The Willingness and Courage to Change!

UNLESS you enjoy the emotional turmoil of anxiety and stress in your daily life!
UNLESS you thrive on the enjoyment of physical pain, discomfort, illness, insomnia, heart disease, hypertension, skin rashes and other bodily manifestations created by over-reaction to your thoughts,

AND, UNLESS you thrive on anger, self-criticism, depression or low self-esteem:
THEN, a daily practice of Mindfulness Meditation WILL NOT BENEFIT YOU!

HOWEVER, if you wish to make more positive and healthier CHANGES in your life, then it may be worth your while to learn about Mindfulness. It’s not woo-woo or magic! It is a logical and easy-to-understand concept backed by an abundance of neuroscientific and psychological research. Just Google it!

You don’t need to sit like a pretzel or in a yoga/lotus position or sit on a mountain top as often depicted in images of meditators. You don’t need to stop your thoughts, become spaced-out or sit in a trance during a MINDFULNESS MEDITATION practice.

A Mindfulness practice will teach you how to become more aware of those negative thoughts that are detrimental to you mental and physical well-being…and then how to make a choice to “let them be”. Studies show that the majority of our thoughts are really false beliefs that we have adopted through our childhood and adolescent years.

A Mindfulness Practice will teach you how every thought we entertain sends a message to our brain. The brain believes everything we tell it! And then it sends signals to your body (via our neurons and neuro transmitters) and you react accordingly to those messages. Example: When you have a thought, “I am not very good at_________” or “I’ll never understand__________”, then you will indeed be sending a negative message to yourself and those statements will become your reality. We become what we think.

With an understanding of Mindfulness, there’s so much more to learn about the structure of our own human behavior and about the value of finding more calmness and ease in our day-to-day life. All one needs is the desire and courage to change for the better! Perhaps you don’t think you are ready, or you won’t “get it”, but you’ll never know until you open yourself up to JUST TRYING IT.

You will have the opportunity to TRY IT by registering for The Meditation Tree’s next series of ONLINE Beginner Classes starting Saturday, May 3rd, 2025 at 10”30 AM PDT. There will be 6 weekly 90-minute classes. For more details and/or to register, visit www.themeditationtree.com. Classes are by donation!

How Does Mindfulness Meditation relate to the way we think?

Have you ever noticed that your mind is always restless? People have a natural tendency to overthink their past, present, or future occurrences. We spend too much time ruminating on unhealthy self-talk. We spend too much time focusing on negative, self-defeating thoughts that often lead to unnecessary stress, anxiety, self-doubt, and even depression.  

Here are some ways mindfulness meditation helps curb our unhealthy thought patterns and overthinking.  

Focus on the Present Moment  

Mindfulness meditation helps us focus on the present moment. Via Mindfulness, we train ourselves to be aware when our thoughts drift to the past or future. We learn how to become aware of our negative thoughts, how to begin to question them and notice how we detrimentally react to them. For this, we need to find some stillness within ourselves and to become an observer of our thoughts and negative reactions. Then, we can begin to control how we react to our thoughts rather than have our thoughts control us. 

Reduced Stress and Anxiety 

Overthinking and believing every thought we have as being TRUE leads to stress and anxiety. We often ruminate about the past and get stressed over what we want for ourselves in the future rather than staying and focusing on the present moment.  Stressing over the past or fearing the future does not provide much productivity. So, mindfulness meditation teaches us how we can move forward by letting go of the past and embracing the appreciative things that we do have in our present moment lives. 

Improved Emotional Awareness  

Mindfulness Meditation focuses on showing us how to become more emotionally aware. We learn how not to cling to our thoughts or entangle ourselves with them. By practicing mindfulness, we can understand our feelings and the feelings of others without judgment and then respond thoughtfully.  

Enhanced Concentration  

Regular mindfulness practice can sharpen our concentration.  By learning to focus on our breath, we can often learn to create space around them.  Rather than stopping our thoughts, meditation teaches us how to change our relationship with them. It sharpens our focus and trains our minds to stay on a task longer. It also works well for work or studies by enhancing our memory and creativity. 

Developed Self-Esteem 

Mindfulness meditation helps us become more aware of our emotions and thought patterns that impact our self-esteem. By practicing mindfulness, we begin to discover our true selves and focus on our own growth and personal development instead of focusing on others.  

Evoked Self-Compassion and Wisdom 

The more mindful we become, the more compassionate we feel for ourselves and others. Instead of criticizing our thoughts, we learn to accept them with compassion and respect. We can be more at peace with ourselves and nurture our relationships. So, embracing this practice helps us to break negative thought patterns and discover the best version of ourselves. 

Growth Starts from Within! 

Overthinking brings our energy down, weakens our immune system, makes us more anxious and stressed, and hampers the way we can find enjoyment in our daily lives. Neuroscience and psychology research supports the positive impact that Mindfulness Meditation can have in our lives. Consider our mindfulness meditation classes online to elevate your lifestyle. Contact us and for more details check out our Facebook page.