12 Minute Meditation

We often imagine that our actions are the result of choice and awareness, which means that we can be extra critical of ourselves when we're struggling with habits that aren't serving us. But researchers in the science of habit and craving have found that much of our decision-making process is the result of unconscious neuro-chemical loops that reinforce themselves over time.

In this meditation, author and researcher Judson Brewer introduces a thoughtful way to bring genuine awareness and choice back into the equation when cravings arise.

Judson Brewer, MD, Ph.D. ("Dr. Jud") is a New York Times best-selling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the "science of self-mastery," who blends over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large.

Dr. Jud is the director of research and innovation at Brown University's Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as a professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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About the Teacher

Find more from Judson Brewer here.

Go Deeper

Learning how to witness our mind without over-identifying with everything it comes up with is one of the most challenging parts of mindful practice. But it also yields some of the biggest benefits for our overall well-being. If you want to learn more about this foundational mindful skill, check out these resources from Mindful.org:

• A Basic Mindfulness Meditation for Labeling Thoughts and Emotions

• I'm More Than My Anxious Thoughts—And So Are You

• A Mindfulness Practice for Changing Your Relationship to Thoughts

• What to Do When Thoughts Arise While Meditating

For more practice on working with thoughts, here's another meditation you can try: Slow Your Breath and Your Thoughts.

And more from Mindful here:

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The nature of the mind is to make thoughts. All day long, mostly without our even noticing, the mind is generating thousands of thoughts. People often misunderstand mindfulness and meditation as ways to control or even stop our mind's churning—but that isn't even really possible.

With mindful attention, we can learn to notice and be aware of what our minds are up to, and that awareness is what gives us agency and opens new doorways to interior peace. In this meditation, teacher Vinny Ferraro guides us through a practice to see thoughts clearly as they arise, gently note them, and then return to the breath and body.

Vinny Ferraro has been a practitioner of insight meditation (vipassanā) since the early 1990s. He is a co-Founder of the Dharma Punx and co-Guiding Teacher of Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. He is also a nationally recognized leader in designing and implementing interventions for at-risk adolescents and is currently Senior Trainer for Mindful Schools. In 1987, he began leading groups in drug rehabilitation centers, juvenile halls, and halfway houses. In 2001, he began teaching for Challenge Day, a nationally recognized, social & emotional learning program, eventually becoming their Director of Training and leading workshops for over 110,000 youth on four continents.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Vinny Ferraro here.

Go Deeper

Learning how to witness our mind without over-identifying with everything it comes up with is one of the most challenging parts of mindful practice. But it also yields some of the biggest benefits for our overall well-being. If you want to learn more about this foundational mindful skill, check out these resources from Mindful.org:

• A Basic Mindfulness Meditation for Labeling Thoughts and Emotions

• I'm More Than My Anxious Thoughts—And So Are You

• A Mindfulness Practice for Changing Your Relationship to Thoughts

• What to Do When Thoughts Arise While Meditating

For more practice on working with thoughts, here's another meditation you can try: Slow Your Breath and Your Thoughts.

And more from Mindful here:

More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation

Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

What do you do when you've made a plan, you've done everything you can to make it work…and things still don't turn out the way you hoped? In frustration and disappointment, it's easy to focus on what's wrong.

This exercise—adapted from Start Here: Master the Lifelong Habit of Wellbeing by Eric Langshur and Nate Klemp, and led by mindfulness coach Priti Patel—offers a quick way to realign toward what is working, which can help us settle and give us clarity.

Nate Klemp, PhD, is coauthor of Open: Living with an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World. He is a former philosophy professor and a founding partner at Mindful. He is also coauthor of The 80/80 Marriage: A New Model for a Happier, Stronger Relationship and Start Here, a New York Times bestselling guide to mindfulness in the real world. Nate received his BA and MA from Stanford University, and his PhD from Princeton University.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Nate Klemp here.

Go Deeper

Gratitude is a game-changer. It's so much more than just trying to scare up happy feelings—it's actually a practice that can rewire our brains, shift our neurochemistry, and improve our relationships over time. For more info on this small-but-mighty skill, check out these resources from Mindful.org:

• How to Practice Gratitude

• Gratitude for the Lousy Ingrate

• The Power of Gratitude (with a Healthy Dose of Cynicism)

• The Science of Gratitude

For more practice, here's A 12-Minute Meditation for Cultivating Daily Gratitude you can try.

And more from Mindful here:

More episodes of 12 Minute MeditationLet us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

When painful emotions are circling all around, our instinct is often to reach for external reassurance.

In this practice, law professor and author Rhona Magee offers a gentle reminder that the key to calm starts with a simple pause—and we get to choose that.

