Best products from r/Mindfulness

We found 61 comments on r/Mindfulness discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 94 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/Mindfulness:

u/pbw · 11 pointsr/Mindfulness

I think mindfulness is an open awareness of everything including the state of your own mind. The goal isn't to stop your mind from wandering, that's not possible. The goal is to notice when it does, and then, if you choose to, redirect your attention back on the present moment.

People hear this and they go "Yeah I get it, but isn't the REAL goal to stop your mind from wandering? Because that's what I want." Ultimately if you are mindful it is extremely likely you will spend less hours of the day with a wandering mind. But that wasn't the goal, that's a side effect.

In "complex adaptive systems", like people, you generally do not want your goal to be the thing you want to achieve. This isn't an opinion it's like a solid theorem or something, I can't remember where I read it though, but it's like a math thing, it's just how things work.

If a coach told the team their goal was to "score more points than the other team" how good of a coach would that be? Obviously they want to score more points, but that cannot be their *goal*. Their goal should be something like "move the ball up the field" or "maintain possession" or "keep it on the outside" or "get the ball to the Italians".

The greatest college basketball coach of all time John Wooden famously said that winning was NEVER his goal and it should should never be the player's goal. The goal was to play your absolute best. If you played your best and lost, that is great you succeeded. If you didn't play your best and won, then you failed, zero celebration for that, you were chewed out for that, you got extra conditioning for that.

How did this "not trying to win" philosophy work out? "In Wooden’s 27 years as the Bruins’ head coach, his teams won an unprecedented 10 national championships, including seven straight at one point in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The next closest coaches in terms of titles won? That would be Mike Krzyzewski and Adolph Rupp with a meager four each." [1]

Wooden always famously started new players off by teaching them to lace up their shoes. He drilled into them principles like enthusiasm, team spirit, initiative, loyalty, self-control. He had a strict no profanities policy: that was a demonstration you didn't have self-control and lack of self-control would lead to fouls which could decide games. However the goal wasn't "commit less fouls" it was "don't use profanity on the court". All these things resulted in winning games without ever adopting "win games" as a goal. [2]

You have to embrace "learn to notice when your mind wanders and redirect yourself back to the present moment" as the goal. If you do that 1,000 times a day that's great. That's 1000x better than not noticing your mind wandered. And you have to work on it. Most likely for your whole life. Meditation is something where the people who have done it for 40,000 hours, essentially all day every day, still feel it's worthwhile to do more of it. And mindfulness is something you can practice even when not meditating.

I do think you can notice changes in weeks or months, but it might be years before it feels "life changing". However your mileage may vary, might go better or worse than that for you.

[1] - https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1341064-10-greatest-coaches-in-ncaa-basketball-history#slide10

[2] - https://www.thewoodeneffect.com/pyramid-of-success/

See also: https://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Leadership-Create-Winning-Organization/dp/0071453393

u/reccedog · 4 pointsr/Mindfulness

Please consider checking out the book C-PTSD from Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker. It is a really powerful. It will help you understand what is the root cause of borderline personality and help you understand how to heal it.

Basically sensations or thoughts arise that flash you back to a childhood conditioning event and then you relive the situation and feel the emotions of your inner child. You become trapped in a state of fight or flight.

When I mediate I frequently have to check in with my inner child and give them some Love to help them be peaceful though the mediation.

While it is possible to meditate with a fierce inner critic and a scared inner child, it is a monumental task. But if you get in touch with your inner child and begin the process of healing they will become much more peaceful and your meditation will deepen.

Here is an example of an inner child healing technique:


+-+-+-+-+-+-

Inner Child Healing

Start by imagining yourself as you were when you were 4 or 5 years old. Use a photo initially if it is necessary. Then as your adult self imagine checking in with that inner child that you have identified. Go to them. I think you will see that your suffering is at root their suffering. Give them unconditional love. Hug them, talk to them. Sit with them. Soothe them. Tell them that now that you've found them you will strive hard to always be there for them. That you're inseparable. Develop a deep relationship with yourself in your heart center.

Do this frequently. When you wake up, when you go to sleep, several times during the day. Go to your inner child when you're feeling down, anxious, stressed, depressed. Heal their wounds. You can't fix what happened but you can reassure with love that they were in an impossible situation and give them the love to help them rise above it. You're getting a chance to re-parent your inner child.

After you begin to build a foundation of Self love you can then expand the practice to have your inner child bring yoy photos (which are more like snapshots of memories) of the events that were terrifying for them. And you can use inner child healing to tell them how unfair that situation was, that they are not wrong to feel this way, but now that you have found them that they are safe and loved.

