How Mindfulness Can Fix Pretty Much Anything—And How To Be Consistent Without Self-Criticism | Alexis Santos

1. Restart Meditation Without Guilt

If you fall off your meditation practice, do not worry or feel guilty; nothing has been lost. Simply start again, as habit formation is hard and inconsistency is common.

2. Prioritize Remembering Awareness

Recognize that awareness itself is effortless, but the challenge lies in ‘remembering’ to be aware. Cultivate a friendly and easy relationship with this remembering to build momentum.

3. Practice Awareness Anywhere, Anytime

Let go of the idea that awareness depends on a specific posture, closed eyes, or peaceful conditions. Allow your awareness to mature by practicing it in all types of experiences and circumstances.

4. Value Every Moment of Awareness

Do not underestimate the power of a single moment of awareness, such as noticing your breath. Each moment, no matter how small, contributes to building the habit of awareness and makes a significant difference.

5. Practice Inward Listening

Cultivate awareness by practicing ‘inward listening’ or ’noticing’ what’s happening as it’s happening. This involves a direct, non-intellectual experiencing of the present moment.

6. Effortlessly Notice Physical Sensations

To practice awareness, lightly notice simple physical sensations like the pressure or temperature of your hands, or your feet on the ground. This demonstrates that receiving sensory information requires no effort.

7. Simplify Awareness: What Can I Know?

Make awareness more accessible by keeping it simple: ask yourself ‘What can I know right now?’ and focus on basic sensory input like the body, breathing, seeing, hearing, or mental activity.

8. Ask ‘Are You Aware?’

Develop the habit of asking yourself ‘Are you aware?’ or ‘Is the mind aware?’ frequently throughout the day. This serves as a gentle reminder to bring your attention back to the present moment.

9. Tap the Awareness Swing

Cultivate awareness by ’tapping the swing’ – lightly noticing a sensation or feeling, then relaxing, rather than trying to sustain awareness with continuous effort. This allows awareness to build momentum naturally without exhaustion.

10. Use the 010 Method: Check Tense/Relaxed

Regularly check in with your chest or heart area to lightly notice if you feel relaxed or tense. This simple feedback helps you recognize when you’re moving out of balance (1) and prompts you to return to balance (0) through awareness.

11. Don’t Flinch From Unpleasant Awareness

If you notice unpleasant feelings when you become aware, do not get discouraged or judge the experience. The act of knowing what’s happening is wholesome and opens possibilities for qualities like patience and kindness.

12. Reduce Tension with Awareness & Breath

When you notice tension or unpleasantness, try to reduce it by recognizing its location (e.g., shoulders, heart) and taking a deeper breath. This reinforces the benefit of noticing and allows the mind to shift.

13. Notice & Learn From Striving

Recognize that attitudes of striving and pushing can hinder your practice. When these are noticed, treat them as just another experience to learn from, rather than judging them or letting them derail your practice.

14. Meet Compulsions with Kind Awareness

When you notice unskillful habits or compulsions, avoid fighting or judging them. Instead, bring awareness, interest, and a non-judgmental, kind attitude to what your mind is doing, allowing patterns to shift naturally.

15. Ask ‘Is This Useful?’

When faced with a choice or compulsion, ask yourself ‘Is this useful?’ or ‘Is this leading to some sort of benefit?’ Allow these wisdom phrases to organically steer your actions in a more skillful direction.

16. Target Areas Lacking Awareness

Identify specific areas or activities where you typically lack awareness and intentionally bring your attention there. This practice helps to expand and strengthen your overall awareness.

17. Observe Emotional Cycles with Interest

During difficult emotional experiences, observe your heart and mind with genuine interest, watching the cycles of intensity and settling. This allows you to learn from your reactions without being overwhelmed.

18. Be Real with Intense Emotions

Be honest and authentic with your intense emotions, allowing yourself to express them (e.g., through physical activity or loud music) without judgment. Recognizing the universality of these feelings helps shift your relationship to the experience.

19. Seek External Practice Reminders

Actively seek out reminders for your practice by listening to Dharma talks, podcasts, or reading relevant books. These resources can powerfully inspire and re-engage your mind.

20. Seek Therapy/Supportive Listening

During challenging times, seek out therapy or connect with someone who can listen and allow you to process your experiences. This external support is helpful alongside mindfulness practices.

21. Integrate Mini-Meditation Moments

Integrate formal moments of practice into your day, even if brief, by utilizing routine activities like going to the bathroom as a dedicated time to pause and reconnect with awareness.

22. Create Conditions for Mind Change

Recognize that mind change is possible and happens by consistently ‘putting in the conditions’ (i.e., practicing awareness) in any given moment, rather than trying to force or ‘make it all happen’.