mindfulness Archives - Meditation Mind

Free Meditation and Mindfulness Apps

Meditation Mind Team — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 01:36:19 +0000

So, you’re curious about all this meditation stuff, but you aren’t quite ready to commit to taking a course that lasts several weeks and a book just doesn’t feel practical. Or maybe you’re already convinced and want to start a practice right away, but you’re not confident you can do it without guidance. Meditation apps are convenient and practical, with a wide variety of guided meditations, and can be a great way to get started, or even to just explore new styles of meditation.

Here we offer a selection of high-quality apps that are completely free (no in-app purchases!), plus two more with paid options that are still worth considering. We’ve also added a handful of free minimalistic timers, method-specific apps, and apps for study. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, join our online Discord community and ask other meditators which apps they recommend.

Special Mention: Fab Apps, Free Options

Special Mention: Paid… But Worth It

Smiling Mind is a FREE mindfulness meditation app developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life. Just as we eat well and stay fit to keep our body healthy, mindfulness meditation is about mental health and looking after the mind.
Our programs are designed to assist people in dealing with the pressure, stress, and challenges of daily life. Listen to meditations as guided by smooth and calming voices. Smiling Mind includes a number of meditations in Indigenous Australian languages (Kriol, Ngaanyatjarra & Pitjantjatjara). We offer programs for all ages including Kids (3-12), Youth (13-18) and Adults (19+).

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

With this easy-to-use app, you can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere, anytime with the guidance of the UCLA Mindful. Scientific research shows mindfulness can help manage stress-related physical conditions, reduce anxiety and depression, cultivate positive emotions, and help improve overall physical health and well-being.
This app offers: (1) Basic Meditations for getting started, in both English and Spanish; (2) Wellness Meditations for people suffering from challenging health conditions; (3) Informative videos exploring how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness; (4) Weekly podcasts from UCLA's Hammer Museum--a 30 minute meditation on different themes you can search for and bookmark; and (5) A timer to meditate on your own.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Backed by four decades of research from world-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Richard Davidson and his team at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin - Madison & Healthy Minds Innovations, the Healthy Minds Program trains your mind through meditation and podcast-style lessons to develop skills - to gain focus, reduce stress, and maintain positive social connections.
The ground-breaking Healthy Minds Program App uses neuroscience, contemplative traditions, and skill-based learning methods to help you develop the skills for a healthy mind.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Mindfulness Coach 2.0 was developed to help Veterans, Service members, and others learn how to practice mindfulness. The app provides a gradual, self-guided training program designed to help you understand and adopt a simple mindfulness practice. Mindfulness Coach also offers a library of information about mindfulness (for example “What is Mindfulness?”, “How to Anchor Your Attention”), 12 audio-guided mindfulness exercises and a growing catalog of additional exercises available for free download, goal-setting and tracking, a mindfulness mastery assessment to help you track your progress over time, customizable reminders, and access to other support and crisis resources. Mindfulness Coach is free, doesn’t take or share any of your personal information, and doesn’t require add-on purchases.
Mindfulness Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Looking to touch peace, calm and ease in today’s frantic and often stressful world? The Plum Village practices are an invaluable support.
Use mindfulness meditation techniques taught by a renowned Zen Buddhist Master to connect deeply with the present moment, soothe anxiety, experience more joy and happiness, and taste enlightenment.
Explore a wealth of easy-to-use guided meditations, relaxations, and talks.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Breathr shows you easy and fun ways to practice mindfulness. It was developed for youth by BC Children's Hospital with experts and the help of young people - but open for anyone to give it a try.
Begin to explore and experience practices of mindfulness and self-compassion, choosing from a variety of practices. Breathr can help you to live in the present moment, while providing interesting facts about the many benefits of mindfulness.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Oak helps you decompress by transforming your meditation practice from an experiment into a habit. We support you from your first session to your 500th, with mindful, loving-kindness, and sleep meditations as well as unguided sessions and breathing exercises. Individualize your meditations by duration, and customize with silence or calming background sounds. Oak tracks your progress and encourages you to continue building a healthy meditation practice.

