1. Notice it

In this meditation we are going to practice the first phase of the mindfulness loop, Notice it! We are going to improve our ability to control and sustain our attention. Because even though we can´t control our thoughts and emotions, we do have control over where we want our attention to be.

2. Playing with my attention

In this meditation we are going to continue practicing the first phase of the mindfulness loop, Notice it!  To be able to control and sustain where we place our attention is a superpower and a skill that we can become better at through practice. The better we are at it, the easier it is for us to choose not to get hooked on thoughts that is not benefitting our wellbeing. In this meditation, we are going to have a play and flex our attention as if it was a muscle to see what we are capable of.

3. Note it – Labelling your experiences 

In this meditation we are going to practice the second phase of the mindfulness loop, Note it! In order to let the noticing, we have practiced in previous meditations, turn onto knowing it, we need to stay with it for a while and investigate it. There is so much information our brains have to take in during a day, that it makes shortcuts. It does a lot of things on automatic pilot, constantly making judgements about what is relevant to to pay attention to and what is not. That means a lot of our living happens on an unconscious level. To stop living our lives on autopilot, we need to make the time and pay attention to all of our experiences. 

4. Body scan

In this meditation we are practicing the second phase of the mindfulness loop, which is to make a note of what we notice in the moment!  We will be noticing and noting the sensations we experience in our body. So please find a nice comfortable position. Unlike all the other meditations, I guide, the body scan is usually done lying down – usually on the back. I recommend placing a cushion under your knees – especially if you have lower back problems. Wrap yourself in a blanket on to give yourself some extra comfort and kindness. A body scan is usually also a longer meditation.

5. Mindful movements

In this meditation we are going to practice the second phase of the mindfulness loop, Note it! We are going to meditate while standing and moving the body. If you cannot stand, it is also possible to do the movements while sitting one a chair. You will not need a video for this as I will be guiding you with my voice through very simple and slow movements. The purpose here is not exercise. Instead, we are using the movements as our anchor. Physical movements make an easy target for our attention.

6. Practicing Notice it, Note it, Know it

In this meditation we are going to practice the third phase of the mindfulness loop, Know it!

We will be noting the tree elements which all of our experiences can be labelled as; physical sensations, thoughts or emotions. It is sometimes called the Triangle of Awareness. Most experiences consists of all of these three elements and it can be hard to distinguish one from another. But once we are able to do so, we are also able to stop them from feeding each other, sending us into an unnecessary spiral of unpleasant thoughts, emotions and physical sensations.

7. The Pause Practice

In this meditation we are going to continue practicing the third phase of the mindfulness loop, Know it!  The PAUSE PRACTICE is a short practice where you take a few minutes out of your busy head and life. It allows you to tune in to what is going on in your body and mind right now in this very moment. By doing so on a regular basis, you will notice, note and thereby get to know yourself and your patterns of behavior.  It will allow you to make better choices in your everyday life as you will make them from a place of calmness and awareness.

In the beginning – while you are learning, you can listen to this guide, but soon you will know the three steps well enough to do them during the day without the need to be guided. There are just three steps in the PAUSE PRACTICE.

I suggest you set a timer on your watch, reminding you to do this PAUSE practice a few times a day until it becomes a natural part of your day – just like brushing your teeth. The practice can be done in just a few minutes, or you can expand it to a longer meditation. In this guidance we will spend a couple of minutes on each step.

8. Exploring My Self

In this meditation we are going to practice the third phase of the mindfulness loop, Know it and specifically explore our sense of self, by turning our awareness away from it.  We will explore the parts of us which we usually associate with our self, only to find out that they are not our self. My thoughts, physical sensations and emotions are not me, they just are.

This is a walking meditation. So for this meditation, you need a little bit of space to walk on – maybe 3-5 meters long, but less will do too. I invite you to take your shoes of as it makes it easier to make a connection to the ground with your feet.

