Mindfulness Classes With Oli Doyle

Another 13 minutes of present moment adventures from Mindfulness Plain & Simple.

"Peace and Harmony are naturally occuring, they happen without our efforts." Oli Doyle, Mindfulness Plain & Simple. Because our inner state seems so turbulent, us humans tend to think that peace is something to aim at, not something we have available now. But underneath that turbulence, there is harmony right now, the only question is whether we notice it or not. And of course, the difference between noticing peace or being lost in turbulence, is our relationship to those thoughts that keep coming and going. Today, come join me in the inner peace that has always been there.

"Unconditional happiness means exactly what it says, no longer putting conditions on our happiness. It also means opening our minds to the possibility that we can be happy now, without anything in our lives needing to change." Oli Doyle, Mindfulness Plain & Simple. What are you putting in the way of your happiness right now?

"The essence of mindfulness is to be totally in the moment with openness and interest instead of getting lost in the judgements of the mind. Living in the present brings freedom from pain through freedom from time, as suffering cannot be created without referring to the past and the future." Oli Doyle, Mindfulness Plain & Simple. You can find this peace this instant, simply by looking at the world a little differently.

Today, as we continue our series based on my book Mindfulness Plain & Simple, we begin to explore mindfulness in action by asking the question: "What is life like when you don't believe what you think?"

Join me today for 15 minutes of peaceful, joyful mindfulness practice, starting with the breath and journeying through this wonderful moment.

When I was 5 years old, I discovered a brilliant solution to the problem of emotions; just block out the ones you don't like. This worked, except when it didn't. And when it didn't, the results were pretty poor. Lost tempers, broken windows and embarrassing outbursts were a sure sign that what goes down must come up! 17 years later, I discovered a new way; make friends with what arises, even if you don't like it. This was tough to start with (but only for the first 3 years or so!), but after that, emotions became my friends, and now they rarely create problems in my life. Today I would like to take you through the process I used to get there.

What role do thoughts play in your life? "Thoughts come up one after another until we are exhausted and we need to sleep. Then, when we wake up, the running commentary picks right up where it left off. This is why we can't seem to 'get away from it all' when we go on holiday because we are actually taking 'it' with us!" Oli Doyle It's like this for most people; thought after thought from dawn 'till dusk. Watch their faces as they walk down he street and it's clear; they are not there, they're somewhere else, stressed out about what was or what might be when they could be enjoying the sunshine. So what are these things we call 'thoughts' and how should we deal with them? In today's podcast we explore how thinking too much blocks happiness, and more importantly, what you can do about it.

Welcome to the second part of this special series based on my book, Mindfulness Plain & Simple. Self Image: Right now, my mind is telling a story, and if I trace them back, every story is connected to what I think about myself. Once upon a time, I spent much energy and effort trying to make them good stories, trying to reframe the bad ones, and trying to affirmation myself to a positive self image. It was exhausting. There are 2 problems with trying to cultivate good self-esteem: 1) It's a lot of work. 2) It's completely unnecessary. Today, come and explore the alternative - living free of thinking in the present moment.

Welcome to this 10 part series based on my book Mindfulness Plain & Simple. Over the next 10 days we will explore why human beings have so much trouble being happy, as well as discovering how to untangle this suffering and find peace right now. Let's begin with a quote from chapter 1: "It is not what happens to us that causes our suffering. Our suffering is caused by believing the stories our minds tell us about what happens to us." Indeed, the only suffering comes from inside, as does peace and happiness. The mind is so hypnotic that it seems as if the outside world dictates our inner experience, but in reality the reverse is true.  When you learn to step from the world of thinking to the here and now, life becomes free and easy, today I invite you to begin this journey.  

Life is a mirror, reflecting your inner world back at you. If you're lost in anger, the world will show you anger. If you're caught up in judgement, the world will give you these back too. So when something seems to push your buttons, this is a very good thing. It is an opportunity to discover who you are.

It is rare that Hollywood is enlightening, but this line from one of Jack Nicholson's great roles speaks to the paradox of human existence; We live as if the future will be better than now, but no-one has ever been there. Watch the news tonight and you will hear it, see it, feel it, we are waiting. We are anticipating. We are planning ahead. It might be more beneficial for us and the planet if we stopped asking "What will the future be like?" and instead considered this question: "If today was humanity's last day, how would we treat this moment?"  How would you answer?

