This meditation focuses on the breath, not because there is anything special about it, but because the physical sensation of breathing is always there and you can use it as an anchor to the present moment.

It’s often been said that it’s very simple, but it’s not necessarily easy. Be kind to your wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself for whatever thoughts crop up, just practice recognizing when your mind has wandered off, and gently bring it back.That’s why mindfulness is the practice of returning, again and again, to the present moment. Return to observing the present moment as it is. Our minds often get carried away in thought.Let your judgments roll by. When we notice judgments arise during our practice, we can make a mental note of them, and let them pass.The goal is simple: we’re aiming to pay attention to the present moment, without judgment. Observe the present moment as it is. The aim of mindfulness is not quieting the mind, or attempting to achieve a state of eternal calm.Set aside some time. You don’t need a meditation cushion or bench, or any sort of special equipment to access your mindfulness skills-but you do need to set aside some time and space.Mindfulness is available to us in every moment, whether through meditations and body scans, or mindful moment practices like taking time to pause and breathe when the phone rings instead of rushing to answer it. How do I practice mindfulness and meditation? Mindfulness meditation asks us to suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness, to ourselves and others. When we meditate we venture into the workings of our minds: our sensations (air blowing on our skin or a harsh smell wafting into the room), our emotions (love this, hate that, crave this, loathe that) and thoughts (wouldn’t it be weird to see an elephant playing a trumpet). It’s a special place where each and every moment is momentous. Your head doesn’t become vacuumed free of thought, utterly undistracted.

The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical processes. And there’s growing research showing that when you train your brain to be mindful, you’re actually remodeling the physical structure of your brain. Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. While mindfulness is something we all naturally possess, it’s more readily available to us when we practice on a daily basis. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Daily routine trumpet pdf