2023/05/26

Prime Video: Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

Prime Video: Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation
Season 1
In recent decades, science has confirmed that meditation, when correctly practiced, offers lasting benefits for your physical, mental, and emotional health. Gain a clear understanding of the essence of meditation - and how best to practice it - in 24 lessons filled with guided exercises, principles and techniques, and more.
2020
24 episodes
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S1 E1 - Mindlessness - The Default Setting

June 1, 2020
33min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Do you control your mind, or does your mind control you? Investigate how the mind operates and the condition of "mindlessness" - the pervasive swirl of thoughts and judgments that separate you from the world around you. Consider the possibility of cultivating the mind in ways conducive to deep well-being for yourself and others.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E2 - Mindfulness - The Power of Awareness

June 1, 2020
33min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Explore the notion of "mindfulness" - nonjudgmental attention to experience - as it occurs in everyday life and as a deliberate practice. Note the many benefits of mindfulness practice, from the freedom to choose how you respond to life, to releasing detrimental emotions and patterns of thinking, to its effects on your physical health.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E3 - Expectations - Relinquishing Preconceptions

June 1, 2020
33min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Here you are introduced to the practice of meditation as a tool for developing mindfulness. Here, distinguish the true nature of mindfulness meditation from common preconceptions about it, revealing its capacity to instill a deeper connection to reality, as well as cultivating a wisdom based in empathy and compassion.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E4 - Preparation - Taking Moral Inventory

June 1, 2020
33min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
In approaching meditation, consider the interconnections of ethical behavior with the development of mindfulness and the shaping of personal character. Drawing from the Buddha's teachings, explore five precepts of behavior that are conducive to the greatest benefits of meditation practice, based in the fundamental principle of not harming others or yourself.
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S1 E5 - Position - Where to Be for Meditation

June 1, 2020
30min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Now learn about the most beneficial physical conditions for your meditation. First, consider the time of day and the physical setting that will best serve your practice. Then, study the most effective sitting postures on the floor, cushions, or chair and the optimum alignment of the body for mindfulness meditation.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E6 - Breathing - Finding a Focus for Attention

June 1, 2020
33min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Mindfulness meditation is based in the use of an anchor or focus of attention, allowing the mind to calm itself. Using your breathing as the focus, learn in detail about the fundamental elements of sitting meditation, focusing attention on the breath and returning to it when the mind strays, without judgment.
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S1 E7 - Problems - Stepping-Stones to Mindfulness

June 1, 2020
34min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Here, explore difficulties often encountered in meditation and ways of working with them that are also useful in the larger context of living. Consider physical discomfort and the specific use of mindfulness itself in working through it. Look also at ways to strengthen concentration and to counter frustration and discouragement.
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S1 E8 - Body - Attending to Our Physical Natures

June 1, 2020
24min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Building on your work with mindfulness practice, learn another technique that augments and supports meditation. The "body scan" directs focused attention to different areas of the body, promoting deeper sensory awareness, relaxation, and concentration. With Professor Muesse's guidance, experience a 20-minute body scan meditation, a fundamental practice of self-compassion.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E9 - Mind - Working with Thoughts

June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
The mindfulness tradition has much to say on the nature of thoughts and their power to shape personality and character. Here, learn specific ways to identify detrimental thoughts and a variety of methods to work with them, demonstrating that you can influence the conditioned mind through conscious and deliberate response to your own thoughts.
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S1 E10 - Walking - Mindfulness While Moving

June 1, 2020
29min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Walking meditation, another core element of the mindfulness tradition, allows you to practice mindfulness wherever and whenever you go. Learn walking meditation in detail, including beneficial conditions for practice, the method of mindful walking, where to focus your attention, and advanced variations on the practice.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E11 - Consuming - Watching What You Eat

June 1, 2020
34min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
When approached with mindfulness, eating offers heightened awareness and undiscovered depth of experience. Go on a rich exploration of mindful eating, beginning with an eating "meditation," using all five senses. Then contemplate mindful eating in daily life and detailed suggestions for sharing a fully mindful meal with others.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E12 - Driving - Staying Awake at the Wheel

