What Does Desire and Boredom Have in Common? Understanding grasping and clinging through meditation.

Sometimes life can be boring, right? Boredom is a feeling we get when we wish things were different – more exciting or engaging – or as children say, more “fun”. Essentially, when we’re bored we have the desire for life to be different than it is right now. Buddhism calls this “grasping” and “clinging” and is said to be caused by thoughts (ideas) of how our mind wants things to be.

In meditation traditions, we are asked to look at the grasping and clinging directly. We practice letting go of expectations and accepting what is right here in this moment – the only reality there is – instead of wishing for things to be different. When we investigate grasping and clinging, we may realize that discontent is a state of unrest. We can calm this through meditation which is being mindful of what is going on right now by following the breath that connects us to reality.

NOTE: At any time, when you need extra time during the practice, pause the podcast for as long as you'd like and come back to finish up.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to Community Wellness by providing schools and organizations with mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator.

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