After a month or so this exercise morphed on its own to just directly loving myself (adult self loving adult self). I started to be my own best cheerleader and friend. My inner critical voice too has changed to one of unconditional love.

I really hope this helps 🤗💜🌈

<<Props to John Bradshaw and many other beautiful healers for this inner child healing technique>>

u/soutioirsim · 2 pointsr/Mindfulness

1

As you meditate more, you may come to realise that it's the identification of yourself with an emotion which causes a significant amount of suffering (not the emotion itself). For example, I suffered from quite bad anxiety when around large numbers of people (lectures, meetings, etc). Pre-mindfulness, I would become anxious which leads to a freight train of thoughts such as: "what if this gets worse?", "what if I have a full-blown panic attack in front of all these people?", "I can't cope with this". Notice how all these thoughts have an I in them; it's all self-referential and believing that this emotion is you. I found depression is similar but the thoughts are more like: "why do I feel like this?", "I'm more depressed than everyone else", "I'm not normal; I'm going to be like this forever".

The aim of mindfulness is to accept our emotions, but probably more importantly is to also change how we relate to our emotions and this is the aspect which takes time, patience and persistance. So please, please, please, keep on meditating!

> I almost don't want to accept my sad emotions

I understand this and is extremely difficult. To completely give in to your emotions is almost an art. Try it as a sort of "experiment" if sadness comes up in meditation; try to completely let the sadness in. See how it feels in your body, if it creates any tension, where it sits, if there's a change in breathing, if there's a change in temperature etc.

2

This probably will happen to a certain extent, but I would argue that this brings a freedom that the majority of the population is unaware from.

The next time you're on a train/bus or at a party, have a look at the people around you. A lot of people going to work are grasping for that next step up the career ladder or that pay rise, hoping it will be them happiness when they are at the top or can afford those new, more expensive shoes they've always wanted. People are driven by thought processes which ultimately won't make them happy. Again with people at a party; how many people look at ease? You have people desperately trying to fit in, which is fueled by feelings of anxiety and fear of failure. You have people desperately trying to be "cool", to fulfill this story/narrative that they are cool and popular. If not, their identity crumbles and they are miserable.

Mindfulness helps us step out of our own narrative and truly live. Instead of focusing on money, status, intellectualism, athleticism, etc, you can simply be here now. This will generally make you more compassionate as well.

I would argue that the less we identify with the self, the more freedom we have. I had a similar crisis of identity when I started meditating. I was a keen athlete and was always striving for better and faster. After meditating for a while though, I realised that this was primarily driven by anxiety and feel of failure. All of a sudden I had zero motivation to train and compete! What was the point? To me it didn't matter anymore. This was problematic as exercise really helped my mental health. The solution I found was to carry on training/exercising, but this time the aim was to simply enjoy the process. Be present in my training sessions. Explore how my body reacts during training and racing. Fully give in to the process of competing, while trying not to identify which the outcome/results too much (I'm still not great at this last bit, as I still place a lot of my self-worth in how I perform. I'm slowly getting better though).

What I'm trying to say is that you can carry on doing the hobbies/activities you enjoy, but approach them with a different outlook.

3

I've experiences space distortion (e.g. the floor underneath me falling away which was very weird and intense) but never hallucination so I can't really help you there. However, if you want to systematically and carefully explore meditation further step-by-step, then I cannot recommend enough The Mind Illuminated by Dr John Yates (which is completely free of religion and jargon which is refreshing). In my opinion, Eckharte Tolle's book is a waste of space and there are better books on being mindful:

  • Wherever You Go, There You Are
  • Mindfulness In Plain English

  • Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World

    The first two books are more about the essence of mindfulness and the third is more of a step-by-step guide to mindfulness written by a brilliant researcher here in Oxford. Russ Harris' books on ACT are fantastic :)

    Edit: One last thing I wanted to say about the negative effects of mindfulness is that my motivation to work towards my PhD also took a hit when I started meditating. Again, a lot of my motivation for my PhD was anxiety and fear or failure, and once I identified with these emotions less and less, the less I worried about working hard. This again is slow progress but I'm trying to switch emphasis in my work from achieve, achieve, achieve, to enjoying and savouring the process. It's difficult though with periods of high-pressure and deadlines!
u/the_grindel2 · 5 pointsr/Mindfulness

I recently finished reading a book called Why We Sleep that changed the way I think about it in a dramatic way.

The author (Matthew Walker) addresses the issue of insomnia and offers tips to overcome insomnia.

He talks about using a specific form of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as a way to address underlying sleep problems instead using a band-aid approach. There are some apps for CBT-I, but I don't have any experience using them.

