Blog-Publications

What Does Desire and Boredom Have in Common?

Understanding grasping and clinging through meditation.

Sometimes life can be boring, right? Boredom is a feeling we get when we wish things were different – more exciting or engaging – or as children say, more “fun”. Essentially, when we’re bored we have the desire for life to be different than it is right now. Buddhism calls this “grasping” and “clinging” and is said to be caused by thoughts (ideas) of how our mind wants things to be. In an article in LionsRoar, Brother Phap Linh writes, “There’s a popular take on wanting things, which is that if we don’t have what we want, it’s because we just don’t want it enough. According to the ‘law of attraction’ you can have whatever you want if you only want it enough. According to this way of thinking, you can manifest the life you want just by visualizing it clearly. This presupposes the idea that having what you want will satisfy you.” This is the proverbial, if only…then that we get caught up in when wishing for life to be other than it is.

Meditation helps us investigate our thoughts and by connecting to sensations in the body, we can investigate the true nature of these mind ideas. We can use our meditation practice “to look at the wanting itself, at the state of wanting”. Since meditation is a present-moment practice, we can observe our emotions relating to boredom to learn how these feelings are mixed up with clinging to the past or grasping towards the future. We may think that if only things were different, we’d be more happy or life would be more fun. There’s also a tendency to get caught up in the “how” of getting what we want. How can I make my life better, more interesting, more fun, more engaging?

In meditation traditions, we are asked to look at the grasping and clinging directly. What does it feel like? Where do I feel this in the body? How would I feel right now if I weren’t wishing things to be different? Can I just be present and grateful for what is already here? We practice letting go of expectations and accepting what is right here in this moment – the only reality there is – instead of wishing for things to be different. When we investigate grasping and clinging, we may realize that the discontent is a state of unrest and we can calm this through meditation which is being mindful of what is going on right now by following the breath that connects us to reality.

This month’s practice invites us to focus on the simplicity of the breath as a conduit for noticing what is going on right here, right now. Following the breath as it comes in and goes out of the body is a practice the entire family can do together and most children can do this as well. The instructions are pretty simple and remind us of what mindfulness means: being aware, on purpose, and without judgment of what’s going on through the grounding effect of the breath. A 15-minute timer is suggested for this practice.

Simplicity of Breath: a meditation that grounds us in the present moment.

Begin by choosing a comfortable sitting posture, on the floor, bed, or in a chair. Before settling into the practice, check your body for any areas of tension or discomfort. Stretch out these areas in any way that feels ok to you. Children can shake out their tension.
Gradually allow yourself to become aware of your breathing. On the in-breath, notice where the breath is most apparent (chest, bellow, or nose area). Then, follow the breath and visualize as it travels throughout the body before the out-breath. Be curious about the small details of your breath such as whether it feels deep or superficial, tight or relaxed.
Visualize the journey of the breath. Notice the in-breath and then do a quick body scan as if you are following the breath to the feet and fingers and then back to the lungs. Slowing down the breath may help this visualization.
At some point, you will notice that your mind has wandered into thought. This is expected so just notice the distraction and ask yourself if there are any thoughts of discontent or boredom. How might I feel right now if I weren’t wishing things to be different? Can I be present and grateful for just being here?
As your practice progresses, allow yourself to notice sensations in your body. This will help you understand where the feelings of boredom or unrest are coming from. Maybe thoughts will come up, or more body sensations or an inspiration. Keep going for as long as you can, following the breath and then noticing thoughts and sensations.
When your practice is complete, it may be inspiring to discuss the experience together, to journal, or write a poem about the experience.

Note: Adapting this practice to the very young: Observation of thoughts and following sensations through the body may be too much for the very young so they can be encouraged to follow the breath with a hand on their belly and watch it inflate and deflate as a balloon. They can assign their breath-balloon a color and size as well. And then, while the rest of the group is discussing or journaling, the children can draw.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to Community Wellness by providing schools and organizations with mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the⁠Welcoming a Mindful Future⁠ podcast and Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠

This article was originally published in The Taos News on February 8, 2024

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Originally published in The Taos News, January 18, 2024

Inviting and Welcoming Silence:

Building the capacity to be fully present through listening.

