Mark Williams Introduction to Mindfulness at TheMindfulnessSummit.com presented by MrsMindfulness.com and Melli O'Brien

Mark Williams Introduction to Mindfulness at The Mindfulness Summit

The Biggest Obstacle To Mindful Living (& A Short Powerful Exercise That Will Help You Overcome It).

These episodes are a 5 -15 minute exploration into some aspect of mindful living. In these audio episodes I’ll share with you a poem, quote or story and then we’ll unpack the wisdom within it and I’ll give you a method to integrate that wisdom into your life.

In this episode we explore what is often referred to as the biggest obstacle to mindful living and I give you a way to begin to break free from this obstacle in your daily life.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with this exploration so feel free to share them with me and the community on  Facebook.com/mrsmindfulness & Twitter.com/mrsmindfulness I always love hearing from you.

The Biggest Obstacle To Mindful Living

Are you finding yourself getting caught up is a sense of struggle and dissatisfaction?

Imagine having a simple tried, tested and proven tool to guide you into deeper serenity and ease. That's what we’re exploring this week.

In this second short audio-episode of The Mindfulness Summit, we continue the exploration we started last week. The exploration of what is often referred to as the biggest obstacle to mindful living (getting caught up in craving) and I will show you how the parable of the stonemason reveals a deep wisdom that we can all apply to our lives right now.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with this exploration so feel free to share them with me and the community on Facebook.com/mrsmindfulness & Twitter.com/mrsmindfulness I always love hearing from you.


The Biggest Obstacle To Mindful Living Part Two(& How To Cultivate A Life Of Contentment)

I’m excited to share this brand new video with you. It’s a masterclass on mindfulness for addiction with Dr Judson Brewer. Jud is the Director of Research at Center for Mindfulness and an internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addiction.

Do you know what the most powerful thing about this session is? Jud isn’t just teaching us about how to stop smoking or overeating (although those are important and included). He reveals something deeper. He shows us how this seemingly simple practice of using mindfulness for addiction, can also teach us how to untangle ourselves from what is said to be the biggest obstacle to mindful living – our attachment to craving.

Mindfulness For Addictions Video: A Masterclass With Dr Judson Brewer

It is with great pleasure that I share with you the second masterclass with Tara Brach, following on from Tara's presentation on 'How To End The Trance of Unworthiness &amp; Move Through Fear' during the Mindfulness Summit in 2015.

Tara Brach is as an internationally recognised meditation teacher and clinical psychologist, and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC (IMCW). She has practiced and taught meditation for over 35 years and successfully published two bestselling meditation and spiritual awakening books, True Refuge and Radical Acceptance. Her podcasts are also downloaded over one million times per month, which is a real testament to her work and ongoing commitment to helping us live with more peace and ease.

During this masterclass we speak about one of the things that can really hold us back from wholehearted living, and that thing is fear - the fear we’re not enough, we won’t be loved and that we’re not worthy. Tara’s relates to this as the 'Trance of Unworthiness', and illustrates how it can hold us back from being the person we want to be and the life we want to live.

Also shared in this masterclass is Tara’s personal story of how she’s had to self-nurture through feelings of unworthiness, even after publishing Radical Acceptance.

Tara Brach - How To Overcome Fear With The Power Of Mindfulness

Have you ever noticed that the moments when your ‘buttons are pushed’ or when you’re most reactive is when you’re in communication with other people? It’s certainly true for me. Would you like to be less reactive and more skillful and loving in the way you speak and listen? This is what this masterclass is all about!

During this masterclass Florence Meleo-Meyer teaches us a skill called ‘Insight Dialogue’, which is a form of mindful communication. It’s a skillset that brings the tranquility and insight from meditation directly into our interactions with others - giving us the capacity to be more skillful, kind, loving and authentic in our communication with family, friends, co-workers.

Florence is the Director of the Train-the-Trainer program of the Oasis Institute for Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Training, and has taught meditation for over 30 years. She is certified as a Siddha Yoga meditation teacher as well as a senior MBSR (Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction) teacher. Florence holds degrees in education and psychotherapy and is a licensed family therapist.

I’m sure you will find this interview with Florence an incredible support in your ongoing journey into mindful living. Enjoy!

Florence Meleo-Meyer – How to Practice Mindful Communication & Forever Change Your Relationships

We live in tumultuous times don’t we? But each one of us has the capacity to take a stand, in our own lives, for what really matters. That's being a mindful leader, and the world really needs mindful leaders right now. 

I believe mindful leadership is perhaps the most important skill we can develop today—for our communities, our planet, and ourselves. 

To me, to be a mindful leader means to connect with, and live from, a deeper sense of peace and purpose. It means taking empowered and kind actions each day that nourish and uplift the world around us. Would you agree?

Because we believe this is so important right now, myself and my dear friend Dawa Tarchin Phillips created this video below to give you some guidance and support on how to become a mindful leader. In it we share three key principals each on mindful leadership. 

May this video support you in being your fullest and truest self. Enjoy!

Melli O'Brien and Dawa Tarchin Phillips - How to Become A Mindful Leader In The World

During this masterclass with Sharon Salzberg we explore what it means to find ‘real happiness’ and Sharon describes the obstacles that most people get caught in that keep them from this kind of happiness.

You’ll also discover tips on how to ease the voice of the inner critic, and draw on your innate capacity for courage, resilience, compassion and kindness when times get really tough.

Sharon is a world renowned meditation teacher, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She’s been teaching meditation retreats since 1974, and has truly been a pioneer in bringing Eastern wisdom to the Western world.

How To Cultivate Real Happiness & Ease The Voice Of The Inner Critic, With Sharon Salzberg

Did you know you have a hundred million neurons (also called nerve cells or brain cells) in your intestines? The gut is now being referred to by many scientists as the gut-brain. Your heart, in addition to its other functions, also acts as a heart-brain. It’s made up of about 40,000 neurons, all of which can sense, feel, learn and remember. 
 
