Mindfulness Classes With Oli Doyle

When you have a problem in your life, how does your mind respond? If you are anything like me you will notice repetitive patterns of thinking, old solutions being refashioned (even if they don't work) and a firm urging to try harder, work longer and push through the challenge. You may also have found that this approach doesn't work. And you may even have found that better solutions arise when you STOP thinking about the problem, that inspiration strikes in the shower, in the garden, but never in the office. So today, I decided to explore a new approach to finding solutions, an approach that uses mindfulness to uncork our natural brilliance, our inherent creativity. I hope you find this approach useful and refreshing. 

You mustn't settle for philosophy. You mustn't allow mindfulness to be an exercise in discussion, argument and consideration. You must dive in. Today I implore you to take a running jump into your inner world. Don't let the mind redirect you. Take a risk, dive in and discover the truth of your being; discover true peace.

Our minds are hungry, seeking more knowledge, more information, more understanding. We want to know more (more than you!), we want to know why and we definitely don't want to be left wondering. But a joyful life is not about knowing, it is about experiencing this moment as it is. Of course, this involves a good deal of wondering and of sitting comfortably with not knowing. This is why, in Zen, they don't give you much information, they simply tell you to sit and experience this moment directly. This direct experience is the basis of today's class, which begins with another dialogue: "A monk asks Zen master Chao Chou: What was Bodhidharma's intention in coming to China? Chao Chou: Look at the cypress in the courtyard. This may seem an odd answer, but listen on and you will see why this is the best advice a meditator could receive!

Today's class begins with a mysterious dialogue: "Master Shui Lao asked Ma Tsu, 'What is the meaning of the coming from the West?' Ma Tsu then knocked him down with a kick to the chest: Shui Lao was greatly enlightened. He got up, clapping his hands and laughing loudly... Afterward, he would tell the assemly, 'From the time I took Ma Tsu's kick up until now, I haven't stopped laughing.'" Listen on, and you will be surprised at how this links to the challenges that throw us off the path of mindfulness every single day. Enjoy.

As we come to the end of our 6 week mindfulness course, I want to let you know that you are already perfect. Nothing about you needs to be changed in this moment. Of course, now you get to choose whether you stay lost in thought or wake up into this now, but whether you do this or not, you are perfect beyond words. Consider that; "Perfect beyond words". When you go beyond words (thinking), perfection was there already. Everything is perfect. You are part of that everything, you are precious, you are incomparable. And as you continue to wake up, perfection will shine through you ever more brilliantly. Thank you for joining me on this journey. This course is an accompaniment to my upcoming book 6 Weeks of Peace, which will be available around the end of April. If you enjoyed this class, please tell a friend. Oli Doyle    

It sounds crazy, but in reality, stress can bring you to peace, and challenges can be of great benefit to your mindfulness practice. The secret is to learn to use stress as an alarm clock, a reminder to return to the present moment.  Master this simple skill, and everything you thought was an obstacle becomes immensely helpful.

Today, I invite you to do something simple but incredibly powerful; make a commitment. A commitment to what? To waking up out of thought. Forget the distractions, the shiny objects of this world and instead commit to something life-changing; commit to living this life moment by moment and to returning to this wonderful moment whenever the fog of thought creeps in. In this simple 8 minute class, I will show you how straightforward this process can be.

The job of the outside world has nothing to do with your happiness, instead it is custom designed to wake you up out of thought! Ordinarily, we think that happiness will come when at last the outside world starts doing what it's told, giving us what we want. This plan has only 2 major flaws: 1) The world won't do what it's told and 2) Even when it does, the happiness doesn't last. This happiness is fleeting, it is dependent on certain conditions and fades as things change again. So what should we do? Luckily, peace and joy are always there, deep within, your only job is to find it. Join me today on a journey into your depths and discover what you were chasing all along.

The only aim of mindfulness is to wake up, but not out of sleep, out of thinking!  There are only two possible states for the average human being: we are either present, awake and alive in this moment, or we are lost in thought, asleep. There is no in between.  This week's classes are all about waking up out of thought, and I will share every tool, every tip and every technique I have to help jolt you (or at least nudge you) out of your slumber and into the beautiful, peaceful simplicity of this moment. I hope you enjoy the ride.

