MINDFULNESS

8 W E E K WORKBOOKMINDFULNESS IN AUSTRALIA

R ITA R I C C O L A

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MINDFULNESS

Exactly what is Mindfulness? ‘Mindfulness is paying attention to your experience in the present moment and noticing your thoughts and feelings without judgment’ ( Jon Kabat-Zinn). It’s noticing when you thinking too much about the past, ruminating or dreaming off into an imagined future where …’things will be better’.

Practicing mindfulness helps us to develop mental resilience and provides us with self-managing techniques that helps us develop many well documented positive behaviours; better self–care through self-control, improved attention span, and memory being aware of our thoughts-especially negative thoughts and negative self-talk, increased and lasting calmness, more energy, better sleep quality.

Mindfulness is quite simple to do but it's by doing regular daily practice that you really begin to notice and experience the benefi ts. By doing the practices (breathing, listening, body scanning, walk-ing, eating) you train your attention to have total engagement in the moment which increases your focus and presence and deepens your level of reality –more than when you are only identifying with your thoughts and feelings.

Practicing Mindfulness helps us break old patterns of thinking and behaving and rest from the constant inner ‘commenter’. It helps us to remember that life is being lived right here right now- not in some distant past or an imagined future. It helps us become more present by being aware of what is happening inside of us and around us and by engaging in the present more fully, with more attention.

REMEMBER; When you read each week’s lesson always follow with the breathing, listening and scanning exercises. Th ey don’t have to be long, only a few minutes. It’s practicing regularly/daily that you really begin to experience the benefi ts.

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WEEK ONE

When we practice mindfulness we use the breath as an anchor, to stabilise us, make us feel steady inside and outside- not unlike the roots of a tree anchoring the tree deep in the ground or the anchor of a boat. Th ese simple breathing exercises help us to calm the busy mind, allow us to take a pause from the constant inner chatter and creates some space to simply be present in the here and now instead of always reliving anxious events or thoughts or dreaming off into an imagined future.

With all the technology easily available, social networks, iPhones, iPads, we hardly have a moment to just be with ourselves, be still, enjoy the sunshine, the breeze, the birds singing, a simple state of just being.

Some of the BENEFITS of practicing Mindfulness:-

- increased mental resilience when the pressure is on.

-decreased anxiety, worry and over –concern

-develop self-awareness

-improved self- management and impulse control

-increased emotional intelligence

-making better choices

-understanding the diff erence between reacting and responding

-improved wellbeing; mental, physical and emotional

-better memory

-increased attention and focus

-more tolerance and kindness towards others, increased gratitude

-less anger and reactivity

-sleep easier/better

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Before we begin the breathing exercises, let’s get into our ‘mind-ful bodies' so we are alert and attentive.

Sitting up straight but not stiff , shoulders back and relaxed and easy in your body. Feel your back against the chair. When your spine is straight and upright it opens your chest and the breathing is deeper and easier- oxygen can reach deeper inside your lungs. Just 'open up' your joints and muscles- no holding on or 'guard-ing' postures. Place your feet fi rmly on the fl oor and really feel the soles of your feet making contact with the ground. So now you are sitting in your mindful body; alert and noticing your posture.

BREATHING EXERCISE 1:

Closing the eyes gently, place your right hand on your belly so you can feel the breath coming into and going out of your body. You don't have to do anything special, just breathe naturally. Your stomach will rise and fall, rise and fall. Th at’s all. It’s very sim-ple. Th e diffi cult part is your mind usually skips along from one thought to the next and the next. Th is exercise helps to focus your attention on one thing- your breath and by doing this you natu-rally become calmer and stiller. Your mind will wander off - that’s normal, especially at the beginning of practicing Mindfulness. Th e more focused you can stay on the task, attention on your breath and the rise and fall of your stomach, noticing the quality of your breath; is it hard or soft, cool or warm- the calmer you begin to feel. Now begin to notice the pause between breaths- just put your full attention on the pause. Start by trying to stay focused on breathing this way for 1 minute. After a while, increase to 2 min-utes. When you experience the calmness and stillness that comes with this exercise you will happily increase the time as it suits you. Th is is a great way to step back when your mind is overwhelmed, especially if it is experiencing a strong emotional reaction and just re-centre yourself through using this simple breathing technique.

