StillMind.net

StillMind.net 30 Day Meditation Course

The StillMind.net 30-Day Meditation Course has been proven to help the practitioner make it through the difficult beginning stages, where many aspiring meditators often become frustrated and quit.

Our goal is to help you establish an…Read more

Day 1 – Body Scan Meditation

To begin with, we will do a simple, but very effective technique known as Body Scan. Your attention will move over different points in your body. In holding your focus on each point for a…Read more

Day 2 – Soft Belly Meditation

As a culture, we Americans, along with our western world neighbors, tend to hold lots of tension in our bellies. With our emphasis on the lean look, we are taught at an early age to…Read more

Day 3 – Counting Meditation

Here’s a quick little test. Clasp your hands in front of you by interlacing your fingers. It is said that if your left thumb is on top of the right, you are right-brain dominant, and…Read more

Day 4 – Centering Prayer

Centering Prayer is simply opening to your higher being. Opening to God, if that’s your belief system. Or, for some, it’s opening to what we might refer to as a higher self, a higher power,…Read more

Contrary to the instructions of the other 29 days of this course to sit still, and conjure up your mindfulness, meditation can be done while in motion, and walking is an excellent vehicle for awareness….Read more

Day 6 – Vipassana, Insight Meditation

Vipassana means “to see things as they really are”. It is a process of mental purification through self-observation. This is one of the oldest, simplest, and most widely used meditation techniques. Although it’s part of…Read more

Day 7 – Stopping the War Within

We are at war with ourselves. Inner conflicts cause dysfunction, and the sources of those conflicts can be quite varied. Perhaps we’re simply judging ourselves or others too harshly, or perhaps, feelings of guilt exist…Read more

Day 8 – White Light Meditation

White Light Meditation is used by many spiritual traditions, and its roots are so ancient that it’s hard to determine its source, so you might say that it’s universal. It is known to promote a…Read more

Day 9 – Healing Meditation

Our thoughts and emotions affect how our bodies function. When we see, smell, or think of food, we salivate. When we’re afraid, our breathing changes and the muscles tense. It’s not such a stretch to…Read more

Day 30 – Meditation on Forgiveness

Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts of life. It enables us to let go of the past. Sometimes it comes from nowhere, spontaneously, or it comes with time, but it can also be developed….Read more

Day 29 – Meditation on Death

Our meditation today consists of two parts of a classic nine-point meditation on death that gets to the very heart of the matter, impermanence, which can be a rough concept to swallow. We live in…Read more

Day 28 – Shikantaza

Unlike the other meditation techniques that we use, the Zen method known as Shikantaza, or “just sitting”, is done with no object of attention, no focal point. It has been referred to as the meditator’s…Read more

Day 27 – Tonglen

In order to have compassion for others, we must have compassion for ourselves. Specifically, to show empathy instead of aversion toward others who have negative traits such as anger, jealousy, arrogance, pride, etc., and to…Read more

Day 26 – The Filing Cabinet in Your Mind

Consider what you’ve been storing in your memory all these years. From birth, consider the movies, TV, and books that you’ve experienced. How many TV commercials have you seen? The number of billboards? The number…Read more

Day 25 – Mental Filters

We’ve all heard that if you see a glass half empty or half full of water, that determines whether you are a pessimist or an optimist. The pessimist sees the bad outcome, but the flip…Read more

Day 24 – Oneness

It is somewhat odd that in our early development we must work to establish the ego for our basic needs, in fact, our very survival. Then, later on, to establish community, we develop a sense…Read more

Day 23 – Meditation on Change

Everything is in a state of transition. Some of the changes around us are difficult for us to see and acknowledge due to our limited abilities to perceive, and our short time frames. Rocks seem…Read more

Day 22 – Energy Meditation

Sometimes it’s hard to keep the meditative focus. It takes a certain energy level to deal with our demons. Often, when we’re having a particularly difficult and exhausting time with meditation, it’s because it takes…Read more

Day 21 – Accepting the Truth

Being awake and aware is nothing special. It’s the way we are if our internal chatter is not drowning out our in-born wisdom. It’s our true nature. If we are not in danger physically, or…Read more

Day 20 - With Thoughts We Make The World

Day 20 – With Our Thoughts We Make The World

It’s interesting to notice how some people are acting the day after a big sports event like the Super Bowl. If their team has won, they’re energized and happy. If their team has lost, they…Read more

Day 19 – Equanimity Meditation

Equanimity can be a difficult concept. Generally speaking, it’s the characteristic of being at peace, undisturbed with what’s going on around you, content and centered. On first introduction to karma, it’s hard to understand without…Read more

Day 18 – Karma Meditation

All of us are carrying things around that we should have left behind. If we really examine some of our negative emotions, many of them date back to events in the past. As we go…Read more

Day 17 – Teacher Meditation

This day’s meditation is about basking in the wisdom and light that can be shed by great teachers, absorbing what it is that they have to offer you. It’s a guided meditation with vivid imagery….Read more

Day 16 – Metta Meditation

Metta Meditation is special. The literal translation of the word Metta is loving kindness. Specifically, the meditation is used to cultivate a deep sense of love and compassion for yourself and all of creation. Practicing…Read more

Day 15 – Pain Meditation

5 minutes into a meditation, you start experiencing some sort of pain in your body. You want to follow instructions, continue with the meditation, and not fidget, like a good meditator. More time passes, but…Read more

Day 14 – Eating Meditation

In today’s fast-paced world, an area that can be easily overlooked in our quest for mindfulness is our eating habits. It’s up to the individual to determine what is the best diet for him/her. Everyone…Read more

Day 13 – Big Mind Meditation

The Big Mind Meditation is another technique from the Zen Buddhist tradition. Zen methods are some of the simplest, appropriate for the beginning meditation student, but also quite effective for the more advanced practitioner. Despite…Read more

Day 12 – Who You Are Not

From your moment of conception to the present, your body has been in a constant state of change. In any given moment, your cellular changes are happening at lightning speed. Your body has never been…Read more

Day 11 – Dalai Lama Meditation

Since he was a young boy, the Dalai Lama has had instruction and advice from the best of teachers, and has studied many techniques, but there is one method he considers so valuable that he…Read more

Day 10 – Noting and Labeling Meditation

The Noting and Labeling method of meditation is an extension of the Vipassana method that we learned earlier. It starts off by following the rise and fall of the breath, using the rhythmic cycle of…Read more