Ten Percent Happier Meditation 2024.2

version 2024.2

Jan 30, 2024
Version 2024.2
With this update, you may just want to meditate with your eyes open. (And that’s OK.) This release contains some visual upgrades to elevate your meditation experience, including an enhanced meditation player.

Oh, we’ve also gentle captured & released some annoying bugs into the wild and made performance improvements.

version 2024.1

Jan 26, 2024
Version 2024.1
With this update, you may just want to meditate with your eyes open. (And that’s OK.) This release contains some visual upgrades to elevate your meditation experience, including an enhanced meditation player.

Oh, we’ve also gentle captured & released some annoying bugs into the wild and made performance improvements.

version 7.0.1

Dec 6, 2023
Version 7.0.1
Notice something different? Good, this meditation thing is working! In this release, we are bringing you new meditations and timely collections (hello, holiday pack), alongside an update to the look of our app. It’s the Ten Percent Happier you know—with a bit more vibrance and joy. Don’t worry—all your favorites are exactly where you left them (no changes to our navigation or your profile).

~~Excerpted from “Pain x Resistance = Suffering” by Sebene Selassie~~

This may sound weird, but meditation has taught me that you can have joy even when you have pain.

In the beginning, most of us start meditating to eliminate our pain. I know I did. I wanted to get rid of my sadness and fear. But meditation doesn’t eliminate pain -- it eliminates suffering.

What’s the difference?

There’s a saying in meditation circles that Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/the-difference-between-pain-and-suffering.

version 6.32.0

Oct 10, 2023
Version 6.32.0
In this update, we added a way to track download progress, and made some behind-the-scenes improvements.

~~~Excerpted from "Finding Peace with Work," by Dr. Susan Pollak~~~

For those of us who need to show up at work everyday to support ourselves and others, how can we find a balance that minimizes the cost to our physical and mental health? Three things can help….

Strong Back, Soft Front

Bring attention to how your body feels throughout the day. Roshi Joan Halifax has an expression that I find both anchoring and balancing: “strong back, soft front.” This means to check in and feel your innate strength and dignity, perhaps standing or sitting up a little taller. And at the same time, notice where you can soften, perhaps bringing more relaxation to your body as you let your senses open to what’s around you.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/finding-peace-with-work

version 6.31.0

Sep 27, 2023
Version 6.31.0
We fixed several bugs to enhance compatibility with iOS 17 and make the media playback experience smoother. We also enabled offline Unguided Timer sessions to count towards your stats.

~~~Excerpted from "How to Be Kinder to Yourself, Simply," by Diana Winston~~~

Mindfulness: Notice Judgment

First, you can start cultivating self-compassion any time you meditate by mindfully noticing if you’re being judgmental of yourself. Do you think you’re not meditating in the right way? Do you think you’re not a good meditator? Or maybe you’re being judgmental about something else going on in your life. The first step to working with judgmental thoughts is to begin to notice them.

When you notice a self-judging thought arising in the course of the day or as you’re meditating, see if you can label it in your mind as “judging” or “self-judgment.” We label this not to judge ourselves for judging (!) but to make conscious the fact that our mind is engaged in judging right now, so that we can respond appropriately. There is actually a lot of freedom in being able to notice these voices coming and going. We don’t have to be caught by them. They are thoughts passing through like clouds in the sky.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/three-steps-toward-self-compassion

version 6.30.0

Sep 13, 2023
Version 6.30.0
In this release, we made several visual improvements and bug fixes. We also added the ability to delete any past session by swiping left on it in your History, and some improvements to keep your mindful minutes synced to Apple Health.

~~~Excerpted from "How to Be Kinder to Yourself, Simply," by Diana Winston~~~

Mindfulness: Notice Judgment

First, you can start cultivating self-compassion any time you meditate by mindfully noticing if you’re being judgmental of yourself. Do you think you’re not meditating in the right way? Do you think you’re not a good meditator? Or maybe you’re being judgmental about something else going on in your life. The first step to working with judgmental thoughts is to begin to notice them.

When you notice a self-judging thought arising in the course of the day or as you’re meditating, see if you can label it in your mind as “judging” or “self-judgment.” We label this not to judge ourselves for judging (!) but to make conscious the fact that our mind is engaged in judging right now, so that we can respond appropriately. There is actually a lot of freedom in being able to notice these voices coming and going. We don’t have to be caught by them. They are thoughts passing through like clouds in the sky.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/three-steps-toward-self-compassion

version 6.29.0

Aug 21, 2023
Version 6.29.0
Improved Unguided Timer experience

~~~Excerpted from "How to Meditate on Your Breath," by Diana Winston~~~

You don’t need to breathe a special way

First, in most forms of mindfulness meditation, resting the attention on the breath doesn’t mean changing the breath.

Now, in some meditative and yogic practices – pranayama, for example – you do breathe in a special way, perhaps modulating the length of inhales and exhales. There are even forms of mindfulness meditation that involve lengthening the breath to increase calm. These are very helpful!

