Cheerfulness helps

I’m meditating frequently in Italy. It’s a true privilege to have so much time to do so.

One thing that’s super helpful for me these days during meditation is cheerfulness.

The teacher Tara Brach says there are two key ‘wings’ to mindfulness 1) awareness of what is happening now and 2) a gentle, open kindness toward whatever that is.

I can’t have no thoughts. That’s not the point of my meditation because thoughts are part of what’s happening now. Resisting them is resisting the flow of the present moment. But following them down rabbit holes of patterned chatter takes me away from mindfulness.

So, I sit watching my breath and my mind wanders. What I do when I become aware of that is crucial.

I can be frustrated, demoralized, self-critical, exasperated. These are all portals to more patterned rabbit holes of distraction.

Or I can be cheerful:

“Welcome back!! Welcome to the present! Look at that!- you noticed and then you came back to your breath! Right on! ... Breathing in I know that I am breathing in. Breathing out I know that I’m breathing out ….blahblahblahwonderworryfret…. Welcome back!! Nice job!! ...Breathing in I know that I am breathing in….”

Feels better. Makes me WANT to come back to my breath. Develops new, more positive patterns. Which leads to me meditating more frequently.