One-Pager
Pretty much everything you learn in Brightmind fits into one of the following categories:
What mindfulness is
Why to practice mindfulness
How to practice mindfulness
**This one-pager simply lays out the big picture. For more details, click on the relevant meditation in the app and then click SEE MORE. Don’t have the app? Download now!
Why
Question: Why practice mindfulness?
Answer: The 5 Facets of Happiness
The 5 Facets of Happiness
Stress Relief
Be More Fulfilled
Understand Yourself
Sharpen Your Skills
Improve the World
What
Question: What is mindfulness?
Answer: Mindfulness is 3 mental muscles, working together.
The 3 Mental Muscles
Concentration: The ability to focus on what you choose.
Clarity: The ability to track and explore your sensory experience in real time.
Balance: The ability to allow your sensory experience to come and go without push or pull.
How
Question: How do you practice mindfulness?
Answer: Do all 4 Elements of Practice.
The 4 Elements of Practice
Official Practice
Definition: At least ten minutes, in stillness, all your attention on the technique.
Frequency: Most days
Integration Practice
Definition: Break one of the three defining characteristics of official practice. Less than ten minutes is a snack. Practicing while moving is movement practice. Splitting your attention between a technique and another task is Jedi practice.
Frequency: Most days
Coaching
Definition: Competent coaches help you overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities in your meditation practice by offering four things: personalized information, accountability, emotional support, and inspiration.
Frequency: At least twice a year
Retreats
Definition: At least 4 hours of practice (with breaks of course).
Frequency: At least twice a year
In terms of how to practice specific techniques, there are three basic categories of meditation techniques: Noting and Labeling, Nurture Positive, and Auto Focus.
Noting has two parts: (1) acknowledge a sensory experience and (2) focus on the sensory experience. A Label is a word that you say either out loud or to yourself in your mind. That word names the kind of sensory experience that you’re noting. The basic idea with Noting and Labeling techniques is to pick a focus space and then Note and Label whatever comes up. Here’s a list of the standard focus spaces:
Thoughts & Emotions
See In
Hear In
Feel In
SHF In
Physical Senses
See Out
Hear Out
Feel Out
SHF Out
Restful States
See Rest
Hear Rest
Feel Rest
SHF Rest
See Hear Feel
Just See
Just Hear
Just Feel
See Hear Feel
The basic idea with Nurture Positive is to intentionally create and focus on positive mental image, mental talk, and/or emotional body sensation.
The basic idea with Auto Focus is: If you happen to notice an intention to direct your attention, drop that intention. Otherwise, you don’t have to do anything other than maintain a meditation posture.
Question: That's a lot of technique options, which technique should I practice?
Answer: When you open Brightmind each day, consider if you want to learn something new. If you do, continue with the Journey. If you don’t, consider how much of an appetite you have for making decisions. If you don’t want to make decisions, then restart the Journey. If you feel comfortable making some decisions, then use The 80-20 Rule to pick a technique.
For a full explanation of The 80-20 Rule, listen to the Level 2 Graduation talk. Here’s the basic idea though. Practice your ‘favorite techniques’ about 80% of the time. Spend the remaining 20% of your time doing techniques that ‘round out your practice’. Favorite techniques are any techniques that you find interesting, come naturally to you, or that you enjoy. A balanced meditation practice includes at least some Noting and Labeling, some Nurture Positive, and some Auto Focus. So rounding out your practice looks different, depending on what your favorite techniques are. You can divide your practice by days, or do multiple techniques in a single session.
Once you’ve picked your technique, consider whether you want guidance. If you want guidance, play the corresponding guidance. If you don’t want guidance, use the Un-Guided timer.
If you’re not sure if you want to learn something new, just default to continuing with the Journey meditations. In addition to introducing new concepts and practices, the Journey includes some review too. So moving forward with the Journey is generally a good option if you’re not sure if you want to learn something new.
I know this is kinda confusing. There’s no way around it: technique choice is a complex topic. Technique choice is also really important. This is one of those situations where I’m trying to simplify things as much as possible, but not too much. I believe in your potential, and I therefore want to offer an industrial strength framework that will stand the test of time, not just some over simplified hack.
The best I can do, at least at this point, is this explanation / the diagram under the Level 2 Graduation pack. God’s speed! And, as you know, I’m available for coaching. Personal technique choice is a great topic for a coaching call, as we can work through the decision tree together and I can answer any questions that come up.