But most basic mindfulness practices involve the unregulated, natural breath, just as you find it. Attending to the ordinary breath teaches us to be mindful of things as they are. We learn not to try to control our experience, but to let it unfold, exactly as it is, so that we can learn to recognize it, accept it as what it is, and investigate it. If the breath is deep, let it be deep. If it’s shallow, let it be shallow. In this way, you gain skills in observation and acceptance rather than control.

In general, mindfulness is essentially receptive rather than active. You’re not forcing the breath, not changing it, not manipulating it. You’re noticing what’s there.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/how-to-meditate-on-your-breath

version 6.28.0

Aug 14, 2023
Version 6.28.0
Bug fixes and improvements.

~~~Excerpted from "How to Meditate on Your Breath," by Diana Winston~~~

You don’t need to breathe a special way

First, in most forms of mindfulness meditation, resting the attention on the breath doesn’t mean changing the breath.

Now, in some meditative and yogic practices – pranayama, for example – you do breathe in a special way, perhaps modulating the length of inhales and exhales. There are even forms of mindfulness meditation that involve lengthening the breath to increase calm. These are very helpful!

But most basic mindfulness practices involve the unregulated, natural breath, just as you find it. Attending to the ordinary breath teaches us to be mindful of things as they are. We learn not to try to control our experience, but to let it unfold, exactly as it is, so that we can learn to recognize it, accept it as what it is, and investigate it. If the breath is deep, let it be deep. If it’s shallow, let it be shallow. In this way, you gain skills in observation and acceptance rather than control.

In general, mindfulness is essentially receptive rather than active. You’re not forcing the breath, not changing it, not manipulating it. You’re noticing what’s there.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/how-to-meditate-on-your-breath

version 6.27.1

Jul 27, 2023
Version 6.27.1
Bug fixes and improvements.

~~~Excerpted from "How to Meditate on Your Breath," by Diana Winston~~~

You don’t need to breathe a special way

First, in most forms of mindfulness meditation, resting the attention on the breath doesn’t mean changing the breath.

Now, in some meditative and yogic practices – pranayama, for example – you do breathe in a special way, perhaps modulating the length of inhales and exhales. There are even forms of mindfulness meditation that involve lengthening the breath to increase calm. These are very helpful!

But most basic mindfulness practices involve the unregulated, natural breath, just as you find it. Attending to the ordinary breath teaches us to be mindful of things as they are. We learn not to try to control our experience, but to let it unfold, exactly as it is, so that we can learn to recognize it, accept it as what it is, and investigate it. If the breath is deep, let it be deep. If it’s shallow, let it be shallow. In this way, you gain skills in observation and acceptance rather than control.

In general, mindfulness is essentially receptive rather than active. You’re not forcing the breath, not changing it, not manipulating it. You’re noticing what’s there.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/how-to-meditate-on-your-breath

version 6.27.0

Jul 17, 2023
Version 6.27.0
Bug fixes and improvements.

~~~Excerpted from "How to Meditate on Your Breath," by Diana Winston~~~

You don’t need to breathe a special way

First, in most forms of mindfulness meditation, resting the attention on the breath doesn’t mean changing the breath.

Now, in some meditative and yogic practices – pranayama, for example – you do breathe in a special way, perhaps modulating the length of inhales and exhales. There are even forms of mindfulness meditation that involve lengthening the breath to increase calm. These are very helpful!

But most basic mindfulness practices involve the unregulated, natural breath, just as you find it. Attending to the ordinary breath teaches us to be mindful of things as they are. We learn not to try to control our experience, but to let it unfold, exactly as it is, so that we can learn to recognize it, accept it as what it is, and investigate it. If the breath is deep, let it be deep. If it’s shallow, let it be shallow. In this way, you gain skills in observation and acceptance rather than control.

In general, mindfulness is essentially receptive rather than active. You’re not forcing the breath, not changing it, not manipulating it. You’re noticing what’s there.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/how-to-meditate-on-your-breath

version 6.26.0

Jun 8, 2023
Version 6.26.0
Bug fixes and improvements.

~~~Excerpted from "How to Meditate on Your Breath," by Diana Winston~~~

You don’t need to breathe a special way

First, in most forms of mindfulness meditation, resting the attention on the breath doesn’t mean changing the breath.

Now, in some meditative and yogic practices – pranayama, for example – you do breathe in a special way, perhaps modulating the length of inhales and exhales. There are even forms of mindfulness meditation that involve lengthening the breath to increase calm. These are very helpful!

But most basic mindfulness practices involve the unregulated, natural breath, just as you find it. Attending to the ordinary breath teaches us to be mindful of things as they are. We learn not to try to control our experience, but to let it unfold, exactly as it is, so that we can learn to recognize it, accept it as what it is, and investigate it. If the breath is deep, let it be deep. If it’s shallow, let it be shallow. In this way, you gain skills in observation and acceptance rather than control.

In general, mindfulness is essentially receptive rather than active. You’re not forcing the breath, not changing it, not manipulating it. You’re noticing what’s there.

For more, visit https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/how-to-meditate-on-your-breath

version 3.5.11