Rhonda V. Magee is a professor of law at the University of San Francisco. Also trained in sociology and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), she is a highly practiced facilitator of trauma-sensitive, restorative MBSR interventions for lawyers and law students, and for minimizing the effects of social-identity-based bias. Magee has been a visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Law and Society and a visiting professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Rhonda Magee here.

Go Deeper

Working with challenging, painful emotions is at the heart of mindfulness practices. It's counter-intuitive, but the key to alleviating the suffering that often accompanies feelings like fear, rage, grief, or jealousy is not to fix or overcome them, but to move toward them with compassion and curiosity. To learn more about building this mindful skill, check out these articles:

• A Mindful Guide to Navigating Difficult Emotions

• Befriend Painful Emotions with the Handshake Practice

• Three Ways Acceptance Helps You Work with Difficult Emotions

• You Can Investigate Your Emotions Without Suppressing Them

For another meditation, here's A 15-Minute Practice to Soften, Soothe, and Allow Difficult Emotions you can try.

And more from Mindful here:

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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

If you've ever tried to push away anxiety or depression when they show up, you probably already know: Fighting these complex, difficult emotions usually doesn't work. In fact, our resistance often makes the experience even more challenging.

In today's practice, Ed Halliwell offers a guided visualization based on a foundational mindful question: What if you don't try to push this experience away, but instead watch it as it plays out?

Ed Halliwell is a mindfulness teacher and writer, based in Sussex and London, UK. He is author of three books: Into The Heart of Mindfulness, How To Live Well By Paying Attention and (as co-author) The Mindful Manifesto and teaches courses and retreats to public groups, in organizations and to individuals, face-to-face and online via Skype. He is also an advisor to The Mindfulness Initiative, which is supporting the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group to develop mindfulness-based policies for the UK.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Ed Halliwell here.

Go Deeper

Anxiety, panic, and depression can sometimes feel like a vortex we're sucked into that's impossible to get out of. It's important to understand that mindfulness and meditation aren't cure-alls or instant fixes, and that they're most effective when used in concert with other healing modalities. There are practices that can help us be with thoughts and feelings in a compassionate, non-judgmental way—and this open-hearted approach can often loosen the grip of difficult moments. If you'd like to explore more about how mindful practices can help improve mental well-being, check out these resources on Mindful.org:

• Practicing Self-Compassion Can Boost Your Mental Health

• Using Mindfulness for Mental Health

• Is Mindfulness a Treatment for Depression?

• 4 Ways to Curb a Panic Attack with Mindfulness

• How Mindfulness Protects Against Postpartum Depression

• ​​Unwinding Your Anxiety Habit Loop

For more practice, here are 5 Guided Meditations for Panic and Anxiety that you can try.

And more from Mindful here:

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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

Our brains are hardwired to notice the negative. It's part of how our ancient ancestors were able to survive in constantly threatening environments.

But this negativity bias can also make it difficult for us and our kids—even in our comparatively less threatening environments—to navigate daily stressors, like big tests, arguments, or disappointments.

In this shorter practice specifically designed for younger meditators, Dr. Mark Bertin shows kids how to gently guide their attention back to the positive things they might have missed, in order to help soothe the nervous system and bring calm.

Mark Bertin, MD., is a pediatrician, author, professor, and mindfulness teacher specializing in neurodevelopmental behavioral pediatrics. He's a regular contributor to Mindful.org and Psychology Today. He is the author of How Children Thrive: The Practical Science of Raising Independent, Resilient, and Happy Kids (Sounds True, 2018). Dr. Bertin resides in Pleasantville, New York. For more, visit developmentaldoctor.com.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Mark Bertin here.

Go Deeper

Kids of all ages can benefit from learning and practicing mindful skills. For more resources to help kids and teens build resilience, navigate tough emotions, calm anxiety, and improve emotional regulation, check out these resources on the Mindful site:

• How to Model Mindfulness When Talking to Kids

• The Nature Remedy: Find Freedom from Tech Overload

• 5 Ways to Help Teens Engage in Mindfulness Sessions

• Mindfulness Can Empower Kids and Teens

For more practice, we've got an entire collection of meditations to support growing minds. Take-What-You-Need Meditations to Support Kids, Teens, and Young Adults

And more from Mindful here:

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Rest isn't a "reward" for working hard enough. It's a human need and birthright.

This week's episode is a little different. We're not only sharing a guided meditation from mindfulness leader and professional coach Jenée Johnson, but also her teaching on some of the brain science behind relaxation—why it's essential for our well-being, how it works, and how to incorporate intentional relaxation practices into your daily life.

