Tag Archives: Meditation

Self-Regulation IV: A Gratitude Meditation & Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Payal Patel

Before I begin I would like to I dedicate this post to Swami Tadatmananda (Swami T hereafter), who taught me about meditation in addition to many other practices. I offer a meditation, below, that is a variation of what he … Continue reading →

Posted in Gratitude, Metacognition, Observation, Self-Regulation | Tagged Gratitude, Humility, Learning, Meditation, mindfulness | Leave a comment

Self Regulation III – Morning Mindfulness: The Mind & The Inextinguishable Flame

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Payal Patel

The candlelight flame is an ancient Indian symbol of undivided attention. It is said that if we leave the mind to its own devices (to entropy!), the flame of attention will scatter into thousands of tiny lights pointing in thousands … Continue reading →

Posted in Focus & Clarity, Metacognition, Observation, Preparing the Mind, Self-Regulation, Sleep, Stillness | Tagged Balance, emotions, Focus, Grit, Learning, Meditation, Mind/Body, mindfulness, Observing, Relaxation, Self-Regulation, Sleep, Stillness | Leave a comment

Practicing Distraction & Practicing Focus Part II: An Ancient Tradition in a Modern Era

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Payal Patel

In the previous post, we deciphered the mind’s tendency to wander through and be pulled into an uninhibited stream of distractions. This was most evident as we watched ourselves, as outsiders, click around in a monkey-like fashion around Facebook (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Focus & Clarity | Tagged ancient tradition, Balance, Breath, Meditation, Mind/Body, mindfulness, monkeymind | Leave a comment

Practicing Distraction & Practicing Focus: Part I

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Payal Patel

Distract your mind and it will frantically wander. Focus the mind and it will become still. Imagine yourself using Facebook. (If you don’t use Facebook, imagine yourself using another social media platform; if you don’t use social media, imagine yourself … Continue reading →

Posted in Focus & Clarity | Tagged Balance, Focus, Meditation, Mind/Body, monkeymind, Self-Regulation | 2 Comments

Judging, Labeling, & Mathematics: An Unfortunately Common Practice

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Payal Patel

Every year, I come across students that say one of the following phrases in the beginning of the year and I work hard all year to change the beliefs behind such statements: “I used to be good at math but … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Math Anxiety, Metacognition, Non-Judgement, Preparing the Mind | Tagged Labeling, Learning, mathanxiety, Meditation, Non-Judgemental | 2 Comments

Exam Anxiety Meditation I

Posted on September 4, 2017 by Payal Patel

NOTE: Those of us who are not students can use this by substituting test anxiety with extreme nervousness during high pressure situations (public talks, meetings with a boss, high-pressure deadlines at work, etc.) I had promised that I would post … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Anxiety & Struggle, Math Anxiety, Preparing the Mind, Test Anxiety | Tagged Breath, Focus, Meditation, Relaxation, Test Anxiety, WhatIf | 2 Comments

Waves of the Mind

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Payal Patel

Growing up, my parents told me a lot of stories from ancient Indian epics. There was one piece that always stuck in my mind. It was a repeated phrase which roughly translates, “In a moment of fury (or any other … Continue reading →

Posted in Focus & Clarity, Metacognition, Observation, Self-Regulation, Stillness | Tagged accept, Anxiety, emotions, Focus, Learning, Meditation, Mind/Body, monkeymind, observe, Observing | 7 Comments

Embracing Your Pace

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Payal Patel

Imagine this scenario — You are silently reading a book and every few minutes, you hear sounds of turning pages. You look up – your friend is on page 16. You look down at your book – I am only … Continue reading →

Posted in Focus & Clarity, Metacognition, Non-Judgement, Observation, Preparing the Mind, Self-Regulation, Stillness | Tagged accept, Anxiety, embrace, emotions, Meditation, observe, Observing, slowingdown, Stillness | 4 Comments

The Art of Observation

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Payal Patel

If we travel back to our birth, we realize that learning did not take place through formal instruction – nor was there a handbook available to us on how to recognize qualities that made up our new environment: new parents, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginner's Mind, Observation, Preparing the Mind, Stillness | Tagged Beginner's Mind, Focus, Meditation, mindfulness, Observing, Stillness | 2 Comments

Stillness

Posted on June 18, 2017 by Payal Patel

Stillness helps create space in our minds to think, and time in our day-to-day lives to regain our clarity, patience, and knack for insight. When we become very still, we are able to listen to each sound, experience each breath, … Continue reading →

Posted in Preparing the Mind, Stillness | Tagged Breath, Learning, Meditation, mindfulness, Observing, Relaxation, Stillness | Leave a comment