App Website | App Store (iOS)

Start & deepen your meditation journey with Idanim, a meditation app from India that is 100% free. Practice live & guided meditations in Hindi & English.
Guided meditations, mindfulness meditations, and mantra meditations in Hindi & English for inner peace
Morning sessions everyday with Live meditations by meditation experts for deep relaxation
Free meditation app that offers personal guidance by meditation teachers on various topics like mindfulness, focus, stress, and overall health & wellbeing
Various insomnia battling features like sleep meditations, sleep timer, sleep stories, relaxing music, and more

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

The number 1 free meditation app. Guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more. Music tracks from world-renowned artists. Join millions learning to meditate on Insight Timer to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness.
With 80+ new free guided meditations added daily, more meditation is practiced on Insight Timer than anywhere else. Great for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

Tons of Free Content + Best Free Timer

While some content is paid, Insight Timer still offers the world's largest free library of more than 130k guided meditations from 14k teachers (including us!). The meditation timer is one of the best - highly configurable, with a great selection of bell sounds. The app also offers extensive social features, including groups. Join ours here.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Discover daily mindfulness and meditation with Sam Harris—neuroscientist, philosopher, and best-selling author—and explore the theory behind meditation practice. Daily guided meditation sessions, lessons on zen, the stoic path, on-demand mindfulness sessions, as well as a practice timer will build your understanding, balance your mind, make your practice shine, and help turn meditation into a new habit. For inquiring and curious minds, learn the related science, philosophy, and ethics in short audio lessons with Sam and through his extended conversations with other influential meditation teachers, scientists, and scholars.

High-Quality Content + Scholarship Options + Special Offer

While most of the content is behind a paywall, the content itself is excellent and covers a wide variety of approaches to meditation and mindfulness from many of the top teachers today. For those who can't afford the price of subscription, partial and full scholarships are available - no questions asked.

We also have a special promo code for three months of free access, available to Meditation Mind community members. Join us on Discord and ask!

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

THE WAY is a new kind of meditation app: a single path, led by an authorized Zen master, that guides you on a deep meditation training program. Study alongside Zen master Henry Shukman as you uncover the deep peace, love, insight and awakening that meditation can bring.
The simple path to deeper meditation.

A star among single-path, journey-style meditation apps

While The Way is a relatively new addition to the meditation app scene, it has quickly become a staff favorite as a beautifully executed example of the single-path, journey-style design. Henry is also a fantastic teacher, which makes The Way really shine.

Henry will be joining the Meditation Mind community for a guided meditation, talk, and Q&A in January 2025. Community members can receive 30 free sessions of The Way, courtesy of Henry, by using the special code: MEDITATIONMIND. (iOS users click here.)

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Brightmind’s approach to teaching meditation is to “make it as simple as possible, but no simpler". So we take deep and transformational concepts and practices, and explain them in simple and practical ways. Making things as simple as possible, but not any simpler, leads to efficient and effective learning and growth.

Recommended + Community Partner

Brightmind was created by Toby Sola, a member of the Meditation Mind community who hosted a special guided meditation and Q&A in August 2023. While a paid app, many of our staff and community members have used and recommend Brightmind.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

No unnecessary voice over guide. No background music or ambient sounds. Just you and your mind, the way mindfulness meditation was meant to be.
Center is an elegant meditation timer which tracks your sittings in a beautiful and simple way. With HealthKit integration so you can see your daily mindfulness practice stats right from the Health app.
The app uses haptic feedback in addition to classic meditation chimes: one chime to start, one chime for intervals, and three consecutive chimes for ending a meditation session.
Before you begin you can edit your sit time, set a delay to prepare, plan interval sounds to keep you focused, and get meditation insights. After each session the app tracks your meditation practice and provides custom insights to help you. This is what makes Center a valuable app: simplicity and a tailored experience to improve your practice the more you use the app.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | ~~Google Play (Android)~~

A minimalist timer. Elegant and peaceful way to meditate or practice restorative yoga. Simply counts down your session, then chimes the Keisu zen bowl. No additional "stuff" or distractions. Set your Simple Timer, take a few deep breaths and relax. You can choose to record your session as Mindful Minutes in the Health App.

App Website | App Store (iOS)

A simple, free meditation timer.
- Vibrant UI and sounds

- Count up with no bell, or down with a bell

- Works with screen on or off

- Integrates with Apple Health

- View and add sessions manually

App Website | App Store (iOS)

Meditation Timer Online

Meditation Timer Online is the ultimate meditation timer for the web.
Set your desired meditation duration, select the intervals and let the gentle Tibetan bells guide you into a profound state of relaxation.