Jenée Johnson, is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, Racial Healing, Emotional Intelligence Educator, and HeartMath facilitator. Jenée initiated and led the unique effort to bring mindfulness into San Francisco's public health programs and practices through the Trauma Informed Systems Initiative. She is on the advisory board of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute and is certified to teach mindfulness and emotional intelligence based on the latest neuroscience. She is also the founder and curator of The Right Within Experience, a day-long program for people of African ancestry that teaches practical mindfulness to overcome the diminishing impact of racism and open a portal to a liberatory lifestyle.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Jenée Johnson and her work with The Right Within Experience here.

Go Deeper

Mindfulness is a resource that can be used not only for finding more calm, but also as a support for mental, physical, emotional, and communal healing. If you want to learn more about these restorative practices and how they contribute to wider individual and collective healing, check out these articles:

• How Mindful Leaders Can Heal Trauma

• Encouraging Meaningful Conversations about Race and Trauma

• The Science of How Mindfulness Relieves Post Traumatic Stress

• Mindfulness for Racial Healing

For more practice, here's another deep rest practice you can try: R.E.S.T.—A Guided Practice for the Tired and Weary.

And more from Mindful here:

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Most of us spend most of our waking hours at some kind of job, whether that's in an office, a classroom, or in our own homes. This week, mindful leadership expert Jancie Marturano leads a practice you can do at your desk—or anywhere—to give yourself a mindful pause during busy days.

Janice Marturano is founder and executive director of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, a nonprofit that trains and supports leaders in exploring mindfulness and leadership excellence. She founded the institute after ending her tenure as Vice President of Public Responsibility and Deputy General Counsel for General Mills. She is the author of Finding the Space to Lead: A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Janice Marturano and her commitment to raising mindful leaders here.

Go Deeper

Mindfulness and meditation don't just have to happen on a cushion. Learn more about creative ways to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday, real life here:

• The Power of Running and Meditation: A Guide to Mindful Movement

• Nature-Based Mindfulness Practices for Families

• Everyday Mindfulness Techniques: Mindful Photography

• Practice Mindfulness With Everyday Sounds

For more practice, here's another meditation to try: A Guided Walking Meditation to Notice the Beauty Around Us—Even in the City

And more from Mindful here:

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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

We often think about gratitude as happening in response to "good" things—but what about moments that aren't grand or overtly happy, but are small and emotionally neutral? This week, Kim Armstrong leads a guided visualization practice to help you notice, take in, and consciously appreciate even the basic things we do every single day.

Kimberly Armstrong is a cofounder and facilitator at Space Between. She practices mindfulness in order to know, see, and feel what is really important in life. Kim has a masters in Child and Adolescent Psychology from the University of Washington and is a certified meditation teacher and 500 hour yoga teacher. Kim's superpower is deep listening with full presence. When she isn't managing operational details, she can be found strumming chords on her guitar.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Kin Armstrong here.

Go Deeper

If you want to learn more about how starting or growing a robust, regular gratitude practice can improve markers of physical and emotional well-being, check out these articles:

• How to Practice Gratitude

• Gratitude for the Lousy Ingrate

• The Power of Gratitude (with a Healthy Dose of Cynicism)

• The Science of Gratitude

For support in establishing a daily practice, we also have a beautiful Gratitude Journal, and a deck of flexible, versatile Gratitude Affirmation cards.

For more practice, here's another meditation to try: A Guided Meditation to Awaken the Flow of Gratitude in Nature

And more from Mindful here:

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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

When we are experiencing a lot of stress or recovering from trauma or addiction, we can find ourselves living in a fight-flight-freeze state, where we feel either disconnected from or unsafe in our bodies. This practice is designed to gently cultivate a sense of safety and then create a kinesthetic anchor (rooted in awareness of how our body is moving) to start building a felt sense of security that your body can remember.

Emily Jane is a mindfulness teacher, certified Embodied Processing (EP) practitioner, and recovery coach with a background in social work. She's been in recovery for over eight years, following two decades of active addiction, and her lived experience now fuels her passion for helping others heal. Emily is also the author of Beyond Addiction: A Mindful Guide to Recovery, where she shares her trauma-informed, compassionate approach to healing. Her work integrates mindfulness, coaching, trauma therapy, and somatic tools to help people reconnect with their bodies and find safety, peace, and empowerment on their recovery journey.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Emily Jane here.

You can order your copy of Beyond Addiction here.

Go Deeper

If you want to learn more about embodied practice and how mindfulness can aid in addiction recovery, check out these articles:

• Make It Personal: How Mindfulness Can Support Highly Stressed People

• A Simple Inquiry Practice to Unwind from Stress

• Could Mindfulness Decrease the Severity of Opioid Cravings?

• Constant Craving

For more practice, here's another meditation to try: HALT Practice to Tune In to What Your Body Needs

And more from Mindful here:

More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation

Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].