Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world

to hold the difficult aspects of your daily life, as well as your beliefs or expectations about them, and to move in closer to them.

Now, she found she could look for gaps throughout the day, times that could be used to transform her thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

As with previous meditations, see if it is possible to maintain a gentle, compassionate awareness that’s imbued with warmth and curiosity.

Cross-checking thoughts with reality is a powerful antidote to negativity in all its forms.

When mood is low, motivation follows action, rather than the other way around. When you put the action first, motivation follows.

You may wish to deepen this attitude of acceptance and openness to whatever sensations you are experiencing by saying to yourself from time to time: ‘It is here now. It is OK to feel this. Whatever it is, it’s already here. Let me open to it.’

Whatever is the case, allow yourself to focus your awareness on wherever the sensations are strongest. Take a gentle and friendly awareness to this part of the body by ‘breathing into it’ on the in-breath, and ‘breathing out of it’ on the out-breath.

‘Just because I am feeling like this now does not mean that things have to stay like this.’

By being present in more of your moments, and making mindful decisions about what you really want and need during those times, you can become progressively more accepting of the good and bad points of your day. You will also discover unexpected routes to happiness and fulfilment.

‘What can I do to look after myself to get me through this low period?’