Today’s practice
Simply Stopping
5 min, guided by Sean Fargo
Today's practice is direct: stop. Not forever, not dramatically. Just long enough to come back.
In your day
Picking one habit loop today, scrolling, snacking, rushing. When you notice it: stopping, one breath, choosing again.
From Sean
One of the first breakthroughs I ever had in meditation was not scratching an itch. As banal as that sounds, it can feel extraordinary to sit through it with patience: to notice the urge and not obey it. The more we judge an urge, or fear feeling it, the stronger the pull to get rid of it. Stopping, even once, loosens that.
A question to carry
What did stopping make possible today?
Saved on this device only, and kept for all 28 days.
A few lines, for whatever they are worth
Stop.
Not forever.
Long enough
for the hand to unclench
from the thing
it was reaching for.
If you want more today
- Script: Simply Stopping (PDF), to read aloud for yourself or someone else.
- Workshop: Dr. Judson Brewer on unwinding anxiety, about an hour, for when you have it.
- Podcast: Acceptance as a Form of Love, for the drive or the walk.
Read the practice as text
Transcription
Let’s begin by taking a moment to allow your body to settle into a comfortable position (2 seconds).
You may close your eyes or keep them slightly open allowing the spine to lift (2 seconds), the shoulders to soften (5 seconds).
Today we will practice simply stopping (2 seconds)
Begin by taking a full breath in (2 seconds) and a long breath out (5 seconds).
Notice what it’s like to just stop (2 seconds).
To simply be still and present in this moment (10 seconds).
You may notice thoughts, bodily sensations, sounds. Just noticing what it is like to be alive in just this moment (15 seconds).
Simply stopping (10 seconds).
Each time you find the mind somewhere else, play with inviting a sense of stopping (20 seconds).
Let’s continue practicing like this, for a little while (60 seconds).
And as we near the end, finishing with a deep breath in (2 seconds) and a long breath out (5 seconds) *ding* (15 seconds).
Integrated Practice:
Try a ‘Minute to Arrive’ practice. When you start a new activity today, maybe a work meeting, maybe a meal, practice stopping and practicing one minute of silence to give yourself time to stop and become more present to this next activity.
Reflection Questions:
What impact did stopping and practicing a minute of silence have on your next activity?
Your progress
Day by day. No streak to protect.
Kept on this device. A missed day is part of the practice: pick up where you are.
Daily by email
This is Day 12 of the 28-Day Mindfulness Challenge.
One short practice a day for four weeks, sent to your inbox each morning with the worksheet and a podcast episode to go with it. Free.