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“The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.”
― Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times |
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Buddhist Wellness Practice
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When we practice Mindfulness, we begin a process of learning to adjust our sensory connections with reality. Over time, with daily consistent practice, we will find that we experience an increase in clarity of consciousness and self- awareness.
Applying mindful practices to living can positively alter the very fabric of our consciousness in two, incredibly powerful ways. |
First of all, when we are concerned through mindfulness with only our current reality, the practice helps us to escape the anxieties or depressions we too often feel within our body.
Thoughts of past and future can sometimes shackle our minds to dysfunction. We can become prisoners of past memories. With past-memory intrusion acting to invade our thinking, this can haunt us so deeply we feel we might never again see any light in our day. In terms of future planning taking over the mind, we might feel such a loss of personal control over our lives that our minds construct visions in our thoughts of a future we have yet to live.
Consciousness defined, for me, means knowing we are present in our world, as though we know nothing about the world at all. Mindfulness is about knowing we are living only aware of the here-and-now. It's about keeping each moment in time and in our life, fresh and alive, as a child might look at the world, exploring the simple things in life again, as if we are doing so, for the very first time.
Mindful consciousness, means that we are living an experience of complete awareness of ourselves and our surroundings. Living with a focus upon the given moments in life, along with any chosen tasks that are immediately at hand, it's these single moments in precious time we can learn to be mindful of.
Therefore, any task, whatever activity we choose to engage in, we can use these present moments to apply a more mindful, meditative-thought process. Eventually, we slowly become fully aware of every thought, and every choice we might make. Along with becoming aware of every action, our mindful decision-making might lead us to take, with practice we will soon find ourselves living through every precious moment the precious gifts of our every day life.
For any period of time we are active with any task. This is, a present moment. This activity can meditatively and mindfully receive our full, conscious attention. Learning to do so: this is the practice of Mindfulness put into action.
The second achievement we can quietly make through Mindfulness Practice is that, over time, we will find ourselves more often in a generalized state, of equanimity. This translates into more often living moment-to-moment with an inner-state of emotional calmness and evenness of temper. We will find ourselves more easily capable of maintaining our composure. This will become more evident to us, through life moments that bring difficulty or perhaps even chaos.
The goal of Mindfulness Practice isn't to create a temporary state of clarity and equanimity that is present and then disappears during the rest of the day. The goal of Mindfulness is to gradually introduce the practice to various aspects of our daily life, adjusting our inner-being more naturally, slowly over time.
This isn't about any sort of spiritual practice. Although, Mindfulness Meditation is most definitely another practice we can experience to provide an even richer experience of peace within ourselves. In this context, the concepts of Mindfulness are meant to assist us with the process of thinking. It's not so much a lesson in training us what to think. Rather, it is a process of learning to observe our thoughts, non-critically - without the typical censoring and judgements we humans tend to internally manipulate ourselves with.
The ultimate goal of Mindful Awareness of Self, comes with experiencing over time a far more conscious awareness of present moment realities, whatever those realities, might be.
We learn Mindful Practice best, in baby-steps. In hastening slowly through the education, Festina Lente, we find ourselves less likely to abandon the practice. We are then far less overwhelmed with learning this new way of being. Therefore, the work of becoming more mindful in every moment will build slowly inside. In the same way we learned to move from crawling into walking as a child.
To get started in applying such Mindfulness Practice to our daily life, Palouse Mindfulness, Stress Reduction and Wellness has posted for public use an incredible, eight week training program. The connection to the online study, is available here, from this page. We are simply sharing this program on their behalf.
The following information, is provided directly from the literature from their site:
"This free online MBSR course parallels the live eight-week course which is based on the University of Massachusetts Medical Center's MBSR program. While the absolute best way to learn MBSR is with a live, in-person class, where you have the benefit of interaction with the instructor and other class members, and the group support that this provides, sometimes that's just not possible."
"This free, web-based version of MBSR is designed to give those who would otherwise be unable to attend an MBSR course in person the opportunity to learn and practice the skills of MBSR. This material can also be helpful for those who have experienced a live class and who would like a structured review."
"This self-guided course begins with an Introduction/Orientation which is designed to give you a sense of what mindfulness is and how this course is structured. For each of the eight weeks, there are videos, readings and practices which help you build a base of knowledge and experience. Most of what you will need is accessible through this web site, and there is a wealth of material here, including videos and writings by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Wherever You Go, There You Are), Pema Chodron (When Things Fall Apart), Tara Brach (Radical Acceptance), Sylvia Boorstein (It's Easier Than You Think), Robert Sapolsky (Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers), Marshall Rosenberg (Non-Violent Communication), and Susan Bauer-Wu (Leaves Falling Gently)." (Palouse Mindfulness, Stress Reduction and Wellness).
With this eight week course available online, there is no reason to not start, right away. It is available, any time however. There is no registration required. This is an opportunity to learn a quality practice. It will, enhance your quality of life. Learning these skills, can sincerely create within you feelings that you are rising to the dawn of your own, blessed tomorrow.
You will begin to experience more clarity in your thinking through Mindfulness Practice. By adding just a little of the practice at a time into your life, you'll find yourself falling into practice through most every task you do. Learning to be mindful can actually be done in a very short, period of time. It is, a life-long pursuit, however, so important, in my view, to ensure good health and emotional well-being for a life-time of ever-expanding emotional comfort and inner-sense of peace.
Follow this link: Palouse Mindfulness, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Online 8-Week Program.
Discover The Art of Mindful Living With Melli O'Brian, "Mrs. Mindfulness".
Mindfulness Practice is safe to enjoy. As always: Please advise your health-care team, prior to engaging any change to your own professionally-developed treatment plan.
Thoughts of past and future can sometimes shackle our minds to dysfunction. We can become prisoners of past memories. With past-memory intrusion acting to invade our thinking, this can haunt us so deeply we feel we might never again see any light in our day. In terms of future planning taking over the mind, we might feel such a loss of personal control over our lives that our minds construct visions in our thoughts of a future we have yet to live.
Consciousness defined, for me, means knowing we are present in our world, as though we know nothing about the world at all. Mindfulness is about knowing we are living only aware of the here-and-now. It's about keeping each moment in time and in our life, fresh and alive, as a child might look at the world, exploring the simple things in life again, as if we are doing so, for the very first time.
Mindful consciousness, means that we are living an experience of complete awareness of ourselves and our surroundings. Living with a focus upon the given moments in life, along with any chosen tasks that are immediately at hand, it's these single moments in precious time we can learn to be mindful of.
Therefore, any task, whatever activity we choose to engage in, we can use these present moments to apply a more mindful, meditative-thought process. Eventually, we slowly become fully aware of every thought, and every choice we might make. Along with becoming aware of every action, our mindful decision-making might lead us to take, with practice we will soon find ourselves living through every precious moment the precious gifts of our every day life.
For any period of time we are active with any task. This is, a present moment. This activity can meditatively and mindfully receive our full, conscious attention. Learning to do so: this is the practice of Mindfulness put into action.
The second achievement we can quietly make through Mindfulness Practice is that, over time, we will find ourselves more often in a generalized state, of equanimity. This translates into more often living moment-to-moment with an inner-state of emotional calmness and evenness of temper. We will find ourselves more easily capable of maintaining our composure. This will become more evident to us, through life moments that bring difficulty or perhaps even chaos.
The goal of Mindfulness Practice isn't to create a temporary state of clarity and equanimity that is present and then disappears during the rest of the day. The goal of Mindfulness is to gradually introduce the practice to various aspects of our daily life, adjusting our inner-being more naturally, slowly over time.
This isn't about any sort of spiritual practice. Although, Mindfulness Meditation is most definitely another practice we can experience to provide an even richer experience of peace within ourselves. In this context, the concepts of Mindfulness are meant to assist us with the process of thinking. It's not so much a lesson in training us what to think. Rather, it is a process of learning to observe our thoughts, non-critically - without the typical censoring and judgements we humans tend to internally manipulate ourselves with.
