Integrating Mindfulness Into Everyday Life – Elisha Goldstein
How To Integrate Mindfulness Into Everyday Life With Elisha Goldstein
Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D is co-founder of The Center for Mindful Living in West Los Angeles. He is also the author of Uncovering Happiness: Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, The Now Effect: How this Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life, Mindfulness Meditations for the Anxious Traveler and co-author of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook. He has also designed the bestselling program Basics in Mindfulness Meditation: A 28 Day Program.
In this interview with Elisha you’ll discover…
A wonderfully simple definition of mindfulness.
- Practical tips on bringing mindfulness into daily life.
- How to use ‘pairing’ and a powerful way to infuse mindfulness into your life.
- The power of doing short informal practices sprinkled throughout the day.
- How mindfulness helped Elisha overcome insomnia.
- The R.A.I.N method and the S.A.F.E method for using mindfulness in difficult times.
Our sincere apologies for the scratchy sound in this video. Melli’s mic was rubbing on her clothes. We’ve edited out all sound on her end as Elisha talks.
Show Notes
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You can find Elisha’s website here where you can also find his books and sign up for his blog.
Would you like to try the mindful check in? Check it out here
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Transcript
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Purchase a full access pass to unlock downloads for the full interview transcripts, audio, video and separate audio meditation tracks.
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Purchase a full access pass to unlock downloads for the full interview transcripts, audio, video and separate audio meditation tracks.
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Inspired by Goldstein’s mindfulness practices, that are adaptable across daily living, and how formal, semi-formal and informal practices are just as stimulating, for individuals as with companions. Zara Ellis, QUALLA BOUNDARY, WNC
I am thoroughly enjoying and benefitting from these interviews.
However…….. I am constantly being frustrated by the shifting audio volume. One speaker is clearly heard, another is very difficult to hear.
I am currently trying to hear Elisha Goldstein’s talk. Melli is coming through loud and clear. I have to strain very hard to hear Elisha’s words.
Can’t this be fixed? I probably will have to give up on the rest of this interview 🙁
I enjoyed what I heard, every time Milli spoke it sounded like a Tamborine was being moved around. I thought it was just a problem at my end. I did here some of Elisha so that’s good. Thanks Linda
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Elisha was great. I would also say that blocking the sounds Milli makes was good because it let me concentrate better.
I enjoyed the discussion of formal and informal mindfulness practice. I think it is wonderful to see and digest this information. I see a benefit for myself and to my clients. Thank you again Melli and thank you Elisha Goldstein.
As a 30 year retired Combat and Didabled Veteran that suffers from Post Traumatic Strees Disorder, this video was excellent! The SAFE breathing space will help me immensely. Thank you so much for the incredible opportunity to learn and grow.
I hope that you find peace. My husband suffers with PTSD as well, and I know it takes great courage to face the demons. God bless you.
So fantastic to hear it is effective for you. That would be a good research topic I think. Warm greetings
HI Dr. Hillel, this is so wonderful to hear…may this continue to be a support. Warmly, Elisha
Melli — don’t worry about the microphone issue. You’re doing fabulously! Thanks for all your time and dedication.
I second that!
Me too! Thanks.
Me to !!!! This summit is changing my life. Thank you so much Melli, you are doing a wonderful job and improving tons of people’s life I am sure. This day 8 made mindfulness practice more accessible for me. It’s way easier to integrate the 30 seconds informal practices to my daily life.
Thanks for your encouragement mate! You’re very sweet. It’s a labor of love and I’m so glad you’re enjoying it : )
Melli, I’m finding your conversational interruptions and insertions and questions very distracting. It needs a different style of interviewing for broadcast purposes. Please let these wonderful experts who have teaching and explaining mindfulness for may years. speak in their own way and perhaps just have some simple questions lined up at the end.
You might want to check out the comments from yesterday’s interview. These are pre-recorded and they cannot be “fixed” for the future. Therefore, comments like these are not constructive or kind. I am grateful to Melli for her generosity of time and heart to put this amazing summit together. The “distractions” are simply another opportunity to practice mindfulness. Our daily lives are filled with opportunities like these.
Well said Lisa!
Melli- it is clear to me that this is truly a labor of love for you. I think you are doing an amazing job and am enjoying every moment of every interview. Thank you so very much,
I totally agree, thank you Melli for your time, effort and generosity, and also to all the guests, I love what you are doing, such a wonderful thing, peace
I agree…thank you!
Thank you Melli! This is fantastic and you are doing a great job!!!????
I “third” that! Thanks very, very much.
Ditto for me too, Melli! It’s all great! Thank you for your hard work and dedication
Me too! Its coming loud and clear on this end, few jingles did not bother me. Also your dialog/interview style is very delightful. I actually missed hearing your expressions during this session:-)
Really wonderful, helpful acronyms to remember -STOP, RAIN, SAFE. Brought tears to my eyes when I realized how many people around the world are suffering so terribly and here I am in my safe house, with fresh water and more than enough food. Puts my troubles in a more global perspective and does fill me with compassion for others. Reminds me to count my blessings every day. It felt really good to send lovingkindness, compassion out to others in the SAFE practice. Thanks so much Elisha and Melli. I feel it’s practices like this that have a chance of saving our planet.
Wow, your words really touched me. Here I am right now with a full belly sitting in a safe airport connecting with people all over the world. How lucky we are indeed. I hope mindfulness and compassion will help us to bring more beauty, safety and care to more of those in need. To ourselves and our immediate circle first and then rippling out.
Thanks for sharing this journey with us : )
excellent summit… the only thing I don’t agree with Elisa is the need to have a “friend” who agrees with what we are doing…. it may be helpful but I agree with someone like Pema Chodron who sees great value in, provided we are not being abused in a relationship, having opposition from a close friend in our lives… Buddhism sees this as a great opportunity to look again and use the “conflict” with another to examine our use of mindfulness… this works so well for me … it becomes a really useful way to create even more awareness… so much more beneficial that having a friend who agrees with whatever I experience..
HI Robert,
Thank you for writing here. I believe I was referring to the support of a friend in doing practice. For thousands of years people have been congregating around various practices with the support of a community. If I remember correct, this was my intention :).
Warmly,
Elisha
I really like how you provide a great digest of each contributor’s work while having them all grounded as part of a bigger picture.
I so totally agree!
Only talk I couldn’t finish…..the monotonous tone of voice and not embodying mindfulness put me off, sorry!
I actually didnt find it monotous at all.
Wow, it spoke to me totally. I’m sorry that it didn’t work for you, but it just points out our glorious differences. Blessings to you…
Just the way I understand it the N from R.A.I.N. is non identifying so you can be with whatever is arising but at the same time able to see the space around it. If i was to ask myself what do I need then i would be again closing myself in clinging to something, that will bring such and such. I think there could be a pitfall in thinking i what i need vs what is happening in my inner space in this moment…
I fell asleep during the SAFE practice which was actually wonderful, even though that wasn’t the purpose! I loved his down to earth and practical approach to daily practice and intend to use the shower idea immediately. Thank you.
The safe practice was amazing. I’ve been on a high with this summit. So it was good to use this opportunity to gently turn to something difficult. Never thought of doing that. Thank you. Just on a side note. I will buy a full access pass. Not just because of the access but because I want to support this event. But I want to do it at the end as I need the carrot/stick of the release for now to keep the momentum going 🙂 cannot thank everyone involved enough!
…. also I have just checked out Elisha’s website and it’s fabulous. I was engaged within a couple of minutes. The quote on his front page from Viktor Frankl was the one that introduced me to the concept of mindfulness, although in another form. I think I may have found my guide.
Really enjoyed this. Helpful, compassionate & practical. The quote of the day:
aim “to widen the space between stimulus and response, to where perspective and choice lie”.
Thank you so very much.
Hi Mel, what an excellent summit, my internet has been slow, last night interview was amazining as was tonights, really thought provoking learning and great to hear different prepestives, would also like to say you are an amazing interviewer, Looking forward to tomorows interview with Ruby Wax, im sure will be very interesting, warm wishes Emily from Ireland
Another informative seminar, thank you. It’s great to see the practical use of mindfulness practices to the benefit to so many, including those with difficulties with the mental and emotional being. I can see these methods being used in so many ways, looking forward to practicing them and passing them on to the those around me.
Beautiful! I love the STOP Acronym. I actually cam across it in one of the mindfulness books I read. I particularly think that the acronym is the main key to mindfulness in terms of dealing with people on a daily basis. The P is of particular interest to me in this case because it determines whether you will respond or react to someone who let’s say gives you a negative comment. By responding or reacting mindfully as Elisha would have said determines what happens next regarding the emotions of the 2 persons involved…as to whether the conversation will continue downhill or whether you will respond or react mindfully so as to change the mood of the conversation thereby creating a sense of ease in both parties involved. I totally enjoyed this interview. Thank you Mel and Elisha!