What if there was nothing to do, and nowhere to be? Would it change your quest for happiness if you knew that no improvement was possible, or even necessary? How would you live this life if you knew that the only possible achievement was to live fully in this instant? Join me today in the place of joy and ease, the present moment.

Life is a happening! In today's class we discover the burden of me and learn how to experience life as an adventure! Join me on a journey from one view - that identity is key and positive self-esteem the goal - to a radically different world in which engagement with life is the ultimate enjoyment. What could be better? If you are serious about enjoying life, you might also enjoy my book, Mindfulness Plain & Simple.

Thinking - the act of getting lost in thoughts - is a great way to miss out on life. It leaves you dwelling in two time zones (the past and the future) which you will never ever get to visit.  Thinking is always about what was or what might be, but life keeps happening now. Life is sharp, fast, a constant evolution, while thinking is dead. It is focussed on something that happened already, or something that might, a largely useless process. Today, join the class and learn how to use thinking so thinking can't use you - learn how not to think. Even in these short 8 minutes you will already experience a world of quiet and calm, a world of simple peace. When are you waiting for?

Drama is no more than a vain attempt to control the world. It contributes nothing positive to you or those around you, whilst derailing your very attempts to influence the world.  Worse than that, drama is sneaky! It pretends to be necessary, justified and useful, when in reality it is no more than a waste of time and energy. Because drama is sneaky, you must be alert to outsmart it. Keep watching thoughts and you will stay in control of the one thing that matters - where you place your attention. Drama is the storm, but never forget that you are the sky.

If you embrace today's practice you will notice some dramatic changes. You will notice that, as expectations are replaced with interest, everyday life is infinitely more enjoyable. Life in this instant is easy. Thinking about what should have been different is hard. Which will you choose?

Ordinarily, we see life through thought, and our thinking determines our quality of life. It directs our worries, fears, joys and anxieties. Thinking has a lot of power. But there is another element to your experience right now; there is someone who is conscious of the whole experience. There is a watcher, there in the background. Could that watcher be you? Today, come on a journey into the world of non-thinking, a simple, peaceful place, with nothing to do, and no need to be anything special. The joy of dropping all thinking will amaze you.

Wake up today, wake up! Wake up! Not out of sleep but out of thinking, which is not only a dream world, but also makes you tired, unlike the rejuvinating state of real sleep. If your awareness is absorbed in thought, you are not truly alive, nor dead, just dragging along. Today, I invite you to wake up out of this half life into the electric world of the body. The energy, stillness and aliveness is incredible, and I hope you enjoy it. For more classes from Oli Doyle, take a trip to www.alittlepeaceandquiet.com

  So far this week, I’ve talked about all the things that keep changing, but there is something inside you that has stayed the same ever since you were born, maybe even before! You do have an identity of sorts. There is one constant in your life: the awareness that exists in the background, watching, and mindfulness practice can take you into this awareness and out of stress right now.

Most of what we call 'me' is really just an experience; a thought, a situation, a body, a job. But if these so-called experiences aren't me, then what is? A largely neglected element of mindfulness practice is the art of self-awareness, sensing yourself as the watcher of all experiences. Most teachers ignore this and treat mindfulness as a mind training exercise instead, but this misses the most powerful part. Realising that you are not who you think you are is the greatest gift of this practice and of any type of meditation. It releases you from the cycle of worry-scheme-stress-react-worry-scheme-stress that most humans are completely caught in. It also destroys the idea of a time based self, which ends the reliance on past and future. Instead of ignoring this challenging place, I invite you to lean into it, and to realise that thoughts and experiences are there to be enjoyed, but there is something else that endures through the ever-changing craziness we call life.

As we enter week 4 of this mindfulness un-course, it is time to recognise that which has caused all our pain, our fear and anger and frustration; Me. The common element of stress is always your sense of being a separate 'me' in a world that won't behave. Learn to drop the self built on thoughts, opinions and beliefs and you will discover a freedom you never thought possible. So this week is all about 2 things: recognising the falseness of this constructed self and discovering who we really are. Let us start by checking if this self really is made up. 

Today I will show you how to access the stillness inside whenever you want to. If you're feeling strung out, lost in this fast paced world, this practice can be your refuge regardless of the circumstances of your life. For over 200 more mindfulness classes, visit www.alittlepeaceandquiet.com.