Awaken to the mystery of being here

and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
– John O’Donohue, poet

Have you ever just stopped what you were doing and listened? Deeply listened to the sounds and silence around you? Seems like an oxymoron to be encouraging silence and listening. The kind of silence I’m referring to is one where we are mindful of what is going on in the present moment, encouraging a deep awareness that comes from listening to what’s going on inside and outside the body. It is an invitation to put down electronics, the to-do lists, turn off social media engagement, and just be with our surroundings and our senses.

The first time a person tries to sit in meditation can be daunting. I’ve heard many times from those who say they’ve tried meditation and it “didn’t work” for them because they “couldn’t sit still” or they “couldn’t stop thinking.” Both of these expectations are myths to be debunked once and for all.

Indeed, it is impossible to just sit down and stop thinking. Our minds are made to think and when we sit in meditation, there will be thoughts, lots of them. Sometimes, it can be quite challenging to calm the mental chatter, especially if it contains painful or fearful memories. In the beautiful book, “The Joy of Living”, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a Tibetan monk, recounts how difficult meditation was for him as a child. “From earliest childhood, I was haunted by feelings of fear and anxiety… even after three years of sitting [in meditation] my anxiety increased…” After asking his father for meditation guidance his anxiety continued and his mind wouldn’t rest. “Years later, I would come to realize I … was simply becoming more aware of the constant stream of thoughts and sensations I’d never recognized before.” When we sit in meditation, there may be a period of hyperactivity as the body and mind learn to settle down and our awareness becomes more attuned to the silence.

Nonetheless, the benefits of sitting in meditation are well worth the effort. Some of these include positive mood and outlook, self-discipline and clear attention, healthy sleep patterns, and even increased pain tolerance. To reap these benefits, meditation practice must be consistent so I encourage families to carve out a daily mindfulness moment, and if it is at the same time each day, the body and mind will look forward to the break.

Rather than encouraging a purely Zen style of meditation (Zazen or Shikantaza) where we are supposed to “just sit, following the breath”, mindfulness of sound is something more attainable for beginning meditators, and especially for children. One of the great benefits of meditating on sound is that gradually we learn to detach from reacting to what we hear around us. This is called equanimity and is very helpful in dealing with life’s stresses and experiences. “You can simply listen to what other people say with a much more relaxed and balanced attitude, without being carried away by an emotional response.” (Rinpoche) We stop assigning meaning to sounds and we just notice them as basic content or just the stuff around us. Welcoming moments of silent awareness helps the body relax and be present. Mindfulness invites us to be at ease with all that is going on around us.

The following practice offers a way to bring mindfulness of sound into your family’s routine and I encourage you to set aside fifteen to twenty minutes for this practice since it may take family members a little time to settle down at first. And it would be especially nice to do this practice outdoors.

Meditating on Sound

Begin by just allowing your mind to rest for a few moments and for your body to relax into a comfortable posture. Take several deep, flowing breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth as you also stretch the shoulders and neck muscles. Also, notice the whole body and where it is in contact with your sitting area.
Gradually, allow yourself to become aware of things you hear. Start by noticing sounds close to your ear, such as your heartbeat or your breath, and then move your awareness to things that occur naturally in your immediate surroundings. We can also extend that area to sounds further and further away.
Cultivate a simple acknowledgment of sounds as you hear them. Just notice sounds and even find the pause or silence between the sounds you hear. It is easier to allow yourself to just be aware of everything around you, rather than to focus on a specific sound for too long so let yourself jump around a bit from sound to sound.
Avoid being too rigid with your attention. As with most meditation, you will probably find that you can focus on the sounds for only a few seconds at a time before your mind wanders off. That’s okay.
When you notice that your mind has wandered into thought, just bring your focus back to a relaxed state and then return to noticing sounds and the silence between them.
As your practice progresses, allow yourself to alternate between resting your attention on sounds and then allowing your mind to simply rest in a relaxed state. This is what is called open awareness practice. In time, the silence becomes more pronounced and our body and mind become more relaxed. We may even forget the sounds completely and just enjoy the whole experience with equanimity and complete presence.
Young children can be encouraged to sit and color or write about what they hear. This allows them to be a bit active since sitting still may be difficult for young meditators. In time, all ages can sit in silence and listen to sounds around them.