Website

Make meditating into a habit with Shellevate, the meditation app you'll get addicted to. Build a streak by meditating consecutively, earn gems to purchase streak freezes in case you miss a day, and coolest of all, collect and raise turtles from their eggs. The longer you meditate, the rarer the turtles you can find.
It's turtle-y awesome. Hopefully you have a shell of a time building one of the most useful habits you can.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | ~~Google Play (Android)~~

Explore this portal into the Headless Way - a modern path to the one faceless Self we are all looking out of! Enjoy the many short video clips that are nowhere else available, be inspired by the randomly chosen quotations, do the experiments, read the articles, and set your alarm to remind you about your Self!

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Learn to meditate in 12 easy steps, then take the 30 day challenge to make meditation a daily habit.
The 1 Giant Mind app is for anyone who wants to feel less stressed, more calm, present, and experience greater health and wellbeing. Our approach to meditation is easy and effortless. and no previous experience is required. Anyone can learn this technique in 12 short steps and begin to experience the benefits immediately.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Identify your feelings. Connect your feelings to underlying needs. Develop habits to support your underlying needs. Allow your mental health to flourish.
Humanly combines Spiritual, Philosophical, Scientific, and Practical perspectives to create a comprehensive guide towards mental health.
Through guided journaling, habit tracking, lessons, exercises, and insights users learn how to fulfill their needs and help make life wonderful for themselves and those around them.

App Store (iOS)

Practice self empathy with nonviolent communication (NVC).
For those of us who grew up in a dysfunctional environment, learning to communicate with empathy is like learning a new language, and practicing new vocabulary is part of the journey.
This app is designed to make the practice as convenient as possible.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Transform conflicts into connection with people in your personal, work, and societal life, and with yourself, with empathic communication.
The Mediate Your Life (MYL) app is an audio guide to help you when you are in conflict with someone in your life, or with yourself. Listening to the audios you feel better and find new insights and solutions to the difficulty you are facing. The MYL approach is based in the international work of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and integrates a mediation framework and mindfulness.
The app is free and fully accessible to use. And there are options within the app to support the work of Mediate Your Life if you would like.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

This is the entire offline version of John Bullitt's widely recognized and highly recommended Access to Insight (www.accesstoinsight.org) web site, a massive compilation of material about Theravada Buddhism and Buddhism in general.
Herein are contained over 1,000 *actual suttas* (skt: 'sutras') from the Tipitaka (body of Buddhist canonical texts) translated into contemporary English with scholarly rigor and precision by recognized subject domain experts.

Access to Insight Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Access a dynamic collection of teachings on the mind, straight from the source. The 84000 app offers a growing digital library of the Buddhist sūtras set within a minimal, functional design for a clean reading experience.
84000’s interactive Reading Room is a leading resource for accurate and nuanced translations of the words of the Buddha used by scholars of Buddhist Studies, Tibetan Buddhist teachers of the living tradition, and practitioners.

84000 Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

How We Feel is a free app created by scientists, designers, engineers, and therapists to help people better understand their emotions and find strategies to help them navigate their emotions in the moment. Conceived in conjunction with Yale University's Center for Emotional Intelligence and based on the work of Dr Marc Brackett, How We Feel helps people find the right word to describe how they feel while tracking their sleep, exercise, and health trends using HealthKit in order to spot patterns over time.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Transform your daily routine with Daily Thanks, the ultimate gratitude journaling and affirmations app designed to help you focus on the positive aspects of life. Whether you’re a seasoned journaler or just starting, Daily Thanks makes it easy to cultivate a habit of gratitude, mindfulness, and positive thinking.

App Website | App Store (iOS)

Transform your mindset with Delightful, the simple gratitude journal app that helps you focus on positive moments in your life. Just 3 good things each day can boost your happiness and mental well-being!

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

A simple way to track and improve your mental health.
Track seven major categories of needs and see how they influence feelings when met or unmet, so you can better understand why you feel the way you feel.

App Store (iOS)

Transform your well-being with Breath Ball, the ultimate app designed to guide you through scientifically proven breathing exercises that help reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration, and promote mindfulness. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced practitioner, Breath Ball adapts to your pace, helping you find calm and balance in just a few minutes a day.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Breathe2Heal is a modern breathing app rooted in ancient wisdom. Whether you're looking to reduce stress, improve sleep, enhance focus, or simply find a moment of tranquility, Breathe2Heal is here to support you.