9. Identifying personal phrases

In this meditation we are going to practice the third phase of the mindfulness loop, Know it and specifically explore how we can influence our sense of self.  In the book I write that our sense of self is a construction. It is not something fixed, but rather something that we can actively form through the way we behave and interact with the world around us. In this meditation we will be identifying some personal phrases which can help you behave in a way that is important to you and help you be the person you want to be.

10. Finding zest for life

In this meditation we are going to practice the third phase of the mindfulness loop, Know it and specifically getting to know what it is that gives us purpose in life. The things that gives us vitality and a zest for life.

This meditation stands out from the rest of my guided meditations, as I will be asking you to remember pleasant situations in your past and tune into how your body and mind reacts in the present moment as you remember them. By being mindful of how these memories makes you feel, you can reconnect with the things in life that is important to you on a deeper level and visualize ways to bring more of these feelings into your current and future life.

11. Awareness of Thoughts

In this meditation we are going to practice the M in the eMBrACe framework, which stands for the Mindset we apply to our experiences. In order to experience our mindset as something that we can influence, we need to explore what and where our thoughts are coming from. 

12. Re-framing Ageing

In this meditation we are going to continue practicing the M in the eMBrACe framework, which stands for the Mindset we apply to our experiences. It is introduced in Chapter 8. Most of us live with a rather harsh inner critical voice. It is our caveman brains trying to keep us safe and free from potential embarrassment and social exclusion. But unfortunately, in today´s world, it has the opposite effect. These automatic negative thoughts – or ANTs as I call them in the book – are not good for our mental health and well-being. Luckily, it is possible to “defuse” from the ANTs – and to replace them with some Positive Enforcing Thoughts (or PETs) which gives us a more supporting mindset. 

13. Exploring thoughts, emotions and physical sensations

In this meditation we are going to continue practicing the Br in the eMBrACe framework, which stands for the Broadening our perspective. We can learn to accept the difficulties of life, if we are able to see them in a broad perspective.

In one of the previous meditations, we talked about the difference between the two different parts of your sense of self. One part is doing the experiencing. It is doing the seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, thinking and feeling. The second part of yourself is observing you doing all of these things. Living is a bit like being on a stageshow or on TV. On stage, life is happening. The stories and the dramas. You can choose to fully immerse yourself in this play – most of us spend all of our lives here. But you can also choose to step off the stage and take a seat and become the viewer. We are going to practice this ability to step off the stage by focusing on our body.

We will start in a sitting position, but during the meditation, you might want to bring in some movement to explore your body – either from a sitting position or standing. So, please allow yourself space for some movement.

14. Exploring pleasant, neutral and unpleasant sensations

In this meditation we are going to continue practicing the Br in the eMBrACe framework, which stands for the Broadening our perspective. This is more of a short exercise than a meditation. It will help you cultivate your ability to notice and note all the experiences that are in the present moment. It will broaden your perspective, so that you can mitigate the inherent negativity bias in you, and start to pay as much attention to the pleasant experiences as well as the unpleasant.

15. Meeting challenges with Self-Affection

In this meditation we are going to practicing the A in the eMBrACe framework, which stands for the Affection. The purpose of this meditation is to cultivate our ability to feel affection, kindness and self-compassion towards ourselves – even in moments of difficulty. For some this is difficult as we tend to treat ourselves rather harshly. But it is a skill that we can become better at through practice and it is very important for our resilience and well-being.

16. Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta)

In this meditation we are going to continue practicing the A in the eMBrACe framework, which stands for the Affection. We will be practicing a secular version of an old Buddhist practice known as mettā, where the meditator systematically sits and generates kindness and compassion for themselves and others.

17. Ageing Upwards In this meditation we are going to practice all of the eMBrACe framework. We will start with the Mindfulness Loop of Noticing, Noting and Knowing followed by a guidance that will allow us to respond in a way that will benefit our well-being. If you practice this meditation on a regular basis, it will help you build new habitual ways of living and aging mindfully. Or you can use it if you are facing a particular challenging situation, where you need to take a step back to allow yourself to make a calm and wise decision on how to respond.