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Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

You have probably wanted to meditate or wondered how it is to meditate for some period of your life. However, although it may seem like a simple concept, you probably found yourself wondering about how it is possible to shut down your thoughts.

Well, it is not easy. However, it can be accomplished.

In this summary of “Wherever You Go, There You Are”, we explain the benefits of meditation, how to meditate, what is mindfulness and how you can accomplish it.

Who Should Read “Wherever You Go, There You Are”? and Why?

The world thinks of “Wherever You Go, There You Are” as a contemporary classic on meditation. And to be fair, it is so for good reasons. It is fantastic and makes the meditation practice accessible to everyone.

The chapters are short, each concentrating on a single subject. Many are wrapped into provoking inquiries or simple exercises you can try on yourself. We recommend this book to everyone keen on reducing their anxiety, honing their focus, and extending their mindfulness.

About Jon Kabat-Zinn

Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic, as well as the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

“Wherever You Go There You Are Summary”

Many people experience their days on automatic pilot, not focusing on their surroundings. Their psyches dash forward, back and off into a sort of a dream. They will do everything without exception, rather than be themselves and recognize what they are doing.

Meditation disrupts this process and takes you the other way. It empowers you to embrace current circumstances and to experience every minute of your life completely.

The core of every reflective practice is mindfulness or in other words appreciation of the present moment, regardless of where they come from.

Now, mindfulness may sound simple to you, and indeed it is as a concept. However, it is difficult to accomplish. Your mental propensities will separate you from the present moment, again and again. And mindfulness encourages you to return to awareness.

To stay committed to meditation, you need to comprehend why you are doing it. List down the reasons you meditate and continue inquiring about them, looking for more in-depth answers. Numerous cultures trust that meditation and reflection create “full” individuals. As you take part in a meditative routine of trust, focus, and nonjudgment, you will figure out how to confront overwhelming internal circumstances and experience the kind of self-awareness a few people achieve through psychotherapy.

In any case, meditation is not just a mental exercise. Instead, look at it as a spiritual journey.

Reflect on your life as an excursion. What are you searching for? “Where are you going?” How far have you advanced?

Your racing musings may feel like strong winds, and you may need meditation to quiet and calm them down. Of course, you may succeed in it.

However, there is one catch.

For that to happen, you should first acknowledge your present thoughts. Try to watch them going through you without getting vexed or diverted. As opposed to attempting to quiet the winds, which is a proactive assignment, acknowledge the world and see it as it seems to be. Consider meditation a shift from doing to being. To experience this shift, attempt to focus on your sensations, on your breathing, reminding yourself to stay in the present moment, and asking yourself where your mind is at the moment – and bringing it back to your meditative practice.

Now, let me be honest.

You will keep running into numerous barriers on your way to mindfulness. However, you can figure out how to transform them into instruments that will work in your favor. For instance, everybody has emotional triggers carved into their unconscious. When somebody or something pushes them, you get furious, scared etcetera, all of which diverts you from mindfulness. Furthermore, judging yourself hauls you out of a mindful state. You may get irate and after that judge yourself for being the rate. Mindfulness is the answer to all these issues.

Watch your mind as it goes where it will. And remember, your continually changing musings are not the only reality.

Key Lessons from “Wherever You Go, There You Are”:

1.      The Meditative Personality
2.      Meditation Practice and Postures
3.      Mindfulness Concepts

The Meditative Personality

Everyone can meditate, since meditation does not require talent or something you are born with, but practice. There are, however, several qualities that make meditation more comfortable, so if you wish to embark on this journey to mindfulness, you may as well cultivate them. Those qualities are patience, nonjudgement, generosity, humility, voluntary simplicity, and concentration.

Meditation Practice and Postures

There is no particular time or place required for meditation. You practice it by merely returning to the present moment until presence is your normal state.

Furthermore, your posture while meditating sends a message to you or the world. The most common meditative pose is seated, with an upright spine and a feeling that you are rooted in the ground. Additionally, almost all meditative traditions have certain beliefs about the position of the hands during the practice. An experiment which position of the hands suits you best and how they affect your process.

Now, if sitting does not work for you, you can try walking, standing, lying down or doing yoga.

Finally, remember that there is no correct way to meditate. That is why we said it is a simple concept: as long as you are focused and being mindful, you are doing it correctly.

Mindfulness Concepts

Meditation is a form of just being, instead of thinking. Some concepts may help you on the way to reaching mindfulness.

• • “Nondoing” – it is “not doing anything.” It is a meditative term which names the practice of paying attention to the present moment. It means letting things be and allowing them to unfold.

• • “Karma” – everything that happens to you is a result of something you once did or felt in the past. It can trap you since whatever happens in your life, you respond according to your habits picked up from the past, and create a new karma which continues the cycle. Meditation can set you free from this loop.

• • “Ahimsa” – it is not harming the world that surrounds you.

• “Wholeness” – it is a feeling that comes after some time of meditation. It may even extend to feeling as one with the world.

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“Wherever You Go, There You Are” Quotes

Our Critical Review

The author handles the difficult task of clarifying the nonverbal meditative routine, which numerous people find strange and alien, and makes it valuable and accessible for everyone.

Emir Zecovic

Emir is the Head of Marketing at 12min. In his spare time, he loves to meditate and play soccer.