Thank you for this inspiring conversation, I practice informally each day on my beach walks and I have only just realised that’s what I do! I know that when difficult situations arise it really just help me to recall those moments of informal practice – now I can articulate why.
Thanks so much for producing and moderating this series. I am meditating for just over a year now and I learn something from each speaker. Thanks, too for the links you provide to additional content.
Thank you Melli, i am eternally grateful and appreciative for your hard work and effort in putting this summit together. As someone who has read alot and practiced meditation on and off i have learned so much in a very short space of time, the variety of views and information so far have been insightful. I look forward to continued listening / growing as much as my free time permits. Peace to all.
Am so glad I listened to the very end. I have two kids and in my darker moments really worry about what kind of world they will inhabit and their children’s children and so on. Elishas closing comments allowed me to experience a first glimpse of optimism around that. It also makes my own practice have a much broader resonance, thinking that it not only impacts me and my daily experience but also my children’s experience, way of being in the world and ultimately what they will pass on to future generations. Thank you so much for this beacon of hope. I cherish it.
Thank you Melli and Staff for Day 8 with Elisha Goldstein. Another great session!
This session had such an abundance of information and was coming to me at such great speed through Elisha’s non-stop great mind that I found myself taking a break half way through just to calm down and process the information.
I continued the video where I left off and truly enjoyed the entire session and the wonderful closing practice/meditation. So much valuable information was packed in one hour that I feel that I need to go back and listen for the second time. Thank you for the opportunity and also to access the past sessions.
Elisha Goldstein is a wonderful reinforcer in my opinion. Thank you for interviewing him. I concur with many who have commented that understanding little mindful recipes like, RAIN or STOP helps when I seem to forget everything in a particularly stressful moment in my life.
An inspiring summit. Thank you to all contributing to this summit and giving us all the opportunity to deepen our practices and evolve our consciousness. This talk struck a cord with me – being too rigid in my practice of late – and that in fact closes me – so thank you for helping me to remember and embrace the more informal aspect of practice to open me up. Love and blessings to you all. xxx
Thank you- this session was so practical and useful. All these tenets of the mindfulness practices reflect a lot of the buddhist traditions and I so love the empathy practice part of the SAFE.
I found ELishas speed and vocie in the practice a little too fast and too wordy but I still feel more nourished and thanks to him for sharing and to you Melli for your amazing creative energy in bringing this together.
Rosie
Stop~rain~safe ~ brilliant~
Thank you @Mindful_Living
I loved your discussion about informal practice and especially your references to the opportunity to consider choices in the gap between stimulus and response (I think you described it more eloquently!)
I hadn’t come across the STOP SAFE & RAIN methods so I followed your SAFE meditation, it was very soothing. Looking forward to @Rubywax tomorrow. Thank you for your wonderful hosting @MrsMindfulness
Wishing you all peace and happiness in your day @m4nkindUK 🙂 x #joinm4nkind
Truly enjoying each speaker. I carve time out every day for me….how refreshing
I foun d this very helpful and enjoyable.
What an excellent online summit. Thank you so much for putting this together. I am familiar with some of your presenters already. I am enjoying seeing them and being exposed to new people. This summit comes just at the right time of my life when I am transitioning out of the corporate world into retirement when I will have more time to deepen my practice and teach more yoga. Thanks again.
How about compiling all the meditations from the various speakers for future use?
Hi Beth, I think you can downloand and access all the talks and meditations for life $79…I understand the proceeds go to likeminded charities 🙂 x @m4nkinUK
@m4nkindUK 🙂
Learning something new with each speaker. I am so glad that I heard about this summit! Very enlightening!
Thank you again. I found the SAFE practice accessible and, dare I say, enlightening. To feel compassion for people, in general, happens within me, both at the abstract level and the individual level. To feel compassion toward an individual who hurt me profoundly, and to consciously want for this person to find clarity around their experience, was quite powerful.
Tuning in each day has become an enjoyable part of my day. My commute to and from work have become a great time to listen. Although I have not fully participated in the “formal” practices while driving lol. Listening to the process has been helpful. Overall the summit has opened my awareness and has allowed me to be more mindful throughout all of my activities. I pay attention more than I did before and it’s been rewarding and so beneficial. And it’s only day 8. So excited to continue. Thank you so much for providing this opportunity.