When your practice is complete, discuss what each person heard and how they felt about the sounds. Did they notice how to body responded to hearing these sounds? Journaling about the experience is also something that can be added to the practice.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to Community Wellness by providing schools and organizations with mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie leads meditation workshops and provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader as well as a certified labyrinth facilitator. A full audio version of featured practices can be heard on the ⁠Welcoming a Mindful Future⁠ podcast. Our website can be accessed at ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

Originally published, December 13, 2023 in The Taos News

Inviting the Power of the Heart Through Meditation:

Building resilience and meaningful relationships with others and ourselves.

“Your heart was made for love: for connection, belonging, and meaningful relationship with other people, beings, and the earth.”
Oren Jay Sofer Your Heart Was Made For This

In the recently published book entitled Your Heart Was Made For This, Oren Jay Sofer expounds on the power of the heart to meet a world in crisis. An important premise in his book is that “whatever the mind frequently thinks upon and ponders, that will become its inclination.” Where we place our mind’s attention is where our personal character and habits of thought will gravitate, much like a rut in the road that grabs us. This is part of the concept of “neuroplasticity” which basically means that our brains are malleable (adults as well as youth) and we can change how we think and act throughout our lives with intention, purpose, and practice. Sofer further explains that “If we do not shape the heart, the world will do it for us, and the world does not have our highest welfare in mind.”

One of my favorite meditation practices is Tonglen. The word tonglen comes from the Tibetan language and translates as giving and taking. Tong means giving or sending, and len means receiving or taking. Tonglen is similar to Loving Kindness (Mettà) in that we are using the transformative power of the heart to channel compassion. We acknowledge the suffering of the world and its beings and then visualize the suffering being transformed in the heart into compassion and then release it outward with intention, on an out-breath, for the betterment of the world.

Heart-based meditation practices such as tonglen and mettà are healthy ways to channel compassion into the world and our own lives. Focussing on the breath going in and out of the heart center is where we start this transforming process. One of the most powerful daily mindfulness practices is to watch where we place our mental attention as we go about our day. Taking a break from scrolling on an electronic device to sit in meditation is a valuable activity that shifts our focus from the external world to our internal environment and helps us notice what our mind is doing. Noticing what we are thinking or ruminating about, and then redirecting our focus back to the body and the breath is a liberating way to change the way our brains control and create ruts of behavior. It is worthwhile to take time to contemplate conscious attention throughout the day as we go about our lives as well as when sitting in meditation. This kind of attention is called heart-mind awareness. Setting aside five to 10 minutes a day to do a heart-mind meditation practice is a healthy way to nourish wise attention and encourage a shift in our mind’s behavior.

This month I invite you to do a short tonglen practice that can be offered for those who are ill, dying, or passed on, or people we know (or don’t know) who are in pain of any kind. This can also be an on-the-fly practice in which we send compassion to people we encounter throughout the day, offering heartfelt intentions of wellness and ease.

Tonglen practice for families and groups.

Note: Young children can be invited to draw during this practice and use their creativity to channel compassion.

Sitting in stillness with eyes closed. Begin by breathing in and out, noticing where the breath is the clearest in the body, and then bring your attention to the heart. Welcome feelings of kindness – this could be a golden light, an image of the Buddha or personal deity, or just an overall feeling of warmth. You may also choose to place your hands on your heart.
Visualization of a person’s suffering using the breath and sensations. Breathing in and out welcomes an awareness of your or someone else’s suffering. Name the suffering (sadness, grief, pain). See the situation in your heart-mind just as it is.
Receiving and taking in suffering. Focus on the situation by seeing an image of the suffering. Use the in-breath to receive the image and with the out-breath, transform it into something more positive. You may try using smoke that changes into white light. You can also see the person as being in pain and then visualize their face turning into a smile. As you do this, recite several times: May this pain and suffering be released.
Expanding compassion outward by extending it to all who are suffering. Using the same in-and-out breath process described above, visualize and welcome an awareness of a world that is suffering. On each out-breath offer the mantra to the world: May this pain and suffering be released.