Today is a story day at my house. At times like these, we all get caught up (at least a bit), in those stressful stories spun so exquisitely by the mind. I can see it happening in others, and I feel it happening in me; the mind is in charge a little more than usual. I know this, because my friend stress tells me so, and the mind has a story about that too. This story says "Stress is bad, you should be present so the stress goes away." What I notice is that, when I follow this story, I resist what is (stress) and I feel the normal effects of that resistance (more stress). I try to get rid of it and the old 'What you resist persists' law seems to kick in.  But luckily, a few years back, I discovered an alternative. I noticed that, when I allow the feeling, embrace it even, I come straight back to the present. The stress then becomes just another part of now, like the breath, or the birds singing.  Treat stress like a friend and it becomes one. And today I wanted to share this simple but powerful way to make str

Knowledge has the power to improve our lives incredibly. Equally it can kill the mystery of life by reducing this unpredictable world to a series of quantifiable parts. Or so it seems.  In reality, you NEVER know what will happen next, and you can never explain anything. You can tell a story about it, but there is no concrete truth. There are two choices once you understand this; you can hide from the mystery, or you can embrace it. Today the choice is yours.

Listening to the radio today I was struck by a feature of the human mind; the search for the new and familiar. This sounds like a paradox, but in fact we tend to seek experiences that feel new and exciting, within the realm of the familiar. Just like the 'new' pop songs that sound familiar enough that millions love them straight away, in life we humans want to be stimulated, but safe. In the practice of mindfulness, this has a couple of implications: first, it is easy to ignore the familiar, to zone out in everyday life. Second, it can lead us to lose our curiosity, our freshness for the new. In the life of a mindfulness student, every breath is different. Every day is completely unlike any other. And time is a practicality, not a reality. Join me today on a mind-ending journey and you might come to see the beauty, the excitement and the joy contained in every ordinary instant.

Picture a wild, heaving nightclub in Brazil. The music is electrifying, the mood is intense and the dancefloor is heaving. And you? Why you're standing against the wall. You see, you are much too busy thinking to dance, there is too much to figure out. Why is the music so loud? What if there is a fire? And what will everyone think of me if I don't dance just right? Life is a wild, crazy nightclub, and most people are holding the wall. If you want to get in the mix, today's class is for you.

Life energy is pulsing through all of us all the time, but the mind numbs our awareness.  Today, I will show you how to listen to your body from the inside, boost your immune system and sharpen your present moment awareness.

When I was a kid, everyone told me to think about my future. They convinced me (for a while), that this was the way to be happy: plan ahead, work hard, succeed, feel good. And so we have the 5 year plan, the 10 year blueprint, which is completely upside down. It's a trade off: forgo happiness now, and you can have it later, but what if you don't survive until later? Today is all about flipping the usual approach on its head and doing something radically different: thinking about how you want to live today and trusting that the future will take care of itself. This approach is radical, freeing, and it might just save the human race.

Today I feel tension in my jaw, my thoughts are running a little bit faster and I know who's to blame. It's their fault. You know them right? They do things that are unfair, unjust and illogical. They are selfish, irrational and stupid. And they're everywhere! Luckily, my happiness is no-one else's business (although I forget this sometimes!) My peace is mine to enjoy or ignore, and today I choose to return there. Join me for a simple practice that will refocus your attention, from the uncontrollable outer to the already peaceful inner. Maybe a billion people doing this, and I think we'll have world peace.

At the airport yesterday, I noticed something odd; everyone stood there, waiting in line, before the gate was even open... Humans seem to have an in-built urge to "get there". Spend a few minutes watching people waiting in line and you can see it. Watch how we shuffle a few inches forward to get closer to the front, even though we know this shuffling makes no difference. Watch people driving faster to get to their holiday destination 5 minutes quicker, and listen to the language of progress and growth that dominates our economic culture. Even better, take a look inside and notice what you are rushing toward, and see how this rushing decreses your quality of life. Today's class is all about what happens when you focus on the journey and let the destination take care of itself.