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Meditation for Beginners

What is meditation, exactly? And what does mindfulness actually mean?

Meditation is a practice of attention, a way of calming the body and heart, nourishing the brain, increasing awareness, regulating emotions and bringing more kindness and love into our lives. Mindfulness comes from Buddhist philosophy, and is a way of learning about how our minds work. It's a contemplative training in awareness and compassion.

Mindfulness meditation has been the subject of much exciting scientific research in the last 30 years. While contemplative practices are part of spiritual traditions across all cultures, today mindfulness meditation is a creative part of Western psychology, philosophy and many other disciplines.

Insight (Mindfulness) Meditation has been practiced in Asia for thousands of years. The word "insight" is a translation of Vipassana, which means "clear seeing." Clear seeing can free us from confusion so we can live with growing skillfulness and ease.

Meditation includes training in both single-pointed focus and a cultivating a wide-angle, more panoramic perspective on life. Both of these abilities contribute to significant improvements in cognitive strength, efficiency in learning, and compassionate action. Insight meditation, and mindfulness practice, require living in the present moment. When we live in THIS moment (which is the only one we actually have) our life becomes infinitely richer.

Insight meditation, or mindfulness, isn't just something we do sitting down and being quiet. It's a living practice of learning how to meet each moment fully. This is a loving and courageous path, a way of life based on showing up, being present with experience as it comes and goes, with some measure of equanimity and balance.

At our InsightLA Center, we teach meditation in two ways: in secular, non-sectarian programs, and in retreats and classes on Buddhist philosophy and psychology.

If you're new to meditation, we offer Basics classes for beginners, and lots of other classes and programs you can see here on our website. And please visit our audio page, and listen to a talk or guided meditation given by our guiding teacher, Trudy Goodman.

Our current and upcoming classes suitable for beginners interested in meditation are listed below: