Author: kindermind

There comes a moment in mindfulness practice when we realize—deep in our heart—that we already have enough. Not because everything is perfect or because we have reached some final destination, but because we have stopped reaching beyond this moment for something else. We are after all human beings, not human doings.

David Whyte’s poem Enough speaks to this gentle revelation:

“Enough. These few words are enough.
If not these words, this breath.
If not this breath, this sitting here.”

In the rush of daily life, we are conditioned to believe that we need more—more time, more certainty, more success, more validation.

This mindfulness practice invites us to pause. To sit. To breathe. And in that stillness, to see what has been here all along, and allowing each moment to unfold as it is.

The act of returning to the breath teaches us sufficiency, shows us pureness.

Each inhale, each exhale—enough. Each moment of awareness—enough. And when we let go of striving, even the gaps and uncertainties in our lives soften into spaciousness rather than lack.

This is not to say we abandon ambition or desire, but rather that we hold them differently, lightly if you will. We move from a place of fullness in an intangible sense. From presence, not restless seeking.

What if, today, you let yourself rest in the knowing that right here, right now, you already have enough?

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Kit Sanoo, Unsplash

The invitation in this practice is noticing and allowing yourself to immerse in pleasant feelings and sensations in the body, embracing their warmth and depth. As Elizabeth English writes in her book “Journeys to the Deep”, they may hold more than you know. These sensations often carry layers of meaning waiting to unfold. Taking your time, luxuriating, savouring the sensations, in the process expanding the capacity to feel what needs to be felt. Nurturing the capacity to truly feel and process what needs your attention and all that life offers, opening the doors to deeper self-awareness.

Morning Sunrise, by Elizabeth English

A luminous sunrise of red and gold

Reflecting from the ripples of the Cam;

Driven by day, and watching it unfold,

My restless thoughts that skitter on and on;

There’s nothing in this stream of thinking draws

Me, tempts me into mystery, offers peace,

That leads me onwards, lifting me towards

A place of quiet, where troubled thoughts all cease;

But with the turning of my mind within,

A gentle thing, no grand or special skill,

Likes a greeting, or a chance remembering,

I find the sunrise lingers in me still:

Dawn’s glorious colour that my body feels,

Touching me softly as it bathes and heals

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Alex Preusser, Unsplash

In the rush of daily life, it’s easy to feel disconnected—from ourselves, from others, and from the present moment. Yet, beneath the layers of busyness and distraction lies something profound: the vibrant pulse of life within us, if we pause long enough to feel it.

This practice is an invitation to pause, feel ourselves breathing and tuning into this inner life vitality. Noticing how the chest and stomach rise and fall with each breath, feeling aliveness of the body, feeling re-energised at every new breath.

Feeling the life within is intended to be a grounding practice. It reminds us that even amid challenges, we carry energy within us that connects us to a greater universal force.

In this simple act, you reconnect with the essence of who you are—a being full of life, right here, right now.

There Is A Life Force Within Your Soul, Rumi

There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.
There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that
mine. 
O traveler, if you are in search of That
Don’t look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Matiinu Ramadan, Unsplash

This practice invites you to slow down and savor each moment as if it were your last. In doing so, you awaken to the true essence of living—immersed in the present, rather than rushing past it. Every breath, every second becomes a gift, a reminder that life is too precious to be hurried through.

Important, by Helen M Luke

We hurry through the so-called boring things
in order to attend to that which we deem
more important, interesting.
Perhaps the final freedom will be a recognition that
everything in every moment is “essential”
and that nothing at all is “important”.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Koen Eijkelenboom, Unsplash
 

A lot of our mindfulness meditations is centred on accepting what’s here arising. It does not mean defeat but rather as a start to recognize upsetting thoughts, emotions and sensations as they’re so.

By Sandford Lyne

Whatever path you’re on

Walk it to the end

Exhaust its dust and streams

And seed the dividends

Control is a worried thing

Till surrender gives it peace

Belief is a thing of sand

Till knowing makes it glass

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Borna Bevanda, Unsplash

This is a practice of rising above whenever we find ourselves caught in a swirl of never ending, unproductive thoughts, or feeling in pain. Remembering (being mindful) to rise above the pettiness that can form easily in our lives – the unnecessary thoughts, the judgments upon judgments, and taking life too seriously. How can we step back? What is your go-to practice?

Rise Above, by Taigu Ryokan
You must rise above
the gloomy clouds
covering the mountaintop
otherwise, how will you
ever see the brightness?

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Svklimkin, Unsplash

Giving ourselves permission to rest and just be whatever that is here allows us the space to regulate our nervous system and to process emotions. An overly activated system for a prolonged period of time, whether through fear and anxiety, will lead to chronic stress, burnout, exhaustion and a range of possible physical health issues.

we must stop, by Abi Winder (extract)

there are moments in a climb 
where you stop,
and put down the things you carry.

there are moments in life, 
where we must stop, 
and put down the things we carry. 

either to admire the the view 
or to heal the ache
of constantly living.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Tanmay Rohit Juogl, Unsplash

Attention is the beginning of devotion, Mary Oliver, the poet writes in her essay Upstream. It is the most beautiful quote ever, and in this age of distraction, it is a prescient message. Additionally, real attention, says Oliver, needs empathy; attention without feeling is just a report.

Indeed, when we are compassionately attentive, we truly live, taking in all that life has to offer, its ups and downs. The ups are cherished, the downs are embraced with love, humour and grace.

This practice is about bringing the attention back to the breath each time it wanders off to some path. We are strengthening the capacity to pay attention, one breath at a time, kindly, patiently and devotionally. The practice is also designed to respond to struggles in paying attention or attention deficit, and/or feeling hyperactive, easily stimulated (ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Upstream, Mary Oliver (extract)

One tree is like another tree, but not too much. One tulip is like the next tulip, but not altogether. More or less like people—a general outline, then the stunning individual strokes. Hello Tom, hello Andy. Hello ­Archibald Violet, and Clarissa Bluebell. Hello Lilian Willow, and Noah, the oak tree I have hugged and kissed every first day of spring for the last thirty years. And in reply its thousands of leaves tremble! 

In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it and hear it and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be.

Attention is the beginning of devotion.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Freddie Marriage, Unsplash

If you’re not enjoying your current experience like in a meditation, this is an invitation to check your expectations that are the sources of dissatisfaction. The “shoulds”, “musts” and “ought to”, the judgments can slip in easily because they are automatic, ingrained over time, and perhaps perfectly logical.

If you believe such views to be true, it can rob you of life and joy. Understandably, you want to get things right, as what society has dictated as norms. So instead of having an ideal in mind, this is a practice of discernment and sinking into your meditation as you find it, allowing yourself to open to new possibilities.

My Thoughts Like Crows, by Elizabeth English

Today, my thoughts remind me

of carrion crows, disturbing the peace

with harsh caws, with beaks

that tear into the flesh of a dead fox

the way that life tears into me.

But then I remember their black-

sheen fellowship, as they

strut along the rooftop

beyond my bedroom, as a child;

their strange sure patterning

in twos and threes

tell of hidden ways;

an animal kindgom,

I can never know.

And now, I’m strutting idly myself

off to the pet shop for puppy chews,

planning today’s excursion into

the world of ordinary joy.

And I marvel to discover

as I sit some moments more,

a stream of preciousness

that flows unbidden,

and delights me,

just because it’s there.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Anton Kraev

When the mind is restless, lost in thoughts, rumination easily sets in, henceforth anxious and depressive thoughts. This is a practice of bringing the attention back to the present moment, being intentional in noticing what one is experiencing, for example, “I am thinking”, “I am breathing”, “I am feeling this gentle breeze”. The simple act of constantly bringing the mind back to the here and now is about training the mind muscle to be still and steady, breaking out of our depressive and anxious cycle.

You Reading This, Be Ready, by William Stafford

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life –

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Nicolas Houdayer, Unsplash