Meditation – in different forms – exists in almost every culture and religious community around the world. The most popular form of meditation in the west is mindfulness, which originates from eastern religious practices, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, but the concepts are common to many other faith traditions too.
The aim of meditation such as mindfulness is to be aware of your present moment experiences without judgement. It’s not about emptying your mind of thoughts but being aware of the thoughts that come up and not judging them. It’s inevitable that thoughts will come up and that’s not something that gets in the way of the practice.
You don’t need to have a formal sitting practice to live more in the present moment but it can help you to be more aware generally.
Shame-Free Community members can learn more about meditation and how it can help with shame on our introduction to meditation course.
Other useful resources
- Free guided meditations from UCLA Health – includes a free app for Android and Apple
- Free mindfulness meditations from Sharpham Trust – website also has mindfulness courses and retreats (I’ve taken their 8-week course and can recommend it)
- NHS – about mindfulness
- Useful articles from Eckhart Yoga on meditation in your yoga practice
- David Treleaven’s Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness website – podcast, free webinar, book and training course