Dealing With Regret
Regret is a difficult feeling. Lessen its sting by learning to let go of the past.
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Hi, and welcome to day one of the regret pack. So as with all of these packs, it's not about getting rid of anything. We're not trying to get rid of regret here. We're trying to understand regret. We're trying to get a different perspective on it, and through that process, things start to loosen up a little bit. We start to find it perhaps a little easier to let go of regret, and regret isn't necessarily a bad thing. If we know how to approach regret, how to use it, then we can actually get a greater sense of clarity, and we can even generate a greater sense of forgiveness and compassion in our life. But if we don't know how to approach it, then it can very quickly overwhelm us, whether it's through our thoughts, through our emotions, and we can very quickly feel sort of a little bit stuck, as though we're unable to move. But fundamentally, we're talking about something that's happened that we would rather have gone a different way. Maybe something someone else has done, something that we've done, said, but something that we wish was different. We don't have the ability to go back and change it, so the only place there's room for change is in our own mind. And we're gonna use a technique called noting here. So noting is a great way of letting go of thoughts from the past, letting go of thoughts, looking ahead to the future, and instead, just bringing us back to the present moment. As always, I'm gonna lead you through the technique. All you need to do right now is to make sure that you're sitting comfortably, that you're not gonna be disturbed, and just take a moment, with the eyes open, to take some big deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, just closing the eyes, allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm. As you just feel the weight of the body press down, the sensation of the feet or the legs on the floor, and of the hands and the arms resting on the legs. And just taking a moment or two, just to settle in to the space around you, in particular, noticing any sounds, just allowing those sounds to come and go. And as you bring the attention back to the body, now, starting to notice how the body's feeling, where there's a sense of stillness or restlessness in the body right now. And then starting at the top of the head, just gently scanning down, noticing what feels comfortable, what feels uncomfortable, evenly scanning down towards the toes. And if you haven't done already, just beginning to notice the movement of the breath. To begin with, just noticing the sensation, noticing where in the body you feel that movement most clearly. And as the mind sinks down into that sensation, just beginning to notice the rhythm of...
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A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.
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Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.
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Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.
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