12 Minute Meditation

Our guest this week is Jeneé Johnson. She brings us a meditation based on what she calls "staying on the spot." This meditation is designed to help you: 
Notice when your thoughts wander

Come back to the moment without judgment or anxiety

Practice training your attention in meditation so you can carry that skill over into daily life

Jenée Johnson is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, Racial Healing, Emotional Intelligence Educator, and HeartMath facilitator. Jenée initiated and led the unique effort to bring mindfulness into San Francisco's public health programs and practices through the Trauma Informed Systems Initiative. She is on the advisory board of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI) and is certified to teach mindfulness and emotional intelligence based on the latest neuroscience. She is also the founder and curator of The Right Within Experience, a day-long program for people of African ancestry that teaches practical mindfulness to overcome the diminishing impact of racism and open a portal to a liberatory lifestyle.
The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. 
Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. 
Show Notes
Find more from Jeneé Johnson here.
Go Deeper
For more information on how mindfulness practice can help you train your focus and attention, check out these resources from Mindful.org:
Attention! How Mindfulness Training Is Helping People Reclaim Their Ability to Focus 

Paying Attention to the Space In Between 

Finding a Way to Measure and Study Our Internal Attention 

The Brain Science of Attention with Amishi Jha 

Find Your Focus: Own Your Attention in 12 Minutes a Day 

For another approach to attention-strengthening meditation, try: A Breathing Meditation to Gently Bring Your Attention Back with Awareness 
And more from Mindful here:
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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.

It is natural as finite human beings to want to feel certain. To our brains, certainty equals safety. It's normal to wish we could control the future, because uncertainty can be unsettling and scary. 
But as today's teacher observes, as difficult as it is, the only real leverage we have to positively influence the future is to learn to inhabit the present moment fully, without trying to fix it or manage it. This is the most challenging aspect of mindfulness, and its core principle. 
This 20-minute guided meditation with Jon Kabat-Zinn is practice for simply being awake and aware in the moment without agenda. 
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as well as the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is author of Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness; Wherever You Go, There You Are; Coming to Our Senses; and Mindfulness for Beginners. He trains, teaches, and lectures throughout the world on applications of mindfulness and is Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. 
Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. 
Show Notes
Find more from Jon Kabat Zinn here.
Go Deeper
Like any mindful skill, learning how to tune into and stay rooted in the present moment takes time and practice. Learn more with these resources on Mindful:
How Present-Moment Awareness Can Make Life More Meaningful 

The Science and Practice of Staying Present Through Difficult Times 

Why It's Hard to Live in the Present Moment 

Before Fidget Toys, There Were Beads: The Latest Craze is Part of a Long Tradition of Keeping Your Hands Busy 

Being Present with Cancer 

For another approach to practicing present moment awareness, try: A 10-Minute Practice to Fully Experience the Present 
And more from Mindful here:
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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.

Stress and tension can easily build up in our bodies during busy days or weeks, and often we don't even realize how much that is affecting our ability to let go and fall asleep at night. 
In this guided practice, teacher Kelly Boys offers a simple body scan meditation that uses sensory awareness and intentional breathing to invite a sense of lovely heaviness and relaxation.
Kelly Boys is a mindfulness trainer, coach, author, and speaker, specializing in teaching the NSDR (non sleep deep rest) practice of yoga nidra. She is the author of The Blind Spot Effect and as a trainer has created mindfulness programs for UN humanitarians and veterans with PTSD. 
Just a quick note: Since this is a sleep meditation, you won't be hearing a closing bell or the usual outro, so that you can drift off in silence. 
The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. 
Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. 
Show Notes
Find more from Kelly Boys here.
Go Deeper
It's not really possible to "get rid" of stress. In fact, the more we try to fight it, the worse it gets. What does work to ease stress is to meet it with compassion, and that can take on various forms: sensory awareness, body scans, deep breathing, mindful movement, journaling, and many other types of mindfulness practice. Here are just a few ways that you can learn to meet, process, and release stress: 
Make It Personal: How Mindfulness Can Support Highly Stressed People 

A Steady Heart: A Cardiologist's Advice for Lowering Stress 

A Simple Inquiry Practice to Unwind from Stress 

Mindfulness May be a Useful Tool for Dealing with Stress Associated with Autism

The Power of Meeting Stress with Softness

For another guided meditation to help you get to sleep, try: Healthy Sleep Can't Be Forced. Try this Sleep Meditation Instead 
And more from Mindful here:
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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.

When we're facing disappointment or challenge, it's easy to default to negative narratives about who we are inherently: I'm a failure. What's wrong with me? I never do anything right. 
This week, teacher Rich Fernandez invites a different perspective: When we shift from naming an existential trait (like, I must be a loser) to naming a temporary experiential state (like, I'm experiencing a setback that's discouraging), then we can actually return awareness and agency to ourselves and navigate a way through the challenge. 
Rich Fernandez has dedicated his career to building more purposeful, mindful, and high-performing workplaces. He is the former CEO of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), co-founded Wisdom Labs, and has also served in senior roles at eBay, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Bank of America. Currently, he is the Head of Executive Development at Gap, Inc.
The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. 
Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. 
Show Notes
Find more from Rich Fernandez here.
 
Go Deeper
Learning how to navigate difficulty is a core human skill, and naturally one of the most challenging. For more resources on how mindfulness can help build resilience, compassion, and wisdom for the tougher seasons of life, check out these articles from Mindful: 
Why Imagination—Not Resilience—Might Help You Heal From Heartbreak 

Elaine Smookler on How Setbacks Can Breed Resilience 

Deep Resilience: The Wisdom of Making Friends with Your Mind 

Swimming, Walking, Running—Why Mindful Movement Can Boost Resilience  

Learning to Meditate Through Difficulty 

For another guided practice on staying steady when things feel like they're falling apart, try: Staying Grounded through Difficulty 
And more from Mindful here:
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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.

By definition, to feel vulnerable is to feel exposed and undefended. It's natural, in moments of emotional risk or tenderness, to feel the urge to pull back from vulnerability, to deny it or dismiss it as weak or needy. But decades of research have also revealed that we can't really form strong bonds with others if we're unwilling to take the risk of being our true selves. 
This week, Dr. Stacee Reichezer guides us through a practice that can help us soften to this oh-so-human experience so that we can truly know healing, connection, and vitality. 
Dr. Stacee L. Reicherzer, PhD, LPC-S is the Chicago-based transgender author of The Healing Otherness Handbook: Overcome the Trauma of Identity-Based Bullying and Find Power in Your Difference. The San Antonio, TX native serves as clinical faculty of counseling at Southern New Hampshire University, where she received the distinguished faculty award in 2018.
The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. 
Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. 
Show Notes
Find more from Stacee Reicherzer here.
As with any difficult emotion, learning to be with vulnerability is a skill that we can nurture. Here are more resources on this essential skill and how mindfulness can help you build and expand your capacity to be yourself in the world. 
Go Deeper
Gentle Men: The Healing Power of Vulnerability 

The Power of Vulnerability 

Why Vulnerability is Your Superpower 

Feeling Like a Fraud in Your Own Mindfulness Practice 

4 Questions to Foster Your Authentic Self 

For more practice leaning into genuine connection, try A 12-Minute Meditation for Cultivating Connection to Yourself and Beyond.

And more from Mindful here:
More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation
Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.