Looking at your situation, there are a few tips that will probably be more helpful than others. First things first: define a time to go to sleep and a time to wake up. Stick to those times every single day, even weekends. If your experience is anything like mine, it could take 4-6 weeks to get used to the change.

Next, if you're laying in bed unable to fall asleep (after 20-30 minutes), get up and do something relaxing. You want your bed to be associated with sleep and rest, not anxiety from not being about to sleep.

I often use the Sleep With Me podcast to help me fall asleep. Highly recommend giving that a try.

It's worth nothing that melatonin isn't actually effective, except in older people and while trying to deal with jet lag.

If you're a fan of the Joe Rogan podcast, the Matthew Walker episode is basically his book condensed into a two hour conversation.

ETA: Rogan podcast
List of good sleep tips
The book also goes into the negative effects of sleeping pills, as well as the incredible benefits of good sleep. Highly recommend for a better understanding of what is going on and things you can do to make the changes.

u/lSl · 3 pointsr/Mindfulness

The best way would be to get in person instruction from a qualified teacher. For mindfulness specifically there are mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) courses all over the world. There might also be some traditional meditation centers in your area. Look them up and try the ones that interest you. They're usually filled with nice helpful people.

You can also try watching meditation Youtube videos or meditation apps like headspace. Reading books can also be useful especially with the right book. There's a few good books on the side bar. Reading mindfulness books for anxiety is how I got started with meditation and they helped me a lot. Based on your last sentence about enjoying moments, I'll suggest this one I read recently called Joy on Demand. It's an easy to read book filled with a bunch of techniques for being more present and cultivating more joy in life.

u/jbristow · 2 pointsr/Mindfulness

I'm not knowledgeable enough to really expound on the differences, but I'll throw down some resources that helped me:

  • Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
  • Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn (JKZ is like the father/grandfather of the Western Psychology Mindfulness based stress reduction movement. Of these two, Wherever You Go is easier to read, but I find JKZ's writing to be a bit dry overall.)
  • Radical Acceptance, by Tara Brach (A good next-step once you have the basics of Mindfulness down.)
  • Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook, this is the book my teacher used in her MBSR (mindfulness based stress-reduction) class. It's nice and easy and comes with a CD of guided meditation.

    If this all piques your interest, I really recommend attending a MBSR class to learn a bunch of different techniques and to discuss it with other people who are doing it at the same time. It's similar to exercise in that you can get started on your own, but if you want to get more "skilled" you should look to find a mentor to help you process and suggest new techniques that might help you improve.
u/limit2012 · 6 pointsr/Mindfulness

Mindfulness can help you gain some distance from these thoughts. Don't try to make the thoughts go away, that usually strengthens them. Instead learn to observe the thoughts passing thru your mind without completely buying them.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ACT is a great help in this. I recommend the book The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris

u/mindful_island · 2 pointsr/Mindfulness

Always glad to discuss!

I learn a lot as I try to articulate my understanding and experience. That is one of the reasons I started teaching mindfulness practice.

I've listened to a lot of Alan Watts. I love that he described himself as a "spiritual entertainer" and a "philosophical entertainer". I could listen to him talk for hours. :D

I've also listened to many videos of Tolle, he is a great guy. I haven't read books from either of them.

I've read a little about Huang Po back when I hung out in /r/zen a little. I've since moved on from that place. BTW if you ever go there, maybe you already have, take them all with a grain of salt. I think there is more to learn from the zen texts and meditation than the toxic people in that forum.

'Taking the Path of Zen' by Robert Aiken is really good.
https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Path-Zen-Robert-Aitken/dp/0865470804

'Mindfulness in Plain English' may be the best intro to mindfulness I've read.
https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-English-Bhante-Henepola-Gunaratana/dp/0861719069

'Focused and Fearless' is a very direct and simple guide to Jhana practice, or absorption concentration meditation. It describes very specifically how to reach and identify every level of Jhana.
https://www.amazon.com/Focused-Fearless-Meditators-States-Clarity/dp/0861715608

'The Posture of Meditation' is a great guide to the role your body plays in meditation. It is the most in depth guide on posture, but it can be an intro to meditation in itself. The author teaches that you can read deep mindful states with only correct posture.
https://www.amazon.com/Posture-Meditation-Will-Johnson/dp/1570622329


Most of those talk about actual practice, which I think is the most important.

For philosophy and understanding what is going on I highly recommend this course:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/science-of-meditation

It is a serious and lengthy course for which you will need patience to sit through lectures. An evolutionary psychologist from Princeton - Robert Wright evaluates Buddhism through the lens of modern psychology.

