete my last class - Embodying the Qualities of Mindfulness. I am excited, as once I complete this class I will have qualified to receive a certification in Applied Specialization in Mindfulness Meditation from the UofT. I am working on growing this side of myself.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzKr...

Peace Comes
When All Is Still
And Those Around You
Love You Deeply
Without Expectation

In different environments there will be different feelings. Some feelings will be much stronger in one place than another, and we can lose our sense of awareness in these moments. Just come back to the basics. Allow what is present to be present with self compassion and gentleness.

The 5 hindrances to meditation: desire, aversion, dullness, restlessness, and doubt. When you sit, which one of these comes up? If none of them, how does it feel to be without them?

Sometimes it can be really difficult to sit. Whether it's a strong emotion, tiredness, restlessness, etc, sometimes it's much harder to practice. Other days it's easy and we sink deep into our practice. There is no judgement here. Coming to sit everyday is a huge accomplishment and part of it.

When we sit to meditate our minds will produce thoughts. This is the function of the mind. Similar to how lungs breathe air and the heart beats blood, the mind thinks thoughts. Our practice is to notice when our mind is taken over by thoughts and gently coming back to the breath.

When we sit to meditate, we allow the invisible forces inside and around us to appear and to unfold. We sit and allow them to come out, and over time we see them clearly come into focus. We sit with them and allow them to be, inviting them in.

May you be happy
May you be at peace
May you be free from suffering