Conclusion of the practice. Sit in silence for several more breaths, enjoying the feeling of release and transformation. Conclude with a final recitation of the mantra: May all beings be well and live with ease. When ready, open your eyes slowly, shifting your attention to your body and then to the space you’re in by noticing some objects around you.

******

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, a Benefit Corporation committed to Community Wellness through the practice of meditation. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie leads meditation workshops and provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader as well as a certified labyrinth facilitator. A full audio version of featured practices can be heard on the Welcoming a Mindful Future podcast. Our website can be accessed at MindfulFrontiers.net.

A Mindful Eating Practice for Families:

The story of our food and how to welcome gratitude.

Practicing gratitude is an extremely important skill because it brings joy and appreciation to our lives through the power of the heart. It is mental health and a daily attitude that helps connect us with that which brings joy. Mindful eating is a practice for welcoming gratitude and connecting to our food.

Families can model being grateful before eating a meal by invoking thankfulness to all who had a part in bringing the food to the table. The story of our food is a powerful way to welcome gratitude as we teach young ones about the process of food growing in the fields, being harvested by people and finally reaching the store where a family does its shopping.

When I teach mindful eating in classrooms, I am often reminded that there are some children who do not know where their food comes from. So, I tell the story of the kernel of popcorn we will eat mindfully, drawing on the board and recounting how all things start small. The popcorn starts out as a grain of corn, planted in the ground, and grows into a tall plant with the help of people, the sun, and life-giving water. Next, we follow an abbreviated journey of the corn as the ears are picked by people (often migrant workers), and get processed into dried kernels that are either sold as-is or continue to become popped corn. Finally, we imagine these millions of popped corn kernels that started as a single seed in the ground, as they are packaged and stacked on shelves by more people. I remind children that for their food to reach the home’s dining table, many, many people have been involved so when we are grateful for the food we have to eat, we remember all those who made it possible as well.

Here is a short gratitude intention that I learned at a meditation retreat.
Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space
Combine to make this food.
Numberless beings gave their lives and labors that we may eat.
May we be nourished, that we may nourish life.

There’s something deeply important about the law of attraction when we think and express positivity. Gratitude attracts more gratitude and feelings of well-being. It doesn’t take a lot of time to practice this and can be as simple as pausing, taking three long deep breaths, reflecting on the present moment, and then choosing something or someone for which to be grateful. Gratitude practice, as all meditation, does take repetition to become routine and it is well worth the effort. That’s why it is called “a practice”.

Family Meditation Practice:
This gratitude practice is inspired by Thank the Farmer from Mindful Games by Susan Kaiser Greenland.

Choose a person to “lead” the meditation practice. This person will read the instructions as well as participate.

This is a slow practice so make sure to take your time. Start by picking one item of food. A raisin is commonly used. I have also used a kernel of popcorn. It must be small as this is not a meal or even a snack. It is a mindfulness practice that uses our 5 senses and explores the story of this food.

With the food in your fingers, notice what it feels like. Smooth, rough, squishy, hard, etc.

With your eyes, notice what it looks like. A cloud, a shape, a bumpy glob, etc.

With your nose, notice what it smells like. Sweet, strong, weird, etc.

With your ears and fingers, notice what it sounds like. Crackles, squeaky, etc.

With your mind, consider where this food grew. A farm, a forest, a garden, etc.

Consider who picked this food? A person, a machine, a family, etc.

Ask yourself how it gets to the store? A truck, a car, a person brings it, etc.How did it get from the store to your home? Who went to the store?

Now, we take a moment to feel gratitude for having this food to eat. Say, “thank you” to everyone who had a part in growing and bringing the food to your home. The farmer, the picker, the truck driver, etc.

Now we put the food on our tongue and notice what it tastes like, before actually eating it. Don’t chew yet! Just let it sit there momentarily.Finally, we get to chew it… what does it taste like now, after all that mindful awareness?

Have you thought about your food this way before? Do you think it tastes differently now?

