 We have almost 50 articles published on this blog and elsewhere (as of February, 2015). I'm a bit biased, but I think they are all worth reading! However, I understand that people can get lost in all the information and, as a result, not read much because they don't know where to start or what to focus on. With that in mind, I decided to create a "road map" to organize many of our articles in the context of the average person's journey with meditation. As you read, if you find any of the articles beneficial, please click the "Like" and/or Tweet buttons at the bottom of the posts. Our counters were reset a few months ago, so we appreciate you sharing (or, sharing again!) Stage 1: research and objections When people decide to investigate mindfulness and meditation, they tend to bring with them preconceived notions based on limited knowledge or stereotypes (picture the meditator on a mountain side, wearing robes, chanting, and sitting in the lotus position). And, a lot of people don't believe mindfulness and meditation will work for them because they feel they are different from everyone else: "My mind is just so much busier than everyone else's mind!" is something we hear almost every day. Or, "Meditation will make me uncaring." Or, "I can't just let thoughts go...I need to spend time analyzing them!" We've heard it all before. But, more important, we've seen it all proven wrong time and again. Here are articles pertaining to this stage:
Stage 2: misconceptions and bad information This stage overlaps with the previous one. It is, by far, the category with the most posts. Usually, people start to practice based on instructions they receive from a book or find on the Internet. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about mindfulness and meditation out there. There are many misconceptions: "I'm supposed to stop thinking," "I'm supposed to eliminate bad/negative thoughts," "Meditation makes my mind worse (busier)!" Here are articles pertaining to this stage:
Stage 3: there is so much...what do I do? At this stage, people start suffering from "information overload." They continue to read and research, and find a plethora of different methods. They experiment, and usually lose focus because they bounce around from one method to another. "What type of meditation do I do?" is a common question, as is confusion over varying instructions and conflicting information. Here are articles pertaining to this stage:
Stage 4: excuses and inconsistency This stage involves people encountering a lack of motivation, and finding reasons (making excuses?) as to why they can't practice consistently. This stage is critical, as it is where most people give up: "It's not working for me," "I don't have the time," "I find it boring." This is usually the result of viewing mindfulness and meditation as a chore, or an item on your "todo" list. Instead, you need to view it as a way of being (or, a way of life). The question is, how do you get out of the "chore" mindset? How do you stop viewing it as just another task? The answer is, you have to understand your mind and the problems it creates in your life. If you approach mindfulness and meditation from this perspective, you will be motivated to do it every day. You will want to end the suffering your mind causes: stress, worry, anxiety, depression, issues with self-confidence, productivity, sleep...the list goes on and on. Here are articles pertaining to this stage:
In addition to the stages outlined above, below are categories with articles and resources that will help you develop a consistent practice and realize the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. Simple instructions
The present moment
Happiness
Compassion Question and Answer Tuesdays Last year we started a regular feature where we answer reader questions. Topics covered thus far include guided meditation, blocking out noises with headphones, if meditation can help improve self-confidence, dealing with anger, and many others. You can scroll through all the posts here: "Question and Answer Tuesdays." Miscellaneous
We will update this post as we write new articles, and add them to the appropriate stages or categories. We don't include every article we have written above. You can visit our writing index for a chronological list of blog posts and other published articles, as well as a breakdown of posts by various categories (and, the most popular blog posts updated monthly). < What are you trying to "cope" with?
Coping doesn't work - addressing the root cause does. We'll show you how. Comments are closed.
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