How Do You Know "It's Working"?

How do you know if your Mindfulness practice is "working"? Do sitting meditations become progressively easier and more pleasant? Does self-talk disappear? Does life 'off the cushion' become easy, perhaps even mystical?

No, not exactly. Life never seems to unfold how we imagine or hope it will - even when things turn out much better than we imagined!

What we experience during sitting meditation provides an accurate, clear reflection of how our mind-body behaves during day-to-day life. Learning to deal skillfully with all the various difficulties that arise during meditation practice directly transfers to our ability to deal skillfully with everyday life challenges. As we befriend our own mind-body, and clarity progressively improves, we struggle less & less against what's real. We see that struggling to resist life as it is - which includes rejecting aspects of ourselves - is the major cause of our suffering.

Gradually, we realize that it's far better for us to let go of all those things we've been clinging to out of fear, including our cherished opinions, self-concepts & worldviews. To progress on this path, our #1 priority must remain the brave commitment to seeing clearly who we are & what life is about.