Originally published in The Taos News on November 9, 2023

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. With over two decades of meditation experience, she leads meditation workshops, and classes and provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader as well as a certified labyrinth facilitator. A full audio version of featured practices can be heard on the Welcoming a Mindful Future podcast. Our website can be accessed at MindfulFrontiers.net.

Mindful Movement:

Hiking and Walking as a Meditation Practice

Many people see meditation as something we have to do sitting down, eyes closed, and without moving. That’s one of the myths of meditation, along with trying to not have any thoughts. There are many forms of movement and activities that can be done in a mindful way, such as hiking, walking, dancing, and even stretching.

Being outdoors is a way to relax when life is stressful and to connect intimately to nature. I’m grateful to live in northern NM where there is so much open space and I especially enjoy hikes and walks in this season of autumn; feeling the cool air on my skin, the sun on my face, noticing bird calls, and seeing many interesting creatures. Horned lizards are one of my favorite wild friends, as well as bluebirds and jackrabbits. In the mountains, we can see and feel the effects of the breeze through the trees and bird calls that are very different from those that are heard in lower elevations.

As the seasons cycle forth, walking or hiking brings us intimately in relation to our environment. In the spring the greening of wild parsley, phlox, wild primrose, and other plants wake up. In the summer, wildflowers and home gardens are awash in bright colors. In autumn, trees announce the change of season with hues of yellow, orange, and red leaves. Soon, all will be monotone as the cycle of the seasons continues.

Herein lies our true home: connecting to the body through all of its sensations.

Although hiking can also be a time to think, plan, and work out situations, that is very different from walking meditation. Mindful walking is a meditation practice that invites us to disconnect the thinking mind and bring awareness to the present moment through our senses. Walking meditation, which Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) taught is “a profound and pleasurable way to deepen our connection with our body and the earth.” It is a meditation practice wherein “we breathe, take a mindful step, and come back to our true home”. What Thay calls “our true home” is the present moment, the here and now that connects and grounds our awareness in the body.

When I teach mindful movement to students and adults, the instructions are to move slowly, step-by-step following the rhythm of the breath, and then stop every so often to look around. When done with eyes closed we notice everything much more directly and intimately. Many people have never walked this way since the more common way is to move quickly and engage in conversation along the way. It takes focus to stop the mind chatter and to connect to the environment around us without words. It’s really grounding to walk slowly without a destination; to notice trees, plants, birds, and other natural elements.

Slow Walking Meditation Practice for Families and Groups:
• First, make sure you have enough space around you so you won’t bump into anyone or anything as you move. This activity is really fun to do outside barefoot and with eyes closed.

• Start by standing with your head reaching the sky; legs and feet firmly planted on the ground. Hands are at our side. Notice the strength and stability of the body, like a mountain. Feel the feet and the ground below and the sky above the crown of the head. Wiggle the toes and notice what’s around them, such as shoes or the ground if bare-footed. Notice how the body feels: warm, cool, tight, relaxed?

• Begin feeling the body move in space by swaying from side to side. Young children may be guided to imagine themselves as trees swaying in the breeze. What’s going on in the body as our weight shifts? Are the feet grasping the ground like roots in the earth? Raising our arms to the side or above the head, continue to sway and feel the movement throughout the body.

• Moving one leg at a time, notice the feelings in the whole body as you raise your knee and step forward. As the leg moves, what is the belly doing? The shoulders? Slowly lower the leg and feel the ground below you. Do this with the other leg and take some more slow, rhythmic steps as the breath goes in and out of the body.

• Now, try a few, slow steps with your eyes closed. What does that feel like? Are sensations different when we can’t see? Sometimes balance feels different when we move with our eyes closed.

• Stop and begin bending forward in slow motion. Take your time getting to the ground. Let the head and upper body relax wherever you decide to stop the bend. If possible, touch the floor/ground with your hands. What do you see/feel around your feet? Stay here for a moment and notice the sensations in your body. Which muscles do you feel stretching?

• When you’re ready, slowly curl back up, allowing your head to hang and be the last thing that comes up. Re-establish a stable standing position, feet in contact with the ground and head reaching the sky.

