Mindfulness Classes With Oli Doyle

When you have a problem in your life, how does your mind respond? If you are anything like me you will notice repetitive patterns of thinking, old solutions being refashioned (even if they don't work) and a firm urging to try harder, work longer and push through the challenge.

You may also have found that this approach doesn't work. And you may even have found that better solutions arise when you STOP thinking about the problem, that inspiration strikes in the shower, in the garden, but never in the office.

So today, I decided to explore a new approach to finding solutions, an approach that uses mindfulness to uncork our natural brilliance, our inherent creativity. I hope you find this approach useful and refreshing.

You mustn't settle for philosophy. You mustn't allow mindfulness to be an exercise in discussion, argument and consideration. You must dive in.

Today I implore you to take a running jump into your inner world. Don't let the mind redirect you. Take a risk, dive in and discover the truth of your being; discover true peace.

Our minds are hungry, seeking more knowledge, more information, more understanding. We want to know more (more than you!), we want to know why and we definitely don't want to be left wondering.

But a joyful life is not about knowing, it is about experiencing this moment as it is. Of course, this involves a good deal of wondering and of sitting comfortably with not knowing.

This is why, in Zen, they don't give you much information, they simply tell you to sit and experience this moment directly. This direct experience is the basis of today's class, which begins with another dialogue:

"A monk asks Zen master Chao Chou: What was Bodhidharma's intention in coming to China?

Chao Chou: Look at the cypress in the courtyard.

This may seem an odd answer, but listen on and you will see why this is the best advice a meditator could receive!

Today's class begins with a mysterious dialogue:

"Master Shui Lao asked Ma Tsu, 'What is the meaning of the coming from the West?'

Ma Tsu then knocked him down with a kick to the chest: Shui Lao was greatly enlightened. He got up, clapping his hands and laughing loudly...

Afterward, he would tell the assemly, 'From the time I took Ma Tsu's kick up until now, I haven't stopped laughing.'"

Listen on, and you will be surprised at how this links to the challenges that throw us off the path of mindfulness every single day.

Enjoy.

As we come to the end of our 6 week mindfulness course, I want to let you know that you are already perfect. Nothing about you needs to be changed in this moment.

Of course, now you get to choose whether you stay lost in thought or wake up into this now, but whether you do this or not, you are perfect beyond words.

Consider that; "Perfect beyond words". When you go beyond words (thinking), perfection was there already. Everything is perfect.

You are part of that everything, you are precious, you are incomparable. And as you continue to wake up, perfection will shine through you ever more brilliantly.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. This course is an accompaniment to my upcoming book 6 Weeks of Peace, which will be available around the end of April.

If you enjoyed this class, please tell a friend.

Oli Doyle

It sounds crazy, but in reality, stress can bring you to peace, and challenges can be of great benefit to your mindfulness practice.

The secret is to learn to use stress as an alarm clock, a reminder to return to the present moment.

Master this simple skill, and everything you thought was an obstacle becomes immensely helpful.

Today, I invite you to do something simple but incredibly powerful; make a commitment.

A commitment to what? To waking up out of thought.

Forget the distractions, the shiny objects of this world and instead commit to something life-changing; commit to living this life moment by moment and to returning to this wonderful moment whenever the fog of thought creeps in.

In this simple 8 minute class, I will show you how straightforward this process can be.

The job of the outside world has nothing to do with your happiness, instead it is custom designed to wake you up out of thought!

Ordinarily, we think that happiness will come when at last the outside world starts doing what it's told, giving us what we want. This plan has only 2 major flaws:

1) The world won't do what it's told and

2) Even when it does, the happiness doesn't last.

This happiness is fleeting, it is dependent on certain conditions and fades as things change again. So what should we do?

Luckily, peace and joy are always there, deep within, your only job is to find it.

Join me today on a journey into your depths and discover what you were chasing all along.

The only aim of mindfulness is to wake up, but not out of sleep, out of thinking!

There are only two possible states for the average human being: we are either present, awake and alive in this moment, or we are lost in thought, asleep. There is no in between.

This week's classes are all about waking up out of thought, and I will share every tool, every tip and every technique I have to help jolt you (or at least nudge you) out of your slumber and into the beautiful, peaceful simplicity of this moment.

I hope you enjoy the ride.

What if there was nothing to do, and nowhere to be?

Would it change your quest for happiness if you knew that no improvement was possible, or even necessary?

How would you live this life if you knew that the only possible achievement was to live fully in this instant?

Join me today in the place of joy and ease, the present moment.