Tradition Note
These practices drew on Buddhist contemplative traditions, particularly mindfulness and loving kindness, and are offered as an introduction. Buddhism includes many schools and lineages, and this page does not represent them all.
What This Tradition Is Training
Attention
Noticing experience directly, moment by moment.
Compassion
Cultivating goodwill towards self and others
Impermanence
Seeing the changing nature of all experience
The Practices
7 Minutes Guided Mindfulness Breathing Practice
A simple-breath awareness practice to stabilize attention and observe experience without immediately reacting.
30 Minutes Loving-Kindness (Metta) Practice
A guided practice to cultivate goodwill towards yourself, others, and all beings.
10 Minutes Guided Contemplation of Impermanence Practice
A briel reflection to see the changing nature of thoughts, emotion, and the world around you.
Everything is changing, and that is not a problem to be fixed, but a reality to be understood.
Daily Life Application
Notice reaction earlier
Bring goodwill into relationships
See changes in ordinary moments
Try it for 7 Days
A simple, structured experiment to experience how these practices can support your everyday life.
Practice Library
7 Minute Guided Mindfulness Breathing Practice
This short practice introduces a simple Buddhist approach to breath awareness. Rather than trying to control the breath or empty the mind, you’ll gently notice the natural rhythm of breathing and practice returning when attention wanders. The aim is not to achieve a special state, but to strengthen steadiness, awareness, and a more patient relationship with your own mind.
Prefer to practice without audio? CLICK HERE TO VIEW WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS ↓
Mindfulness of Breathing
5–10 minutes
This introductory practice is inspired by the Buddhist cultivation of mindfulness of breathing. The goal is not to stop thinking or produce a special state. You are practicing the simpler skill of knowing when attention is present—and recognizing when it has wandered.
Before You Begin
Sit somewhere reasonably quiet.
A chair is completely fine. You do not need to sit cross-legged.
Let your posture be upright without becoming rigid. Allow your hands to rest comfortably. Close your eyes if that feels natural, or keep them slightly open with a relaxed gaze.
Take a moment to notice:
I am sitting here.
Nothing else needs to happen yet.
Minute 1 — Arrive
Notice the contact of your body with the chair, cushion or floor.
Feel the weight of the body.
Notice sounds around you.
Allow breathing to continue naturally.
Do not deliberately make the breath deeper or slower.
You are not trying to breathe correctly.
You are noticing the breathing already happening.
Minutes 2–4 — Find the Breath
Choose one place where breathing is easiest to feel.
Perhaps:
the nostrils
the chest
the abdomen
Stay with the physical sensations.
Coolness as air enters.
Warmth as it leaves.
Chest rising.
Abdomen moving.
There is no need to mentally repeat breathing in, breathing out unless that helps stabilize attention.
Simply know:
breathing in
breathing out
When Your Mind Wanders
It will.
This is not the interruption to the practice.
It is part of the practice.
You may discover yourself:
planning
remembering
judging
imagining
rehearsing a conversation
As soon as you notice that attention has wandered, quietly recognize:
thinking
and return to the next breath.
No criticism.
The moment you recognize distraction is actually a moment of awareness.
Minutes 5–8 — Notice the Whole Breathing Process
If attention feels reasonably steady, broaden slightly.
Instead of focusing on one tiny point, notice the whole experience of breathing.
Beginning.
Middle.
End.
The small pause before the next breath.
Notice that each breath arises, changes and disappears.
You don’t have to make anything happen.
Final Minute — Release the Technique
Stop concentrating deliberately on the breath.
Let sounds, sensations, thoughts and breathing all be present.
Notice what the mind feels like without trying to improve it.
Then gently open your eyes.
After the Practice
Ask yourself one question:
What did I notice that I normally overlook?
Not:
Was I good at meditation?
That distinction matters.
Tradition Note
Buddhist context: Mindfulness of breathing has an important place in Buddhist contemplative traditions, including teachings associated with ānāpānasati. This SAH practice is a simple introductory adaptation rather than a complete presentation of any particular Buddhist lineage or meditation system.
10 Minutes Guided Contemplation of Impermanence Practice
This guided reflection explores the Buddhist principle of impermanence through direct experience. Instead of treating impermanence as an abstract idea, you’ll notice how breath, sensations, thoughts, emotions, and surroundings are already changing from moment to moment. The practice invites observation without forcing insight, helping you relate to change with greater clarity and less resistance.
Prefer to practice without audio? CLICK HERE TO VIEW WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS ↓
Contemplation of Impermanence
5–10 minutes
Buddhist teachings frequently use the concept of anicca—impermanence—to point toward a simple observation: conditioned experiences do not remain exactly as they are.
This exercise does not ask you to believe a doctrine.
It asks you to look.
Minute 1 — Become Still
Sit comfortably.
Take several ordinary breaths.
Notice what is present right now:
sound
temperature
body sensation
mood
thought
You are establishing a snapshot of this moment.
Now begin watching what refuses to stay still.
Minutes 2–3 — Watch the Breath Change
Notice one breath.
It begins.
Develops.
Ends.
Another begins.
No two breaths are identical.
Don’t turn this into philosophy yet.
Simply observe:
arising
changing
passing
Minutes 3–5 — Watch Sensation
Choose one bodily sensation.
Pressure where you’re sitting.
Warmth in your hands.
An itch.
Tension.
Watch carefully.
Does it remain exactly the same?
Perhaps it intensifies.
Moves.
Fades.
Breaks into smaller sensations.
Or disappears.
Notice:
Even what feels solid is changing while I experience it.
Minutes 5–7 — Watch Thought
Now allow attention to include thoughts.
A thought appears.
Perhaps it seems important.
Then another thought replaces it.
Notice how quickly something that occupied the whole mental field can disappear.
You don’t need to stop thought.
Watch its movement.
Minutes 7–9 — Include Emotion
If an emotion is present, notice it gently.
Do not analyze why it exists.
Ask:
Is this exactly the same from moment to moment?
Perhaps sadness changes texture.
Irritation softens.
Calm becomes restlessness.
Nothing needs to disappear.
Impermanence means change—not instant relief.
Final Minute — Look Around
Open your eyes if they were closed.
Notice light.
Sound.
Movement.
Your own body.
Then ask:
What is here now that was not here five minutes ago?
and:
What was here five minutes ago that has already changed?
Sit with that for a few moments.
Take It Into Daily Life
This is where the practice becomes particularly useful.
During the day, notice one changing thing:
morning becoming afternoon
weather shifting
a mood passing
food cooling
an argument losing intensity
light moving across a room
No need to announce:
“Behold, impermanence!”
Just notice it.
What This Practice Is Not
Contemplating impermanence does not mean:
nothing matters
you shouldn’t care
relationships are meaningless
loss shouldn’t hurt
you must detach from everyone
Impermanence is not nihilism.
Something can matter enormously because it does not last forever.
That’s actually one of the most powerful insights on the page.