The ultimate goal of Mindful Awareness of Self, comes with experiencing over time a far more conscious awareness of present moment realities, whatever those realities, might be.
We learn Mindful Practice best, in baby-steps. In hastening slowly through the education, Festina Lente, we find ourselves less likely to abandon the practice. We are then far less overwhelmed with learning this new way of being. Therefore, the work of becoming more mindful in every moment will build slowly inside. In the same way we learned to move from crawling into walking as a child.
To get started in applying such Mindfulness Practice to our daily life, Palouse Mindfulness, Stress Reduction and Wellness has posted for public use an incredible, eight week training program. The connection to the online study, is available here, from this page. We are simply sharing this program on their behalf.
The following information, is provided directly from the literature from their site:
"This free online MBSR course parallels the live eight-week course which is based on the University of Massachusetts Medical Center's MBSR program. While the absolute best way to learn MBSR is with a live, in-person class, where you have the benefit of interaction with the instructor and other class members, and the group support that this provides, sometimes that's just not possible."
"This free, web-based version of MBSR is designed to give those who would otherwise be unable to attend an MBSR course in person the opportunity to learn and practice the skills of MBSR. This material can also be helpful for those who have experienced a live class and who would like a structured review."
"This self-guided course begins with an Introduction/Orientation which is designed to give you a sense of what mindfulness is and how this course is structured. For each of the eight weeks, there are videos, readings and practices which help you build a base of knowledge and experience. Most of what you will need is accessible through this web site, and there is a wealth of material here, including videos and writings by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Wherever You Go, There You Are), Pema Chodron (When Things Fall Apart), Tara Brach (Radical Acceptance), Sylvia Boorstein (It's Easier Than You Think), Robert Sapolsky (Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers), Marshall Rosenberg (Non-Violent Communication), and Susan Bauer-Wu (Leaves Falling Gently)." (Palouse Mindfulness, Stress Reduction and Wellness).
With this eight week course available online, there is no reason to not start, right away. It is available, any time however. There is no registration required. This is an opportunity to learn a quality practice. It will, enhance your quality of life. Learning these skills, can sincerely create within you feelings that you are rising to the dawn of your own, blessed tomorrow.
You will begin to experience more clarity in your thinking through Mindfulness Practice. By adding just a little of the practice at a time into your life, you'll find yourself falling into practice through most every task you do. Learning to be mindful can actually be done in a very short, period of time. It is, a life-long pursuit, however, so important, in my view, to ensure good health and emotional well-being for a life-time of ever-expanding emotional comfort and inner-sense of peace.
Follow this link: Palouse Mindfulness, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Online 8-Week Program.
Discover The Art of Mindful Living With Melli O'Brian, "Mrs. Mindfulness".
Mindfulness Practice is safe to enjoy. As always: Please advise your health-care team, prior to engaging any change to your own professionally-developed treatment plan.
Be The Moment
"Mindfulness is used in many contexts nowadays and there are many different understandings of the term. Diana Winston of UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center gives one of the best: "Paying attention to present moment experience with open curiosity and a willingness to be with what is." Here is a 3-minute video by Susan Bauer-Wu that will help describe what is meant by mindfulness in the context of this course." Courtesy of Palouse Mindfulness
Remember. There is no substitute for quality, trauma-informed clinical care. |
Video Courtesy of UCLA MINDFUL AWARENESS RESEARCH CENTRE: FREE GUIDED MEDITATIONS
BEFRIENDING OURSEVES: RESOURCES FOR INNER PEACE & COMPASSIONATE SELF-CARE 
“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations "The unexamined life is not worth living." --Socrates (quoted by Plato in Apology) "I think what Socrates is saying here is that on some basic level, to be alive, to be human, is to actively examine life. If you don't think about how you want to live, then you give up those decisions to others." ~ On Existence Blog |
Disclaimer: These materials and resources are presented for educational purposes only. They are not a substitute for informed medical advice or training. Do not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem without consulting a qualified health or mental health care provider. If you have concerns, contact your health care provider, mental health professional, or your community health centre.
Darren Gregory © 2017: All Rights Reserved
