Welcome to Week One
Introducing the 3 Foundational Practices and starting a daily mindfulness meditation practice
Week 1 – Hi and Welcome
Week 1: Day 1 Gratitude
Today we will look at Gratitude
Gratitude is the first of the 3 foundational practices which are guaranteed to help you take control of creating the causes for your contentment, confidence and peace of mind.
About Gratitude
Today is about being mindful of gratitude and its’ positive effects on our mood and self-esteem.
Quote – it is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy
Things to do Today
Today we are going to do 3 things
1. List at least 3 things you are grateful for
Keep your list with you and add to it during the day. Be creative and have fun
How does it make you feel when you are grateful? How do others react when you are grateful? Write this down too
2. How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?
Do you spring out of bed ready to start the day with enthusiasm or do you wake up with dread and a feeling of gloom?
3. Wake up grateful
In the morning keep your notebook or workbook by your bed and when you wake think about all you are grateful for.
You can always start with waking up!
Take a few moments to add to your gratitude lest and take it with you and add to it during the day.
Have fun being grateful over the next 24 hours and beyond.
Tomorrow is DAY TWO. We will add meditation, the next step in moving from worry to wonder
Week 1: Day 2 Mindfulness Meditation
Today we will look at meditation, mindfulness meditation
Developing a mindfulness meditation practice is the second of the 3 foundational practices which are guaranteed to help you take control of creating the causes for your contentment, confidence and peace of mind
About Meditation or contemplation
Meditation ....
Things to do Today
Today we are gong to do 4 things including a gratitude practice and guided mindfulness breath meditation
1. Wake up grateful
Each morning remember to wake up grateful and write what you are grateful for in your workbook.
Keep your Workbook by your bed or take it with you during the day so you can continue to be mindful of being grateful
2. Think about - What motivates you to meditate?
Read through the list of benefits and write in your workbook the ones you find personally motivating. For me it is reduced anxiety and increased happiness. I feel more content, peaceful and more able to cope with life’s ups and downs as a result of a regular meditation practice. I know I am easier to be around for both others and myself when I take the time to meditate
3. Make a plan for your meditation
a. Think about what time and place suits you. Many people find the morning best.
Think about what works best for you and make a time – an appointment with yourself
b. Consider where you are going to do your meditationA place, which is conducive to developing your helpful new practice, includes
c. In your journal write down your plan for meditation
- Where?..................................
- When.?..................................
- How long? .......................... Do the guided mindfulness breath meditation recorded here. It is 8 minutes long and is an excellent way to begin any meditation or as a
stand alone meditation to begin with
3. Meditate When you are ready sit in your special place at the time you planned and do the recorded guided meditation here
Write in your journal how it went. How did you feel before the meditation compared to after the meditation?
- This week we will introduce the 3 Foundational Practices – Gratitude, Meditation, and Kindness.
- Each of the first 3 days of this week will introduce you to a new practice. By day 3 you will have all three practices ticking along.
- Keep going with all three practices during the remainder of the week and beyond. Each week we will deepen our understanding of each of them
- You can begin to use the Workbook or a journal to record these practices and the exercises. Beginning at Week 1: Day 1 and keeping going through this first week.
Week 1: Day 1 Gratitude
Today we will look at Gratitude
Gratitude is the first of the 3 foundational practices which are guaranteed to help you take control of creating the causes for your contentment, confidence and peace of mind.
About Gratitude
- Being happy does not make you grateful, it is gratitude that makes you happy
- Research has shown that being grateful contributes to our happiness and self-confidence.
- Being grateful is a great way to overcome feeling down
- It is easy for us to be grateful, our lives are amazing and others are doing kind things for us all the time
- Our lives provide us with many opportunities to show kindness to others too
- We would not be able to survive if it were not for the kindness of others
- All we need to do is begin to notice
Today is about being mindful of gratitude and its’ positive effects on our mood and self-esteem.
Quote – it is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy
Things to do Today
Today we are going to do 3 things
1. List at least 3 things you are grateful for
- Be creative and think broadly
- We would not be able to stay alive if it were not for the kindness of others – those who
- Grow our food
- Make our clothes, personal items
- Provide our shelter,
- Make our roads, cars, bikes and gadgets
- Those who drive our transport,
- Teach us, care for us ….etc.
