9/14/2023
We all accumulate baggage throughout our lives, much of it stuff we might be happier if we did not continue to carry with us. There are regrets, losses, perceived slights that we hold on to, to name just a few. We often wish things were different regarding these experiences, that we had acted differently or made different choices, that a relationship hadn’t ended, or that someone had acted differently toward us. Yet in this moment, things are just as they are, and wishing they were different will not make them so. “Wanting things to be different than they are” is a basic definition of suffering often used in mindfulness practice. Mindfulness has been defined as “Intentional present moment nonjudgmental awareness with kindness”. So is it possible to just be with our experience as it is, without judgment, noticing any desire for things to be different that arises? There are often little things that we wish were different- the temperature to be cooler, the environment to be quieter, the chair to be more comfortable. And as we pay attention, we may notice that more significant wishes for things to be different also arise. When this happens, we can pay attention, noticing what we feel in the body, what thoughts come up, what emotions are present. We might notice gnawing in the pit of the stomach as thoughts of something mean we said to a friend arise, and become aware that we have been holding on to feeling guilty. Noticing this, we can ask ourselves, is there something I might do that would help the situation, perhaps apologize?
8/31/2023
Payment Options for Mindfulness Center Courses Most Mindfulness Center courses are offered with sliding scale tuition, allowing participants to choose the amount they will pay from among three tiers. For…
8/31/2023
Mindfulness Added to Usual Treatment Is More Effective than Usual Treatment Alone among Patients with Chronic Migraine or Medication Overuse Headache Investigators in Italy studied the effect of a six-session…
8/31/2023
Many of us hold on to our beliefs about the way things should be even when doing this makes us feel worse. Thoughts arise in our minds justifying our position. I recently watched a movie that brought this home to me. The main character, Jordan, was developing a relationship with a divorced woman whom he really liked. Then he discovers that she is still occasionally seeing her ex-husband. Even though the man’s relationship with her is just beginning, he feels betrayed and he breaks things off, telling himself that he could never be with someone who does this. He then ruminates about how bad his situation is, despite another friend pointing out to him that it was his decision to break things off, and that it is his choice whether to continue to feel slighted and miserable, or to let go of his belief that he could never have a relationship with a woman who continues to see her ex and maybe be happier. The friend tell him “It takes courage to be happy”. Ultimately Jordan recognizes that it is his fear of heartbreak, of being hurt again, that prevents him from pursuing the relationship. He decides to summon the courage to give it another try, rather than deciding it was over before it had even really gotten started. “It takes courage to be happy”. I think this often describes situations we find ourselves in like the one in the movie. Our beliefs about the way things should be affect the ways we see our situations and we can easily get caught up in justifying our reactions
8/8/2023
Mindfulness-Based Habit Change is a six-week, 90-minute Zoom course that combines mindfulness practices with the neuroscience behind how habits are formed and how to change the unwanted ones. Registration is…
8/8/2023
These investigators studied the effect of short, practical meditation practices on emotion and cognitive functioning in meditation-naive participants. They randomized subjects (aged 18-45) who were non-experienced meditators to either 13-minute…
8/8/2023
Summer is here, which can often be a good time to practice mindfulness. There may be more time to practice formally by meditating regularly. With meditation practice we often say that more is better, and it is also important to remember that any practice is better than none. This can apply to even a few minutes a day, perhaps pausing before getting out of bed in the morning to do a short body scan or attention-focused meditation, noticing breathing, sounds or other sensations arising from the body. If more time is available, there is good evidence that meditating for 15 minutes a day can have positive effects on stress and emotion regulation. The evidence for benefits increases further with longer periods of meditation. In addition to practicing formal meditation, summer offers many opportunities to practice mindfulness in everyday life. Many people take vacations during the summer and, if so, we may notice the anticipation that arises when thinking about returning to a favorite location, or traveling to a new destination. Some of the anticipation may be positive, related to old memories or excitement about going somewhere new.
7/7/2023
Mindfulness-Based Habit Change Class to be Offered this Fall Mindfulness-Based Habit Change is a six-week, 90-minute Zoom course that combines mindfulness practices with the neuroscience behind how habits are formed and…
7/7/2023
Efficacy of a Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Intervention in Psychotherapists Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions (MCBI) have been shown to positively influence psychotherapy skills and have the potential to improve therapists’ relationships…
7/7/2023
When we practice attention-focused meditation, we choose an object to focus on, like the breath, and place our attention there. We may follow a few breaths, then the attention wanders, often to thoughts and we get caught up in thinking. Eventually we will notice the thinking, and we can choose to return the attention back to focusing on breathing again. We do this over and over again. With time, the period of time between thoughts might begin to increase, and we become aware of awareness, of paying attention without thoughts arising. In this space without thoughts, we can just be aware of our present moment experience. At first we may only be aware of wherever we have chosen to place our attention, perhaps noticing the sensations of breathing or the points of contact from sitting. We can also pay attention to the mind, noticing the absence of thoughts. How is this absence of thought experienced? With no thoughts there is no judging, no worrying, no wanting things to be different than they are. There are no thoughts of the future or of the past, there is only the present moment. In the space between thoughts, everything is just as it is.