June 1, 2020
30min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
As a familiar and potentially hazardous activity, driving provides a perfect "laboratory" for practicing mindfulness. Assess your own approach to driving and bring the principles of meditation to bear on the road; in particular, giving focused attention to the present moment, to your sensory experience and emotions.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E13 - Insight - Clearing the Mind

June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Practicing mindfulness over time prepares the mind for "insight," which in this tradition means seeing clearly into the fundamental nature of reality. Begin an inquiry into what Buddhism calls the three "marks" of existence with the notion of impermanence - the eternal arising and passing away of all phenomena.
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S1 E14 - Wisdom - Seeing the World as It Is

June 1, 2020
34min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Now investigate dukkha, the insatiable quality of human experience - seen in our endless pursuit of the symbols of well-being and achievement and avoidance of unwanted experience. Finally, contemplate not-self - penetrating the illusion of the "I" as an entity separate from the rest of reality, which must be bolstered, protected, and satisfied.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E15 - Compassion - Expressing Fundamental Kindness

June 1, 2020
30min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
With relation to mindfulness practice, explore compassion - the desire to alleviate suffering - as an essential component of our nature as human beings. See how compassion allows us to look at suffering without aversion or attachment, and learn specific practices for developing empathy and deeply recognizing the inner experience of others.
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S1 E16 - Imperfection - Embracing Our Flaws

June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Finding compassion for ourselves is greatly challenging for many of us. Consider the complex of beliefs, attitudes, and conditioning that underlie this; in particular, the thorny phenomenon of perfectionism. Learn how to embrace and accept both imperfection and perfectionism itself as an opening to freedom and deeper humanity.
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S1 E17 - Wishing - May All Beings Be Well and Happy

June 1, 2020
28min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
The mindfulness tradition offers an additional practice that is highly effective in revealing and cultivating compassion. With Professor Muesse's guidance, experience metta meditation, a focused contemplation wishing well-being and peace for others. See how this practice works to relinquish alienation and hostility and to deepen solidarity with all humanity.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E18 - Generosity - The Joy of Giving

June 1, 2020
29min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Here, study the mindfulness tradition's insights concerning attachment to "things," our culture's dominant emphasis on possessions, and the psychological roots of greed. Learn about the Buddhist tradition of dana (sharing with others) and specific practices that reveal the life-giving effects of generosity on the giver and receiver.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E19 - Speech - Training the Tongue

June 1, 2020
29min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Mindfulness practice brings focus to the critical link between speech and behavior. Consider the ways in which both inner experience and outward action are influenced by our use of language. Reflecting on four Buddhist principles of skillful communication, explore mindful attention to speaking and the use of language in genuinely beneficial ways.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E20 - Anger - Cooling the Fires of Irritation

June 1, 2020
30min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Discuss the challenges of dealing with anger and ways to disarm it using the skills you've studied. Reflect on our cultural predisposition to either suppress anger or to express it thoughtlessly, and a third way offered by mindfulness, of nonjudgmental observation, acceptance, and the mental spaciousness to choose your response.
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S1 E21 - Pain - Embracing Physical Discomfort

June 1, 2020
35min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
The skills of mindfulness offer powerful means to work with physical discomfort of all kinds. Consider the crucial distinction between pain and suffering as it directly affects our perceptions. Then experience two meditations for alleviating physical suffering - first, focusing on observing the exact sensation itself, then, on your response to the sensation.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E22 - Grief - Learning to Accept Loss

June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
In reflecting on the universality of loss, take a deeper look at the notion of impermanence and how refusal to embrace life's transience affects our experience of living. Learn how mindfulness approaches grief through centering focus in the present moment and fully experiencing what grief brings to us without fear or aversion.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E23 - Finitude - Living in the Face of Death

June 1, 2020
31min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
The mindfulness tradition considers reflecting on death to be both liberating and essential to living a full and satisfying life. Contemplate the ways in which our culture conditions us to avoid and deny death, and learn four meditations that deepen both the awareness of life's transience and our ability to live freely.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E24 - Life - Putting It All in Perspective

June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Finally, consider various possibilities for continuing your practice through the methods you've learned, further study, and retreats. Professor Muesse concludes with reflections on his own path and on the very real capacity of mindfulness practice to profoundly alter our perceptions of self, the world, and our place in it.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription