Mind Matters More

Another free meditation episode from Mind Matters More to help you to calm your mind, to ground you and to bring you back to the present moment. You could practice this in the mornings, evenings before bed or throughout the day at any time that you feel distressed, distracted or overwhelmed. 

Losing a loved one is one of the most devastating events that any of us would have to face in our lives. It is also confusing with no guidelines or instructions of how to deal with grief so most of us find our own way of grieving for our loved ones, everyone goes through a different bereavement process. this episode explains the process we go through during bereavement and although it may not be exactly the same for every individual, the stages are very similar.  

In this episode I would like to talk about mental well being and what steps we could take to look after our minds better. 

This is a guided body scan meditation to help you prepare for sleep as you do the meditation. You may find yourself drifting off to sleep. This is fine, so you can allow the meditation to turn off on its own. If you notice thoughts such as worries or concerns arising that take your attention away from the meditation, this is also normal. See if you can redirect your attention back to the body scan, gently letting go of these thoughts.

In this episode I cover what is it about something as simple as sitting still  and  watching  our  breath  that  evokes  panic,  fear,  and  even  hostility?  No  matter  how  many  reports  there  are  proving  the  mental,  emotional,  and physical value of being quiet, there seems to be an even greater number who refuse to give it a try. Of course, meditation  can  be  challenging,  and  even more so if we are uncertain as to why we are doing  it.  It  can  seem  very  odd  to  sit  there  just  listening  to  the  incessant  chatter  in  our  head,  and  we easily get bored if we do nothing for too long, even if it’s only 10 minutes.

In this mindfulness meditation I use guided imagery which involves each of the five  senses to ignite positive healing messages throughout the mind and body.  This meditation is interchanged with visualization, self-hypnosis  and guided meditation and it has its own set of techniques. The  benefits of guided imagery are endless and research has shown that mindfulness practice not only can reduce fear and anxiety, but also has a major impact on reducing the impact of chronic pain which in turn can reduce the psychological distress experienced for the person who suffering from worries, anxieties and physical pain. 

Anxiety has an impact on all of us, Mindfulness Meditation is an effective way to build resilience against anxiety and help calm our mind in difficult situations. In this episode I guide you through a mindfulness meditation with specific intention to reduce anxiety levels. 

In this episode I explore the nature of anxiety, the causes and also possible solutions which are available to overcome our anxieties. Our anxieties may stop us from enjoying life or even functioning on an everyday basis. Therefore, it is very important to understand this concept better and learn ways to tackle it. 

Mindfulness Meditation for Pain using Water Imagery

This episode is about mindfulness and where it came from as well as its  benefits and advantages. I also discuss the 7 main principals when  practicing mindfulness.

Our  breath is something that we probably take for granted despite the fact  that we cannot live without it. We can live without food for weeks,  without water for days, but we cannot survive without the nourishment  that the breath provides for more than a few tens of seconds. The breath  really is life.

There is an important way in which the breath  does not need us to make it happen. The breath breathes itself. If it  was up to us to remember to breathe, we’d have forgotten long ago. So  tuning into the breath can be an important antidote to the natural  tendency towards believing that we have to be in control. Attending to  the breath reminds us that at the core of our being, something is  happening that depends very little on who we are or what we want to  achieve.

Our breath provides a natural, gently moving target to  focus on in our meditation; it grounds us in the here and now. We cannot  take a breath for five minutes ago, or for five minutes’ later. We can  only take a breath for now.

Our breath can be a sensitive monitor  for our feelings. If we can sense more clearly when the breath is short  or long, shallow or deep, rough or smooth, we can begin sensing our own  internal weather patterns, and choose whether and how to take skillful  action to look after ourself.

Finally, the breath provides an  anchor for our attention, so that we can see more clearly when our mind  has wandered, when it is bored or restless or when we are fearful or  sad. During even the shortest meditation on the breath, we may become  aware of how things are for us, and, returning to the breath, let go of  the tendency to fix things straight away. The breath opens up a  different possibility, that of allowing life to live itself for a while,  to see what wisdom emerges when we don’t rush in to ‘put things right’.  This can be an important antidote to emerging feelings of anxiety,  stress, and unhappiness.

In this episode I am covering a more general topic of mental health and  why it is so important. I discuss why and how it effects us and how the  stigma attached to mental health difficulties can have a devastating and  long lasting negative impact on our lives. I also challenge everyone,  employers, service providers, mental health professionals and also  individuals to do more, to be better ad to d better as we all have a  responsibility towards one another.