Vipassana Mindfulness Meditation: Awakening Without Woo Woo

Conscious awareness is like the sky: It is the background to your perception of reality. It is the ever present, all-encompassing space in which all of your experience of the world appears. Space cannot be changed by the weather. It is always there. When you look up into space, sometimes there are clouds, other times there are clear blue skies, or perhaps something in between. At times, there will even be violent lightning storms covering the sky. If you’re lucky, you might see the northern lights dancing peacefully amongst the stars at night. However, behind all that, there will always be space.

Vipassana mindfulness meditation reveals the nature of conscious awareness, in terms of experience. We will look at how meditation works and describe the different components of mindfulness. The original Sanskrit terms like Vipassana, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are used to describe what happens during mindfulness meditation. We discuss what we can learn from the Eastern and Western perspectives.

This time we go in depth about Dharana, discussing the different inputs and techniques that are most important for Vipassana mindfulness meditation. Things like touch, sounds, vision, moods, thoughts, emotions and the breath are often central focus points for mindfulness meditation. Ultimately expanding the conscious awareness to all inputs at the same time. Practicing so called open awareness, or choiceless awareness. We also talk about why breath is such an important part of mindfulness meditation.

What does it mean to enter a state of no mind? The Sanskrit word Dhyana describes this state of mind. The sense of self falls away, because the sense of self comes from the mind. The state of no mind leaves you tranquil and peaceful, which can feel rejuvenating. Negative emotions fade away. You do not feel for example anxiety, stress or worry in this state. Let me teach you how you can enter this state of mind through Vipassana mindfulness meditation.

Alright, let's put what we've learned about conscious awareness, the mind, the self and the focusing techniques to the test. Time to sit down and do some Vipassana meditation. After this, I'm sure you will have gained more insight about the nature of your own mind. Being mindful is all about the present moment. Let's go there.

There is a lot of speculation surrounding the concept of awakening or enlightenment. The truth is, no one is truly enlightened in the traditional Buddhist sense of the word. However, there is something to be said for having a glimpse into enlightenment, or awakening and being elevated to a hightened state of consciousness. Knowing that it is possible to see the world for what it really is, beyond what our ego tells us. That is the essence of Vipassana meditation. Also called mindfulness. In this lecture we break down the information that is circulating out there. What do we know and when should we apply a dose of healthy skepticism?

There are some things I want you to know before doing guided Vipassana mindfulness meditation. This includes things like recommended practice, intentional pauses between instructions and how to approach Vipassana meditation.

10 minutes of guided Vipassana mindfulness meditation is the perfect amount of time for many beginner meditators. Start with 10 minutes per day and then move on to longer sessions as you see fit. It should come natural once you get into the practice.

I'm glad you're enjoying the practice. Let me guide you through 20 minutes of Vipassana mindfulness meditation. Remember this content is evergreen, so just come back to these guides whenever you feel like it.

Let's talk about how to sit during mindfulness meditation. Most notably the importance of keeping a relatively straight spine and a level head. While keeping your hips above your knees. You will learn why this is important during Vipassana and what to think about when you sit down to meditate.

We all get lost in thought on a regular basis. Even during Vipassana meditation. Our monkey mind plays tricks on us and it just keeps chattering away. Bombarding us with distracting events in our minds. This is completely normal and it gets better with practice. Every time you notice yourself being distracted by thoughts, you can bring your focus back to your point of attention during mindfulness. The more we do this, the more the mind will remain present. So don't worry if you get lost sometimes. It is just an opportunity for practice and insight.

During Meditation, some people claim to get bored. If that is the case, maybe they have chosen the wrong meditation technique for them. Maybe they are focusing on the wrong things? Actually though, it is impossible to be bored in a state of no mind. Let me tell you why you cannot be bored during Vipassana mindfulness meditation.

If you feel negative emotions, it might be tempting to say “get out of my mind! I’m trying to meditate here.” It is unlikely that those emotions will simply listen to you, and kindly get out of your mind. We’ve all had those moments when we felt like we wanted to push negative emotion out of our head. We feel like there is no need for them to be there. They aren’t doing any good at all. So why do we still experience them, despite not wanting to?

Well instead if we become truly present and mindful of your negative emotion, they are more likely to fade away in conscious awareness, just like everything else we experience. Vipassana meditation is all about seeing things for what they are, and this is no exception. I will teach you to greet negative emotion with open arms. Say hello to them and then observe as they fade away naturally.

Many people think that Vipassana mindfulness meditation is something difficult. Something that takes years of practice to master. The truth is, meditation is much easier than you think. You will soon realize that meditation can be done anywhere, at any time.

Although we often think of meditation as a spiritual practice or something we do for the mind, there are many physical benefits of mindfulness meditation. Here are some of the powerful ways that Vipassana meditation can improve your physical health.

There are many ways mindfulness practice can help the psychological state. These benefits include stress management, anxiety management, increased creativity, and better self-esteem. Vipassana meditation has many psychological benefits.

Cognitive benefits of mindfulness meditation include effects on our working memory, our focus, our ability to learn, and more. There are many cognitive benefits, but here are a few of the more well-researched ones. While the main reason to practice Vipassana is arguably to find insights about the true nature of the self, it also brings a lot of cognitive advantage that will make you more successful. It's like a superpower.

In addition to the physical, psychological and cognitive benefits of mindfulness, there are ways in which our meditation practice can impact our social interactions. These benefits may show in our daily lives, and the way we interact with others in our lives. Vipassana reliably increases compassion and social ability.

Finally, here is a full list of references to the scientific theory behind Vipassana mindfulness meditation.