- 4 breathing modes with 12 different rhythms

- Clean, elegant interface with light and dark themes

- Available in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and English

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android) | APK for Android

PAUSE before opening a distracting website or app. The most customizable app blocker. FREE. Easy to setup.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

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Free Meditation and Mindfulness Courses

Meditation Mind Team — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 14:02:12 +0000

In this post, we offer a selection of free online courses that can help you learn about meditation and mindfulness and cultivate a practice. This is only a small handful of the many great courses and other resources available on the internet today. To find more, join our online Discord community and check the #resources channel.

Meditation Mind Four-Week Mindfulness Course
Mindfulness Daily with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield
The Unified Mindfulness CORE Training
De-Mystifying Mindfulness (Leiden University)
Palouse Mindfulness Online MBSR Course
Meditation in the Theravada Abhidhamma with Bhikkhu Bodhi
Intro to Meditation with Mingyur Rinpoche
Buddhism Through Its Scriptures (Harvard University)
The Open Buddhist University (16 Courses)

Meditation Mind Four-Week Mindfulness Course

This self-paced course draws from MBCT, MBSR, and other scientifically validated methods to help participants develop a firm grasp of meditation and mindfulness basics, along with principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and establish a regular practice based on that understanding. The course is meant to be completed over a period of four weeks and includes text, handouts, guided meditations, video, and audio.

Link: https://meditation-mind.thinkific.com/courses/mindfulness

Mindfulness Daily with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield

Mindfulness Daily brings you a 40-day online training in mindfulness meditation with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Each daily 10–15 minute lesson includes a short talk and guided meditation designed to assist in establishing a meditation practice.

Link: https://courses.tarabrach.com/courses/mindfulness-daily

The Unified Mindfulness CORE Training

The interactive CORE training consists of 10 video-based lessons, each with its own self-paced quiz designed to test and reinforce what you’ve learned in each video. It was built for people brand-new to meditation AND for highly experienced meditators who would like to explore the Unified Mindfulness system.

Developed over fifty years of practice and research by the renowned meditation teacher Shinzen Young, Unified Mindfulness is a simple, yet highly effective meditation system built for the modern world. It brings together key elements of Eastern contemplative traditions and the technological, scientifically-based methodology of the West. And Unified Mindfulness is a secular form of meditation, which means it is not religious in any way – so anyone, of any faith, can do it.

Link: https://unifiedmindfulness.com/core

De-Mystifying Mindfulness

Evolving from the popular Honours Academy course at Leiden University, this innovative course combines conventional scholarly inquiry from multiple disciplines (ranging from psychology, through philosophy, to politics) with experiential learning (including specially designed ‘meditation labs,’ in which you’ll get chance to practice and analyze mindfulness on yourself). In the end, the course aims to provide a responsible, comprehensive, and inclusive education about (and in) mindfulness as a contemporary phenomenon.

Link: https://www.coursera.org/learn/mindfulness

Palouse Mindfulness Online MBSR Course

This online MBSR training course is 100% free, created by a fully certified MBSR instructor, and is based on the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a blend of meditation, body awareness, and mindful movement: learning through practice and study how your body handles (and can resolve) stress neurologically.

Link: https://palousemindfulness.com/index.html

Meditation in the Theravada Abhidhamma

In this course, you’ll be guided by one of the foremost scholars and translators in the Theravada tradition, Bhikkhu Bodhi, through the study of meditation as it is taught in the Abhidhamma. Start lesson 1 today to begin your journey to discovering the forty meditation subjects in Buddhist literature, the role of attaining jhāna in the Buddhist path, the path and fruit of stream entry, and the meaning of meditative attainment. You’ll come away with a clear understanding of the entire terrain of Buddhist meditation, from beginning to end.

Link: https://wisdomexperience.org/courses/meditation-abhidhamma/

Intro to Meditation with Mingyur Rinpoche

In this simple, self-guided course, you will be introduced to practical ways of exploring the landscape of the heart and mind with awareness. You will also begin to discover that true and lasting happiness does not depend on the outer circumstances of your life. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche will be your guide for the course and will offer you a taste of meditation, allowing you to begin your own meditation journey.

Link: https://joy.tergar.org/courses/intro-to-meditation/

Buddhism Through Its Scriptures

Whether you are new to the study of Buddhism or have been studying it or practicing it for years, this course will provide you with the opportunity to become acquainted with a variety of Buddhist teachings while guiding you to think about them, and yourself, in new ways.

Through a combination of carefully selected readings, both scriptural and informational, as well as exposure to various forms of Buddhist practice such as art, devotional acts, and literary works, you will learn how to interpret, reflect upon, and apply the teachings of the Buddha to your own life and deepen your understanding of Buddhism.