That was a defining course for me and gave me a lot of motivation to practice whole heartedly.

u/Singular_Thought · 3 pointsr/Mindfulness

You can get the collected works of Ramana Maharishi here:

The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi https://www.amazon.com/dp/0877289077/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Pp-TAbYXA9FVD


There is also the work of Gary Weber :

Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening https://www.amazon.com/dp/0595418562/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_js-TAb9HZYBP8

Evolving Beyond Thought: Updating Your Brain's Software https://www.amazon.com/dp/197972377X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Ls-TAb76XWV5B

Self Inquiry is something that is done continuously through out the day along with sitting meditation.

To gauge progress, there are a few things to pay attention to:

  1. Self referential thoughts will gradually stop along with practice conversations in the mind... the constant internal babbling in the mind.

  2. Attention will remain on this precise instant in time creating a continuous flow of Now. Notice how the mind is constantly imaging an I/me/person in the past and future. This will subside.

    Find the feeling of “I” and focus on it as if it were the most fascinating and important thing ever experienced. The mind can only hold one thought at a time. If all attention is on the “I” thought/feeling then no other thought can appear and the mind will stop. The “I” thought is the root of all other thoughts... all thoughts emerge and grow out of the “I” thought. Keep the mind locked on the root and notice when it starts to grow and spread into other thoughts... let go of growing thought and return to “I”. As a side note, this is not the practice of repeating the word “I” over and over... it is the feeling of “I”.

    At first this requires an effort. With practice it will gradually become effortless. Once effortless, attention will linger on all perception in a continuous flow of now with the mind still. Have you ever laid in bed at night and lingered on a distant sound? It’s like that... in stillness. This is when the feeling of “I” will disappear.

    Everything appearing in consciousness is an expression of consciousness and has a strong sense of presence minus a personal self referential “I” thought. You are this space of consciousness, and consciousness has no qualities or attributes of its own. Consciousness is what creates everything appearing in consciousness.

    Another aspect of Self Inquiry is the act of sitting and searching for the witness/observer. This is where questions such as “Who sees?” and “Who hears?” and “Where am I?” come in. I spent many hours sitting and looking in my back yard, looking at what was seen and searching for the see’er before the realization “clicked” and took hold. I was suddenly stuck with “If I can see it then it isn’t me, so who sees me?” Attention then looked at the mind and everything about the mind started coming apart. It was as if the mind started to crumble away because none of it was me. Nothing about it was real... it was nothing but a bunch of conditioned stimulus-response. The mind is just a sensation appearing in consciousness, no different than the sensation of warm or cold or the sensation of sound or vision.

    In time you’ll notice that all thoughts and especially anxiety come from desires and attachments. Letting go of attachments is a big part of this process. Some strategies to help with this are:

  3. The Sedona Method

  4. The Work by Byron Katie

    Hopefully this helps... and remember, this is all about stillness. Be still.
u/DestinedToBeDeleted · 4 pointsr/Mindfulness

Obviously, continually using MDMA to control monkey mind isn't a great long term solution. The ecstacy is heavily affecting your serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, so whether or not you're being mindful while rolling is debatable. Speaking from personal experience (almost two years sober), I wouldn't consider an MDMA experience particularly mindful; you're ultra tuned into sounds, movements, pleasurable sensations, and social interaction, but ultra tuned out of negativity.

If you want to learn to quiet the monkey mind, there's one really good way that you're probably already aware of: meditation. There's many types of meditation, but I'd recommend insight meditation for dealing with that overreactive brain. Mindfulness In Plain English is an easy to read introduction to insight/vipasanna.

u/mrdevlar · 5 pointsr/Mindfulness

I highly recommend you get yourself a book with a reasonable roadmap of the meditative process. One which includes some framework for you to begin in.

I recommend The Mind Illuminated.

To answer your specific question, set an intent to do one exercise for the entire 10 minutes and stick to it. Only change the nature of the exercises between meditation sessions. This will keep you focused.

u/DiscoStu44x · 1 pointr/Mindfulness

I'm about half way through this, pretty solid so far. It teaches you mindfulness techniques that is taught at Google.

Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062116932/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XK-PCbMT0AZ0E

u/EmptyTumbleweed · 2 pointsr/Mindfulness

I'm all for meditation. This book is really good. There's even a subreddit for it.
The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501156985/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_dxeOBb3FWF4V5

If you have actual depression and anxiety I'd really recommend seeing your doc and getting a med. It's the only thing that's helped me. Really, there's no shame. It's just like having high blood pressure, it needs to be treated.

u/usta-could · 3 pointsr/Mindfulness

Full Catastrophe Living is a good one if you haven’t already read it.