• Now, sway from side to side and front to back in slow motion, and then tilt the head back and forth towards each shoulder. What is happening in your body, legs, neck, face, and shoulders when you do this?

• When you’re ready, return to a comfortable standing posture. Notice what’s different in the body from when you started. Do you feel warm, relaxed, excited, and alert?

Originally published in The Taos News, October 12, 2023

Grounding the Body and Calming our Emotions through Meditation

Using the five senses to settle and relax.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety in your life? Do you listen to music, do art, exercise, something else? All of those activities help distract our mind at the moment for sure. They also require that you stop what you’re doing and devote some quality time to the activity and, in my opinion and experience, they only work while you’re actually doing it. Meditation is a practice that you can do anywhere, anytime, and doesn’t require that you interrupt what you’re doing, change your clothes, and either go outside or take a break from your work and has long-term benefits. In as little as 10 minutes a day, meditation can soothe the effect of anxiety on the body and brain over time and provide a go-to for times of stress.

“Anxiety is something most of us have experienced at least once in our life. Public speaking, performance reviews, and new job responsibilities are just some of the work-related situations that can cause even the calmest person to feel a little stressed”. (University of Rochester Medical Center).

The effects of continued stress and anxiety, if not managed, can be quite unsettling. At Harvard Medical School, radiology instructor Gaëlle Desbordes is part of a community of researchers that in recent decades has been studying how meditation works. Desbordes and her colleagues have found that “there are a handful of key areas — including depression, chronic pain, and anxiety — in which well-designed, well-run studies have shown benefits for patients engaging in a mindfulness meditation program, with effects similar to other existing treatments.”

As a mindfulness and meditation instructor, I lead students and individuals in guided meditation practices that help build resilience into everyday lives. Meditation is a centuries-old practice that has been proven to soothe stress and anxiety by bringing our moment-to-moment attention to what is actually happening in the present moment, and in doing so, we move reactions from the limbic part of the brain to the frontal cortex where logic and reason can take place.

Ruminating is something that keeps us stuck in our anxiety and stressful thoughts as a spiral that keeps going around and around without end, much like recycling thoughts. The frontal and outer parts of the brain are where we can stop the spiraling of rumination by engaging our five senses: sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell.

The following five-step exercise can be very helpful during periods of anxiety or stress by helping to ground us when our mind is recycling various uncomfortable thoughts. Before starting this exercise, we pay attention to our breathing for a few minutes. Slow, deep, long breaths can prepare us for a structured meditation practice. Once you are comfortable following your breath, go through the steps that ground the mind and body by moving attention away from the rumination into a space where your entire body can be calmed.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Practice for Individuals and Families

5: Acknowledge FIVE things you SEE around you. It could be a pen, a spot on the ceiling, or anything in your surroundings. Breathe deeply as you acknowledge these things, really noticing the details.

4: Acknowledge FOUR things you can TOUCH around you. It could be your hair, a pillow, or the ground under your feet. Breathe into these feelings and notice the texture.

3: Acknowledge THREE things you HEAR. This could be any external sound. If you can hear your belly rumbling that also counts! See if you can move that attention to sounds outside the room you are in. Breathe as you are noticing the sounds and maybe even pay attention to the silence between them.

2: Acknowledge TWO things you can SMELL. Maybe you are in your office and smell a pencil, or maybe you are in your bedroom and smell perfume. If you need to take a brief walk to find a scent you could smell soap in your bathroom, or nature outside. The sense of smell can be rather subtle so allow yourself time to fully appreciate the scents.

1: Acknowledge ONE thing you can TASTE. What does the inside of your mouth taste like—gum, coffee, or the sandwich from lunch? If you don’t taste anything, that’s okay, too. Just identify what you taste and breathe with it, naming it as well.

When your practice has come to a close, sit with the breath a while longer, noticing how you feel. Next time you find yourself with anxiety or fear, do this practice as soon as you notice yourself starting to ruminate and invite grounding and relaxation into your body and mind.

An audio version of this meditation practice can be found on our podcast, Welcoming a Mindful Future. The podcast is available on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Google, and Apple.

Originally published in The Taos News, on September 14, 2023