Link: https://www.edx.org/course/buddhism-through-its-scriptures

The Open Buddhist University

The Open Buddhist University is an unaccredited, digital resource run by Khemarato Bhikkhu since 2020. Its mission is to provide a free, English-language curriculum in Buddhist Studies from the perspective of Early Buddhism.

The Open Buddhist University currently offers 16 courses, including: Buddhism 101, The Practice of Buddhism, An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy, Buddhist Ethics, The Pāli Language: Level 1 and Level 2, Chinese Buddhist Writing, and more.

Link: https://buddhistuniversity.net/courses/

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Mindful Massage, Climate Change & Compassion

Christiaan Neeteson — Wed, 15 May 2019 07:11:25 +0000

In this episode, I have a talk with Frank Leder about mindfulness, compassion and vipassana meditation. Frank Leder is the founder of the TouchLife School of Massage in Europe. Frank is a direct descendant of Ruth Denison and is a teacher in her lineage in Europe. One of the central questions in this episode is: How do we develop patience and loving kindness in these hurried and stressful times? He talks about his personal journey into meditation, his experience in the practice and his advice for each of us applying mindfulness in daily life.

Setting the intention

Setting intention is a way to direct our life. Where are we going? Where do we like to go? Compassion is all about setting the intention to have the best intent for every person. May they be safe, may they be happy, may they be free, may they find peace. Our mind is an incredibly powerful tool and the effect of setting intentions and repeating them has been studied in both Psychology and Neuroscience. Practicing compassion and loving kindness is a radical way to shape our lives into something different from our sometimes reactionary and uncontrolled behavior. Compassion has the power to change us into a more loving, kinder and more happy person. Frank talks about ways to achieve this.

Cultivating compassion in the midst of turmoil

Compassion is easier said than done, there is no doubt about that. One of my favorite quotes on that matter is from Ram Dass “If You Think You’re Enlightened, Go Spend a Week with Your Family”. It proposes an important question: how can we practice loving kindness in stressful and difficult times? With both environmental and political changes that aren’t always that positive for us, how do we keep close to compassion?

Starts at 1:10

Reflecting on interconnectedness

One of the main tools besides setting an intention is reflecting. Reflecting on the reason behind someone’s behavior. If someone hurts others, they are hurt themselves. Our interconnected state of being (made simple: monkey see, monkey do) means we are connected to the suffering of others. Take a moment to return to the breathe, and reflect on how you have behaved in times when you were hurt. Realize the change can only happen when setting the intention of compassion and doing it differently. “But aren’t they dangerous, shouldn’t they be stopped?” Mindfulness will give us the tools to respond in the best way possible in each and every moment.

Find out more

If you enjoyed what Frank talked about, make sure to watch the video above or visit his website here (in German):
http://www.achtsamkeitsmeditation.net/

I’m glad to hear what you think of this podcast. Leave a comment here or join our community and simply @Christiaan there in our chat channel. We are also uploading all of our podcast episodes to Insight Timer, so make sure to visit us there.

With warm regards,

Christiaan Neeteson

This podcast is available on…
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Nomad Lifestyle & Mindful Finances

Christiaan Neeteson — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 13:23:11 +0000

“Throw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.”

From Business management to being a nomad

After a personal crisis, Alasdair decided it was time for change. He quit his job, sold his belongings and took a one-way ticket out of the country. He traveled through Europe, Asia and North America. Currently, he lives together with his fiancée Julie-Roxane in France, in a tiny home they renovated together. Does that sound ideal? I imagine it won’t for everyone. He had a six-figure income in the San Diego start-up scene, in an e-commerce business. He found his way to the position of general manager of a multimillion-dollar international business. A lot of success after just getting out of college. So why would you leave that?

“Meditation broke down the foundations of the house I was building.”

Zen Mind, Nomad’s Mind

It was a really stressful lifestyle and his health started to decline. What kicked his “awakening” off was a 3-day ayahuasca retreat in Peru. Alasdair came back and ended up in an even more stressful job. In the morning, he found himself waking up to crushing anxiety. He started daydreaming about traveling and studying Zen. He found a zendo around the corner and started visiting, met like-minded people and started to practice Zazen. Zen practice helped him bring his attention to the body and the breath.

The caravan where Alasdair & Julie-Roxane live in.

