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Dear students of The Mindful Path, The third session of our program, Taming the Animal Mind, explained a fundamental part of our human nature…thoughts. We are flooded with a constant stream of thoughts and stories. This is simply what and minds do. Our mindfulness practice lets us see into the stream of thoughts, and we soon learn to identify thoughts as simply that—thoughts. In other words, we don’t have to believe everything we think! Here are a few key highlights from the session: One goal of mindfulness is to become aware of the steady stream of thoughts that are passing through our minds at any given moment…rather than trying to turn off the waterfall, we can take a step back and observe it We all have an inner critic—mindfulness helps us to observe the voice, not “be” the voice Stress in our lives is unavoidable, and not all of it is bad
Actions for the week: Continue a daily formal practice Continue to cultivate your informal practice for activities you are already doing, like brushing your teeth, but doing so mindfully. Practice the STOP technique at moments when you’re prone to reactivity to create more space to respond skillfully instead
You can download a PDF of the session slides as well as rewatch a recording of the session here. We look forward to seeing you again next week for Session 4: Weathering the Inevitable Storms. Good luck this week! With so much love and gratitude, Ryan & Jason Benz P.S. Please don’t forget to use our resources page to your advantage as you embark on this journey, and email us if you have any questions as you continue along.
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