Of course, just because you have the inner wisdom and resources to contend differently with your life and all its aspects doesn't mean that you routinely use them. Most of us are on “auto-pilot” much of the day and tend to react (in habitual and stress filled ways) much more than we respond (skillfully acting based on the reality of the circumstance). MBSR is about developing the innate ability to cultivate mindfulness over “mindlessness”, with which we are all familiar. Think about those moments when we are unaware of where we are, what we are feeling and why we are doing what we are doing, and how those moments might contribute to our suffering. Some examples might be: eating foods that we know we would be better off not eating; spending time with people that cause us great difficulty, emotional pain, or that drain us; or engaging in activities that are stressful, harmful or unnecessarily distracting. Mindfullness Meditation is suitable for people of any belief or background. You need not subscribe to any spiritual path to learn and benefit from this method. Rather, mindfulness is about learning to be still in the present moment and experiencing life as it comes with greater awareness, relaxation, and balance. Mindful Meditation has brought tremendous benefit to thousands of people across the world. The best way to get the most out of it is to do your independent practice each week with guided meditations. If this were a class on exercise, and all you ever did was learn about stomach crunches and pull-ups without ever actually doing the exercises themselves, the amount of benefit you would receive from the program would be depleted. This is how meditation functions as well. To receive the most benefit, each participant is strongly encouraged to find some time to meditate with guided meditations with some degree of consistency. Don't worry if you don't practice every single day, just do the best you can. For hundreds of thousands of people, meditation has been the key to reducing their stress and learning to live happier, more peaceful lives...even though we may have struggled in the past. Mindfulness practices aren't about rehashing the past...they're about developing the skill or ability to live more fully in the only time we are actually ever alive...which is right now. Are you up to the challenge? Try something new...and see what happens. Millions of people over thousands of years have practiced meditation and have learned to cultivate lives filled with peace and happiness, despite personal hardships and challenging life circumstances.