[mattront]

Personally, I find meditation as presented by Mingyur Rinpoche (from Tibetan Buddhist tradition) very useful and practically applicable to every day life. It goes beyond just mindfulness. Here is a quote from [0]:

"...practicing meditation is a process of exploring the heart and mind, of fully experiencing the richness of awareness itself. This implies that meditation is not meant to eliminate the things we don’t like about ourselves, or even to become “better” people. Meditation helps us to see that we are already whole and complete. It is a practical tool that enables us to get in touch with our true nature.

The path of meditation unfolds in two stages: We begin by recognizing that the nature of awareness is fundamentally good and pure, and that it is the source of true and lasting happiness. Once we have directly experienced the basic goodness of awareness, the path of meditation then consists of nurturing this recognition and allowing the qualities of awareness to manifest fully."

[0] https://tergar.org/meditation/what-is-meditation/

[aristofun]

How do you reword it in down to earth actionable way?

So I go and know what to do, and some criteria to know if I’m doing it right.

[mattront]

Please note that this recap is not a substitute for taking the time to taking the time to learn about this particular approach to meditation through study and practice [0].

- Our every experience has two parts: its content (for example, a thought "pizza") and awareness (our ability to know / feel / experience it). Usually, we just notice the content, but do not recognize our capacity of being aware. As a counter example, unlike us, a computer can store the word "pizza" in its memory, but it does not have the conscious experience of it.

- Meditation consists of simply being with both, in a natural, relaxed way, but without getting lost

- Being with awareness is easy because it is a core part of every experience. Noticing it can be hard for the exact same reason.

- So, we practice being with awareness again and again, both in short formal meditation sessions and informal, while we go about our daily lives

- We gradually discover the built-in qualities of awareness: openness, freedom, creativity, joy...

The signs that we are doing it (any kind of meditation) right include:

- Being able to better handle ups and downs of life with a relaxed, curious attitude

- Increased sense of humor, creativity, spaciousness of where our life happens

- Kindness toward ourselves and others

The opposite would be signs that whatever we are doing is not benefiting us.

[0] - https://tergar.org/programs/