Time to change

He started to deal with the things that weren’t working. He ended the relationship and ended his business partnership. Alasdair knew he wanted out, and realized that the things that kept him here were gone. He bought a one-way ticket and started to travel. He started to find a new perspective on how to live, admitting failure because things weren’t going well. Time to change. Slowly meditation started to seep into all the aspects of his life.

Mindfulness in waste

Mindfulness of waste is important when living as a nomad. Using organic compounds and manage waste in the right way. Becoming aware of the needs of the environment and ourselves. Being aware of what we eat and what impact it has on our mindset and our health. The interconnectedness of all things happening inside and outside ourselves. The way he manages his finances has become a mindful practice too. He does an awareness practice where he looks at what he spends and how it makes him feel. He has some other insightful methods to transform your finances from an annoying errand into a mindfulness practice. We talk more about this in depth on the podcast.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about Alasdair or would like to follow his journey, make sure to check out his website: https://www.alasdairplambeck.com/
And if you enjoy his talk, he has a podcast together with his fiancée here:
http://www.thefaroutpodast.com/

If you’d like to talk about this podcast or have comments and ideas, please let me know by joining our community here https://discord.gg/FKWFeYq
Simply use @christiaan or send me a DM! I would love to hear from you.

With warm regards,

Christiaan Neeteson

This podcast is available on…
Anchor
Podbean
Apple Podcasts
Stitcher 
TuneIn
Pocket Casts
Overcast
Spotify
Breaker
Google Podcasts

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Episode 9: It’s all in the breathing with Dr. Brad Lichtenstein

Christiaan Neeteson — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:37:23 +0000

It’s all in the breathing

Dr. Brad Lichtenstein is a naturopathic physician in a private practice, and a professor at Bastyr University. His private practice is focused on Mind&Body Medicine, specialized in Clinical Biofeedback, Psychotherapy, chronic illnesses and end of life bedside care. He is recognized as a industry pioneer, and his perspective is published in several medical journals and publications. Dr. Lichtenstein believes in the power of breath to restore health and balance.

The Podcast Format

I’m sitting down and having a chat with other meditators from around the world to talk about their practice, the lessons they have learned and what they want the world to know. From Zen, Christianity to Secular, all traditions have valuable insights and approaches to awareness, and in this podcast, we explore those with you.

“Mindfulness is a prerequisite to being present.”

How to be resilient?

In this episode, we talk about what methods Dr. Lichtenstein uses in his private practice. About 15 years ago, Dr. Lichtenstein started to study the breath and found that the central theme of breath is a re-occurring theme in many spiritual practices.

“We might be breathing in a way that is dysfunctional for our physical health. So there are certain absolutes in breathing…….. Learning to breathe in a way which is very slow, abdominally. Where the inhale is never longer than the exhale. Where the volume is never really large. These are structural, functional types of breathing practices that can help our overall health and nervous system.”

We talk about essential practices for our health and nervous system. One of currently popular methods comes from Wim Hof and his breathing techniques. Dr. Lichtenstein shares that Wim Hof’s technique is Tumo breathing, which is an old meditation practice. This was used to raise the Kundalini energy up from the base of the spine. Wim Hof combines this with hydrotherapy (cold showers), which is recommended all the time by physicians.

Science and spirituality

We talk about the apparent separation in the West of science and spirituality. Should it really be separated? Ideas like interdependence or purpose are still very important and central to the work of Dr. Lichtenstein. What motivates you to practice? What gives you meaning and purpose? Without these central questions somewhat answered or brought up, there might lack a real purpose behind what we do. He shares about his first work in HIV care, where they constantly talked about “How do you want to live this moment right now?”. These are all spiritual questions. They are central to our existence and our practice. His one focus is teaching people to live the way they want to live.

“Feeling a sense of connection regulates the nervous system in a different way.”

Understanding a person’s values and meaning is essential for their healing process. Unfortunately, current health care seems to lack the time to look at these intrinsic values to all of us.

Habits & Routines

We talk about his personal daily practice and routines. What is the magic soup that fuels Dr. Lichtenstein? In my time practicing meditation and discovering the practice of others, I’ve learned that routines and habits are a central aspect of this whole journey. If you look at a monastic setting, there are very strict schedules to all they do. A structured life brings a structured mind. This doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun, it simply means living effectively.

“The first I do is feed my cats, because they are the most important thing in the world [laughter]”.

I won’t spoil too much, but cats, matcha and mindfulness meditation are certainly part of Dr. Lichtenstein’s morning routines. You will learn a bit about the Dalai Llama’s morning habits too.