Keep your list with you and add to it during the day. Be creative and have fun
How does it make you feel when you are grateful? How do others react when you are grateful? Write this down too
2. How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?
Do you spring out of bed ready to start the day with enthusiasm or do you wake up with dread and a feeling of gloom?
- Despite the external circumstances of our lives we can cultivate a feeling of optimism by not allowing negativity to go on and instead wake up grateful. We can continue our day being grateful thinking about all the things that are going right for us
- It is easy to get into the habit of thinking negatively and being unhappy. However we can change that by simply being grateful
3. Wake up grateful
In the morning keep your notebook or workbook by your bed and when you wake think about all you are grateful for.
You can always start with waking up!
Take a few moments to add to your gratitude lest and take it with you and add to it during the day.
Have fun being grateful over the next 24 hours and beyond.
Tomorrow is DAY TWO. We will add meditation, the next step in moving from worry to wonder
Week 1: Day 2 Mindfulness Meditation
Today we will look at meditation, mindfulness meditation
Developing a mindfulness meditation practice is the second of the 3 foundational practices which are guaranteed to help you take control of creating the causes for your contentment, confidence and peace of mind
About Meditation or contemplation
Meditation ....
- Means to habituate your mind to concentrate on something that will help you lead a happy life
- Has many benefits to your health and well being including Increased
- Increased attention
- Increased energy
- Emotional balance and well-being
- Increased happiness and peace of mind
- Meditation also helps to reduce the tendency toward
- Anxiety,
- Depression
- Anger
- Pain vulnerability and
- Illness
- Start by dong a short 5-8 minute mindfulness breath meditation and then build up slowly. It is always helpful to start with a short breath meditation to focus the mind, even if we are then going on to do another or longer meditation
- The recorded 8 minute guided meditation here is an excellent place to start
- We all have 8 minutes each day to do this, however it requires commitment and discipline to develop the habit
- Once established you will look forward to this peaceful time
- It can be very helpful to have a guide and to have a meditation friend to help with motivation and discipline to establish this helpful habit
Things to do Today
Today we are gong to do 4 things including a gratitude practice and guided mindfulness breath meditation
1. Wake up grateful
Each morning remember to wake up grateful and write what you are grateful for in your workbook.
Keep your Workbook by your bed or take it with you during the day so you can continue to be mindful of being grateful
2. Think about - What motivates you to meditate?
Read through the list of benefits and write in your workbook the ones you find personally motivating. For me it is reduced anxiety and increased happiness. I feel more content, peaceful and more able to cope with life’s ups and downs as a result of a regular meditation practice. I know I am easier to be around for both others and myself when I take the time to meditate
3. Make a plan for your meditation
a. Think about what time and place suits you. Many people find the morning best.
Think about what works best for you and make a time – an appointment with yourself
b. Consider where you are going to do your meditationA place, which is conducive to developing your helpful new practice, includes
- Somewhere which is relatively quiet
- Where you feel safe and are unlikely to be disturbed or feel self-conscious.
- Make it a nice, comfortable space with some special things in it.
- You will need somewhere comfortable to sit, a suitable cushion or chair. A chair is fine, whatever suits you
c. In your journal write down your plan for meditation
- Where?..................................
- When.?..................................
- How long? .......................... Do the guided mindfulness breath meditation recorded here. It is 8 minutes long and is an excellent way to begin any meditation or as a
stand alone meditation to begin with
3. Meditate When you are ready sit in your special place at the time you planned and do the recorded guided meditation here
Write in your journal how it went. How did you feel before the meditation compared to after the meditation?
Have fun doing this 8 minute breath mediation over the next 24 hours and beyond
Tomorrow is DAY THREE. We will add kindness, the next step in moving from worry to wonder
Week 1: Day 3 Kindness
Today we will look at kindness
Being kind to others and ourselves is the third of the 3 foundational practices which are guaranteed to help you take control of creating the causes for your contentment, confidence and peace of mind
About Kindness
Things to do Today
Today we are gong to do 3 things including our gratitude practice, guided mindfulness breath meditation and kindness practice
1. Wake up grateful
Each morning remember to wake up grateful and write what you are grateful for in your workbook.
Keep your Workbook by your bed or take it with you during the day so you can continue to be mindful of being grateful
2. Meditate
When you are ready sit in your special place at the time you planned and do the recorded guided meditation here
Write in your journal how it went. How did you feel before and after the meditation?
