16Dec
How can mindfulness be used to break bad habits?

Mindfulness shows us what’s going on at a given moment, so we can assess our actions and let go of old habits and form new ones. Mindfulness involves being curious about what’s going on, which can be a rewarding experience for the brain. Curiosity might make you realize that you’re feeling restless or stressed.
I got carried away indulging things. We want to break bad habits, but those habits bring us enjoyment of some shape or kind. The fact is, we become involved in things. You have to ask yourself: what is bad about your habits? How might you change them? Do something different?

If you pay close attention, awareness doesn’t change the contents of the experience — rather, it frees us, here and now, to choose what to do with the contents of the experience, and how to view it.

Awareness puts things into their context. In other words, being mindful is not a thing that you are doing, instead, we might say, being mindful is ceasing to become involved in things. We see the bigger picture, the long game.

That is how mindfulness helps “break bad habits.” It doesn’t break them. You must choose freely to do something else. We cease to become involved in things that no longer serve us. Whatever we are attached to, we let go.

Example: “I’m quitting smoking.” Or binging, or drinking, or whatever. When we are mindful, we don’t need to think about smoking etc., because even if or when we find ourselves reaching for a smoke — or we’re deep into a binge — wherever we are, whenever, the moment we awake and become aware of our situation, we are “presented” with a choice: (1) continue our behavior or (2) do anything else. Here’s where breathing is useful. If you choose option 2: breathe. Recognize the moment of transition. How might one live differently?

Having a plan is important, a method. Each time I think about smoking I get to choose whether to indulge a painful/pleasure-seeking/dangerous/seductive vice or do anything else, have an entirely different trip.

Experiment. Try different things. Practice mindfulness wherever/whenever you can. May you find what you seek.
14Dec
What are the benefits of meditating every day for one year?

Off the top of my head from personal experience: I feel like I have more energy throughout the day. it’s easier to concentrate. my mind feels sharper as in thoughts come easier. I don’t often have that “it’s on the tip of my tongue but I can’t completely recall it” sensation. I feel more emotionally consistent (if that makes sense?). My mood basically stays stable throughout the day a lot and I don’t fluctuate based on my feelings as much. I just feel more centered. I just feel cognitively sharper.

I also don’t consider myself having a particularly robust meditation practice. I meditate for about 15-25 minutes daily depending on time / my schedule.

I’d say that the biggest benefit is that you’d be well on your way to having established a lifelong habit of mindfulness practice which is probably the most effective thing you could do to have a happier life long term.
meditation retreat changed your life
15Nov
What have we can learn from a meditation retreat?

You will attend a weekend retreat. There is no phone, internet, or technology. It is possible to notice a subtle anxiety that you didn’t even realize you had by meditating.
Our knowledge of meditation is greatly enhanced by meditation retreats.

Let me tell you
We did meditations during the day, and I was able to really lift some of that anxiety I felt.
After the retreat, I felt profoundly calm and reviatalised. I was reluctant to use my Phone and have since made changes so that my phone isn’t as big a part of my life, as It became obvious that it was a big contributor to my anxiety. I meditate daily now and have more motivation to do it now since I experienced and created that blissful space during the retreat.

Breakups are not painful. The self-loathing after a failed relationship is painful.

Failure in a career/studies are not painful. The self-loathing after those failures are painful.

Getting rejected is not painful. That self-loathing voice that tells yourself “You’re a failure” after being rejected is painful.

Once you tell yourself “It’s okay to fail.”, all the pain just magically disappears.

My whole life I’ve been trying so hard to fix “problems” to ease the pain, using self-loathing as a whip to somehow propel me towards finding a solution to everything “wrong” with me. But ultimately, acceptance is the only true freedom from pain. And only with the freedom, comes the energy to get out of bed and actually get stuff done. So accept yourself, in whatever “broken” form you are, and be free from misery.