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about Dr. Brad Lichtenstein take a look at his website: /http://thebreathspace.com

With warm regards,

Christiaan Neeteson

This podcast is available on…
Anchor
Podbean
Apple Podcasts
Stitcher 
TuneIn
Pocket Casts
Overcast

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Episode 8: All about Flow with Joanna Turner

Christiaan Neeteson — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 20:59:51 +0000

The Podcast format

What is flow?

You might have heard about Flow. It seems to be an upcoming buzzword like mindfulness… but what is it really? In this episode, I sit down and have a chat with Joanne Turner. We talk about her business, her practice and how she found her energy source to be successful.

Joanna is a leading Wealth & Success Coach, Certified Reiki Practitioner, Advanced EFT & Master NLP Practitioner. She is a mentor to women entrepreneurs and coaches women all over the world to gain momentum in their business. She helps them create a winning mindset, earn the desired income, gain confidence and have the freedom to travel.

How to get in your Flow?

Each person has this place of flow. It is a place of 100% engagement with whatever you are doing. We discover the relationship between Flow & Mindfulness and find out how each person can get in this place of pure flow. Lately, I’ve read up a bit about Flow theory in a course I followed on gamification. For a person to get into the flow, there has to be a reasonable challenge that matches our skill. Too much challenge and you become anxious, too little and you become bored. The sense of pure ecstasy when sliding down that hill on a snowboard or when running those last meters in a marathon. It is what boosts so many athletes and creative people to excel at what they are doing. The good news is; you are capable of accessing this flow state.

Whatever happens, happens for a reason

In our talk, Joanna points out that what helps her achieve a state of flow is a trust in life, whatever happens, and surrender to it. Whether it is a divine being, higher consciousness or a sense of destiny, it is crucial to achieving this state of flow. The trust that whatever is happening is happening for a reason. This, however, doesn’t mean we start being lazy and pray for things to happen to us. We work towards it. We do our very best to achieve our goals, and those goals manifest in due time. It is a matter of having a little faith in what you are doing. Trusting life and the outcome. Working with what you have at this moment and going from there. Every moment is trying to teach us something, it’s up to us to take the challenge and work with what we have.

Finding what works for you

“Not one way works for everybody. And I started with different access points. And then what I love and what works for me changes. If you are frustrated and meditation doesn’t work for you, that’s ok. Maybe you need to do some crazy bashing a pillow with the baseball bat.”

If something doesn’t resonate with you, go find something you do resonate with. However, sometimes your biggest teacher can be the one you absolutely do not agree with. There is a lesson to learn in everything, but there is a right time for everything. That seems to be the central message in the advice from Joanna. Finding your current access point to mindfulness and becoming your most authentic self.

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about Joanne Turner and what she can do for you: http://www.missionforbalance.com/

With warm regards,

Christiaan Neeteson

This podcast is available on…

 Anchor

 Podbean

 Apple Podcasts

 Stitcher

The post Episode 8: All about Flow with Joanna Turner appeared first on Meditation Mind.

Episode 5: From Vipassana to Chan Buddhism with Mark Gilenson

Christiaan Neeteson — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 13:12:03 +0000

The Podcast format

From Vipassana to Chan Buddhism

For this episode of the podcast, I talk with Mark Gilenson.I’ve known Mark from our online community, where he helps out as a teacher in our team. Mark is a novice Chan Priest in the lineage of Master Hsu Yun in the Chan Buddhist tradition. We talk about his current practice and his past encountering meditation for the first time. From Vipassana practice to Chan Buddhism, the approach to meditation has slight differences that can prove significant for each person. Mark explains why he was drawn to Chan Buddhism and why exactly he chose for the lineage of Master Hsu Yun.

We talk about how Mark got into meditation. From his service in the military to break-ups… he got the suggestion from a friend in his orchestra to attend to a Vipassana retreat. After 6 days of hellish agony, suddenly there was a moment of realization. Herealizedd the sound of his thoughts are like a broken record and developed a sense of humor about it. Calmness and joyfulness followed in the last days of this retreat.
He continues to explain how he went from Vipassana to Thich Nhat Hanh. He practiced in a sitting group of his lineage for a while and at some point moved to a different lineage/school. Mark then got interested in Thrangu Rinpoche, a teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Ultimately he found the teachings of Zen (Chan) Master of Hsu Yun. He describes the teachings as non-sectarian, something that spoke to him personally.