3. Be Mindfully Kind
a. Notice all the ways you are showing kindness to others today, no matter how small
b. At the end of the day take your journal and record at least 3 ways you were kind to others or yourself today, no matter how small.
Did you simile at anyone or ask him or her how he or she was? Make a cup of tea, meal, and errant, give your time or energy to help, listen or be friendly? Assist your family, friends or workmates in any way?
And to yourself, were you encouraging of your efforts to
c. Feel really happy about all the kind deeds you did today. Rejoice!
d. Read through your list of kind deeds before you go to bed and again feel really happy about all those ways you were a positive, kind force in the world today.
e. As you go off to sleep bring them to mind again and sleep peacefully knowing you have done your best to be kind today
Have fun doing this over the next 24 hours and beyond
Week 1: Day 4, 5, 6, 7 and ……
Things to do this week and beyond
Have fun practicing Gratitude, Meditation and Kindness this week and beyond
Have a great week ahead
I look forward to hearing from you and emailing you next week
Maree xx
Tomorrow is DAY THREE. We will add kindness, the next step in moving from worry to wonder
Week 1: Day 3 Kindness
Today we will look at kindness
Being kind to others and ourselves is the third of the 3 foundational practices which are guaranteed to help you take control of creating the causes for your contentment, confidence and peace of mind
About Kindness
- Research tells us that the areas of the brain which respond with pleasure to monetary rewards and chocolate are also stimulated when we show kindness to others
- It is when we are
- Mindfully kind and focus on our strengths and how we can use these to benefit others
- Grateful
- Compassionate
- Kind acts no matter how small promote a positive happy self-perception. Anonymous kind acts are especially powerful and fun
- Kindness to all includes kindness to YOU. It is equally important to be kind to yourself as well as others.
- Unkind thought habits, including those about ourselves, undermine our confidence and peace of mind. I know I had them unconsciously going on for years
- Before we can practice kindness effectively it is important to undo some unhelpful unkind thought habits. (Doing the ‘Worry to Wonder’ programme will help you with this.)
- Make a commitment to treat yourself as you would want others to treat you – with kindness, respect, love, understanding and compassion.
- The secret of our own true happiness lies in benefiting and bringing happiness to others. Remember though it has to include kindness to you too. It is certainly not kind to worry about yourself all the time and let those negative thought habits run your life.
- Instead get some help to develop some kinder ways of thinking and being toward yourself. And also get involved in showing kindness to others and helping them. Do this and watch your worry and stress about yourself magically disappear. You will feel great.
Things to do Today
Today we are gong to do 3 things including our gratitude practice, guided mindfulness breath meditation and kindness practice
1. Wake up grateful
Each morning remember to wake up grateful and write what you are grateful for in your workbook.
Keep your Workbook by your bed or take it with you during the day so you can continue to be mindful of being grateful
2. Meditate
When you are ready sit in your special place at the time you planned and do the recorded guided meditation here
Write in your journal how it went. How did you feel before and after the meditation?
3. Be Mindfully Kind
a. Notice all the ways you are showing kindness to others today, no matter how small
b. At the end of the day take your journal and record at least 3 ways you were kind to others or yourself today, no matter how small.
Did you simile at anyone or ask him or her how he or she was? Make a cup of tea, meal, and errant, give your time or energy to help, listen or be friendly? Assist your family, friends or workmates in any way?
And to yourself, were you encouraging of your efforts to
- Be kind, and patient?
- Forgiving of mistakes and imperfections?
- Be non-judgmental of yourself and others
- Not compare yourself to others
c. Feel really happy about all the kind deeds you did today. Rejoice!
d. Read through your list of kind deeds before you go to bed and again feel really happy about all those ways you were a positive, kind force in the world today.
e. As you go off to sleep bring them to mind again and sleep peacefully knowing you have done your best to be kind today
Have fun doing this over the next 24 hours and beyond
Week 1: Day 4, 5, 6, 7 and ……
Things to do this week and beyond
- Continue to do the 3 practices - Gratitude, Meditation and Kindness as outlined in Day 1, 2 and 3 this week. Record them in your workbook
- Email me at maree@pom-melbourne.com with any questions or to tell me how you are going.
Have fun practicing Gratitude, Meditation and Kindness this week and beyond
Have a great week ahead
I look forward to hearing from you and emailing you next week
Maree xx