Yep, that’s right. We have three brains communicating together at any one point in time – The more official names are- the  and you is is you and you (head), the cardiac brain (heart), and the enteric brain (gut). Each organ has complex neuro-networks and is able to store and process information, and each has the capacity for neuroplasticity.

Many ancient wisdom teachings have put great emphasis on checking into one’s own innate intelligence, speaking about following the wisdom of the heart and gut feelings. In recent years technology and neuroscience have finally advanced enough to prove these wisdom teachings to be correct so we now know for sure... our bodies have not one, but three brains. Each of which have different ways of ‘knowing’.

Here is how you can use the intelligence wisdom and intuition of your three brains to make better decisions and stay more in touch with what really matters.

How To Practice The ‘Head-Heart-Gut’ Check In 

We make a lot of decisions every day and these decisions are what determine the direction and quality of our lives. Some are little. Some are completely life altering. All of them matter as you steer the course of your life at each little juncture.

Any time you’re at a decision point you can use this mini meditation to respond (and not react)  to what is arising with with wisdom and intelligence, making more mindful choices leading to a fuller happier more authentic life.

Step 1: Take three deep slow conscious breaths as a way of gathering your awareness to the present moment.

Step 2: Take a deep slow breath as you take your attention to the head and notice what kinds of thoughts are present in relation to the current situation. 

Step 3: Drop awareness down to the heart area as you take another deep slow breath. Take a moment to attend to what values you have in this situation, what you care about and what your deepest intention is. 

Step 4: Drop awareness down into the gut. As you take another breath, acknowledge any hunches, intuitions or emotions that are present.

Step 5: Collect all this Information and take another breath in and out as you mentally ask yourself the question “what shall I do now?” Listen for the answer.

The ‘Head-Heart-Gut’ Check In can be done in just seven breaths. This powerful, simple mini meditation will help you connect to your whole self in the moments when you need it the most. 

Why not give it a try today (and let me know how you go on the facebook page!)

May it be an ally and a support to you in your moments of decision today and beyond

Warmly, 

Melli O’Brien

The Head-Heart-Gut Check In: A One Minute Meditation for Making Wise Choices

Do you find it a challenge to sustain mindfulness in your daily life? Do you sometimes find yourself falling back into old unhelpful ways of thinking and living that don’t serve you? Even with all the mindfulness teachings and tips out there there is very little guidance on how to really make mindfulness sustainable in your life. 

That's why i created this masterclass with Dr Elisha Goldstein on how to make mindfulness stick in your life. During this masterclass we discuss the things that will make the most profound impact when it comes to truly integrating and sustaining mindfulness into your life. Elisha is a psychologist, author and speaker who synthesizes traditional psychotherapy with mindfulness practices. 

This masterclass is short, punchy, and contains practical tips that have the power to make a huge impact on your life. Enjoy : )

How to Make Mindfulness Sustainable In Your Life: A Mindfulness Masterclass With Elisha Goldstein

Did you know that most of us will spend more than 60% of our waking hours of life at work?

Considering that, it’s well worth taking some time to ponder how to be happier, healthier and more resilient at work. Especially since the data shows that we’re becoming increasingly burdened by stress, overwhelmed and burnout in the workplace. It really doesn’t have to be that way.

But is it just a pipedream – being happy and healthy and fulfilled at work? Or can it truly be a reality? This mindfulness masterclass with Rich Fernandez will reveal to you just how achievable it really is to have a deeply rich, meaningful and happy work-life.

Rich is one of the pioneers of bringing mindfulness and emotional intelligence into organisations around the world. He has done so in some very big name companies like eBay, Facebook, Google, Salesforce and Ford to name a few, and now he is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, which is rolling out mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs for communities and organisations globally. He is an expert in mindful leadership and mindfulness at work.

During this masterclass we talk about:

- The hard data on the incredible ROI (return on investment) organisations around the world are experiencing as a result of introducing mindfulness programs into their workforce.

- Practical and powerful tips for all of us to be more mindful, less stressed and more happy at work.

- How Google’s goal to have the happiest healthiest workforce on the planet is paying off.

- The qualities observed in the most effective leaders in organisations and also the most high performing teams at Google – qualities that we can train in ourselves.

And much more

The Mindfulness Summit

How To Bring Mindfulness Into Your Work: A Mindfulness Masterclass With Rich Fernandez

Here is a meditation you can use for overcoming negative thinking. This is one of many meditations I have recorded for the Meditation Studio app (my favourite meditation app) – you can find more of their high quality meditations here: https://apple.co/2BAFphK

Mindfulness Meditation

Untangle Negative Thoughts, from Mediation Studio app

Walking meditation is a simple and universal practice for developing embodied awareness. Often when walking we mentally ‘check out’ and fall into autopilot mode but this ten minute meditation will guide you to stay grounded in mindfulness instead.

A Guided Ten Minute Walking Meditation

In the midst of our busy lives, it’s important to take time to step back and reflect. This is how we learn, grow and stay in touch with what truly matters. But it can be difficult to find time to pause and many don’t know what to focus on in that reflective time.

For that reason I have created this ten-minute mindfulness audio for you. It will help you cultivate greater self awareness, kindness and give you a space to integrate the events of your day. 

It’s best done in the evening before bed (It will also help you get a better nights sleep!) and you might even like to have a journal and pen with you so you can write some reflections in there after the practice

I encourage you to try it out for one week each day to see what effect it has on your life.

This is one of many meditations I have recorded for the Meditation Studio app (my favourite meditation app) – you can find more of their high quality meditations here: https://apple.co/2BAFphK

MrsMindfulness

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