Hello and welcome to Radio Headspace and to Friday. It's been so wonderful being back

here with you for this past month. So today I wanted to talk about this idea that life

is practice and practice is life. This sense that everything is interconnected and that

our lives are an opportunity to practice the skills and qualities that we learn in meditation.

When I first joined Headspace many moons ago I remember asking our founder Andy about what

kind of mentality I should have as I go about my journey with meditation. He really took

the time to explain to me that our practice in meditation and our practice in life are

truly interconnected. So I wanted to share the following attributes with you that Andy

shared with me to help you as you go about your practice and your daily lives. Whether

your brand new to meditation or have been practicing for many years. Okay number one, be curious.

Meditation is about noticing the mind as it is. Rather than trying to make the mind as we

would like it to be. This means being curious. Noticing thoughts and feelings. Both during

your meditation and in everyday life. Not pushing to find an answer but simply noticing

and observing life as it is.

Number two, keep an open mind. Most of us have an idea of what meditation is before we begin.

And more often than not this idea gets in the way of the actual experience. So as much

as possible try to let go of any preconceived ideas and simply be present with the reality

of the experience. Number three, try to be patient. Meditation is a journey for life.

It's not a quick fix or even a slow fix. But rather a way of cultivating our attention,

our awareness, compassion. It just so happens as we cultivate these qualities, our perspective

changes and the things that felt like they needed fixing beforehand no longer appear

in the same way. Number four, be kind to yourself. Most of us tend to be quite judgmental

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