Meditation is not enough

“I’m not striving for being calm, I’m striving for the uprooting of suffering.
Meditation plays a significant role but it’s only part of my practice.
Making my whole life my practice is what I’m doing.”

You’ll hear that at a certain point, Mark emphasizes how meditation in itself is not enough for him. Not enough for what? Besides meditation, the path of someone who follows the Buddha entails much more than the sitting practice itself. The classical way of describing this path is using the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Noble Eightfold Path, there are different attributes for each practitioner to apply in their practice and daily life. The idea is that through these practices, the suffering of a person is completely uprooted and a life of pure happiness remains.

Want to learn more?

If you’d like to know more about Mark and what he does, visit his website here: https://bodhibass.com/
To learn more about Chan Buddhism, listen or subscribe to Mark’s podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-mind-meditation-podcast/id1433677569?mt=2

If you’d like to talk about this podcast or have some feedback or ideas, please let me know by joining our community here https://discord.gg/FKWFeYq .
Simply use @christiaan or send me a DM! I would love to hear from you.

With warm regards,

Christiaan

The post Episode 5: From Vipassana to Chan Buddhism with Mark Gilenson appeared first on Meditation Mind.

Episode 2: Swami J & Bhakti Yoga

Christiaan Neeteson — Sat, 03 Nov 2018 13:36:20 +0000

The Podcast format

My name is Christiaan Neeteson, 31 years young and currently living in Berlin together with my partner Rebecca. After encountering meditation & mindfulness a few years back it radically changed my life. From incredible emotional turbulence, unhealthy relationships and deep suffering to lightness and ease, the practice radically transformed both my own state of mind and the relationships around me.

International Team

For this second episode, I have a chat with Greg Jacoby about his transformation and his current practice. Greg and me, together with David (previous episode) and Benjamin (coming episode) have started to work as a team on themindfulcourse.com and the Meditation & Mindfulness community. For each one of us, meditation has a lasting and genuine effect on our lives and the lives of people around us. In these first three episodes I will explore what meditation means for each of the team members.

Greg & his transformation

Greg shares how he came from a low point of depression and drug dealing, decided to visit a retreat in India and how it changed his life afterwards. Greg mentions his teacher at that time, Swami J (http://www.swamij.com/) and the idea of staying with the breathe at all times as a practice. Seemingly with a mix of different traditions and techniques, Greg talks about how his life is enhanced with practices like Metta, Bhakti and Vipassana.

Four Paths of Yoga

I am not very familiar with Yoga and its practice, but was intrigued by Greg mentioning Bhakti Yoga. Up till recently , Yoga to me was another way to get in shape and look good.
I wasn’t sure how much of it’s spiritual practice was transferred to us here in the west. It seemed like another way to glorify the human body and feel good about yourself.
However, the more I hear and read about it, the more I start to learn about it’s roots that go beyond just a beautiful pose in the sunset on instagram.
From the Swami J website I found the following description for the four paths of Yoga:

“Jnana Yoga: Jnana Yoga is the path of knowledge, wisdom, introspection and contemplation. It involves deep exploration of the nature our being by systematically exploring and setting aside false identities.

Bhakti Yoga: Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion, emotion, love, compassion, and service to God and others. All actions are done in the context of remembering the Divine.

Karma Yoga: Karma Yoga is the path of action, service to others, mindfulness, and remembering the levels of our being while fulfilling our actions or karma in the world.

Raja Yoga: Raja Yoga is a comprehensive method that emphasizes meditation, while encompassing the whole of Yoga. It directly deals with the encountering and transcending thoughts of the mind.”

Greg describes how the path of Bhakti Yoga is continuous throughout the day in action and speech, and it’s something I personally feel inclined to discover more about.
The testimonial of Greg in this episode will surely inspire you to practice, to consider the importance of meditation and the impact it can have on each of our lives.

If you’d like to talk about this podcast or have some feedback or ideas, please let me know by joining our community here https://discord.gg/FKWFeYq and simply use @christiaan or send me a DM! I would love to hear from you.

With warm regards,

Christiaan

The post Episode 2: Swami J & Bhakti Yoga appeared first on Meditation Mind.

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Episode 8: All about Flow with Joanna Turner

The Podcast format

What is flow?

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Whatever happens, happens for a reason

Finding what works for you

Want to know more?

This podcast is available on…

Episode 5: From Vipassana to Chan Buddhism with Mark Gilenson

The Podcast format

From Vipassana to Chan Buddhism

Meditation is not enough