Enjoying this, have mindfully listened to each one, but honestly need to say that having Melli’s mic muted when she wasn’t talking made it more easy for me to focus on the speaker. I find her questions are good, but her verbal hmmms, and other responses in the midst of someone talking distracts from the speaker.
I really found this interview so useful and plan to use the strategies. I love your interview questions, and the way you interact with your guests, Melli . Thank you so much for this.
loved Elisha’s point of view for the final question. I find myself looking forward to each speaker’s answer to this question with a sort of delight, as they’ve been completely different and each compelling in their own way. I gotta say, too: I work with audio all day, and make my living as a critical listener – your content and what you you have put together for us to share in far outweigh any distractions that exist and quite frankly, if one cannot get past that, then the point and the practice has been missed entirely:) This summit is enriching many people’s daily lives. rock on with it!
Thank you Melli! I agree, you are doing an amazing job!
I am loving every minute of these interviews. I had a very busy day today but made sure I got this one in at 9:00 P.M. U. S. time.
I love what you are doing Mellie and didn’t really care about the microphone rubbing once I read what it was. Wasn’t a big deal. I also loved the 3 acronyms that Elisha gave us but I did think he was a bit long winded. My mind totally wandered during the last 10 min of the SAFE exercise but I love the idea of all 3 of them. I will try this with some of my clients.
Mellie! Thank you sooooo much for doing this free of charge. I probably already posted that but wanted to say it again because I think it is a tremendous labor of love and beautiful Karma! Have a great day. It’s night time here but I think day time by you.
Thank you Dr. Goldstein and Mellie for this practical and useful exploration of mindfulness in daily life. I almost cried during the meditation. Everyday am grateful for this summit and the community and the experiences shared.
The talks have been great so far, but I’m really frustrated that the SOUND KEEPS DROPPING OUT completely… I have to rewind and restart the video constantly…. which is very off-putting.
I was going to buy the access pass, but now I’m not sure, with the sound dropping out it may not be worth it.
Anyone else have the same problem? Any suggestions how to fix it? (I contacted support, but unfortunately did not get any useful help).
Is anyone else having problems with the SOUND DROPPING OUT COMPLETELY? I’m getting a bit frustrated trying to watch the videos, and having to rewind them constantly because the sound suddenly drops out…
Was going to buy the full access pass, but with this sound-issue I’m now having doubts whether it’s worth it.
Oh please Elisha…so much great information…but please slow down. The words just flow one into another and it’s overwhelming and the message is lost.
Wow, wow, wow – this ”spoke’ to me on deep level. Thank you Elisha for your practical and inspirational talk. You deliver in a very clear and effective manner. Thoroughly enjoyed this sessions.
Blessings from Gisborne, NZ
When it’s good it’s good! This summit is so good! Thanks Melli!!!
Everyday I look forward to these mindfulness presentations. Each speaker has contributed something to my understanding of mindfulness and I greatly appreciate this opportunity to deepen my experience of conscious living and relating. I acknowledge the beautiful presence of the organizer and interviewer. It is obviously a vision well seeded and watered with love. The harvest here is a true gift to all viewers. I am wondering if Thich Nhat Hanh is represented in the summit? I am not seeing his inspiring practice anywhere. Perhaps there is another summit to follow this one. That would be wonderful.
OMG he talks too much…
Another great conversation, Melli- thank you. It was so interesting to learn the SAFE practice!
I am enjoying the summit. It is really making a difference in my practice and my life. Thank you Melli for all your hard work.
Interesting listening to a different perspective… also listen to his own experience and once again mindfulness can change lives. Thanks for sharing this information. The practice was beautiful.
Even with the scratchy sound, this was a wonderful interview! I really appreciate Elisha’s insights and sharing such powerful information with us. Thank you for this summit and all of your hard work, Melli and gang. Even though I have meditated informally for years, I have learned something new every day, and I can already tell that this challenge is changing my life for the better. I can’t thank you and all of the contributers enough. Many Blessings to all.
I have to agree that all types of mindfulness and practice don’t have to be the same. I see it like cooking, people take great foods from all over the world and add and subtract ingredients so as to get the best result for themselves and those around them.
So true! Every path and journey is unique in it’s own way, and quite mysterious and wonderful.