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BREATHING EXERCISE 2:

In this second exercise, sit in your mindful body, back straight but not stiff , relaxed and open but alert, feet planted fi rmly on the fl oor. Focus on the small area beneath the nose. Take a deep breath in and as you let it out, feel the breath (air) touch the area below the nostrils. Again, this is a simple exercise but to stay focused on the feeling of the breath on the area below the nose, even for a couple of minutes, means you have to ignore the distracting thoughts that will come up or simply watch the thoughts pass away without thinking more about them.

Over-thinking is what our minds do sometimes but when our thoughts threaten to overwhelm us and we can’t turn them off , (or there is an external stressful event) it’s great to have a simple technique such as these breathing exercises to help us re -balance and not be swept along by a tide of strong emotions and unhelpful over thinking.

Practice this breathing technique again for 2 minutes to start with and again, as you experience the benefi ts from this simple exercise you can increase the time as it suits you..

Remember we are doing these exercises to help us break habits of the mind such as darting from one thought to another (aimless thinking), that can become quite draining and distracting and to develop the qualities of presence and clarity of mind

When we cultivate mindfulness, noticing what’s happening in the present moment without judging it good or bad, we become more alert and aware of ourselves and our environment, we become naturally calmer and more peaceful inside. We are better focused and more present to the people around us. Being mindful helps us ‘read’ situations and reactions more clearly and helps us make better choices and react less impulsively.

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MINDFUL LISTENING

1. In this exercise you put your full attention on listening. When you focus your attention on one thing, the mind becomes quiet. Th at doesn’t mean it’s easy because the mind will quickly throw up thoughts to distract you. Your job is to keep as focused on the task for as long as possible. At fi rst it might only be 20 seconds but the more you do this practice the longer you will be able to hold your attention on sounds. It’s very relaxing and calming. Sitting up straight but relaxed, gently shut the eyes and put your full attention on any sounds you can hear inside or outside of the room. Try not to judge them good or bad just listen intently to the sound and identify it. When thoughts rise up and try to distract you just gently bring your attention back to the listening exercise.

2. In this next exercise you will hear the sound of a bell ringing. Th e task is to stay fully attentive to the sound of the ringing from the very fi rst sound and wait until you hear the very fi nal sound then put your hand up. Again, when the mind is focused on one thing it naturally becomes calm. If your thoughts wan-der and this is normal just notice this and bring the mind back to the task.

BODY SCANNINGIn this exercise, shut the eyes gently and put your attention on dif-ferent parts of the body, noticing if there is any tension or holding on and then you will mentally release the tension.

Starting at the feet, put your full attention on the sensation on the toes. You might feel a slight tingling. If you don’t feel anything, that’s fi ne- after practicing this technique for a while, you become more aware of the sensations of the body. It doesn’t usually happen immediately. Now put your attention on the soles of your feet, the tops of your feet, the ankles all the while being aware of the

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feeling of each part of the body. Mentally relax the whole foot.

Put your attention on your lower legs. Th ese muscles work hard all day and it’s not uncommon to feel a bit tense. Allow these muscles to fully relax. Now the thighs- they usually feel quite heavy- let go of any tension and relax. Now follow the same instructions for;

Your hips, stomach, chest, ( stomach and the chest is a target area for emotion and often becomes tense immediately when anger, hurt, sadness, anxiety rise up in you) lower back, upper back, shoulder muscles, the tips of your fi ngers, the palms of your hands. You may even feel a warmth in the palms.

Now put your full attention on your fi ngertips. You may feel a slight tingling sensation. Now feel the lower arm, the upper arm and the shoulder muscles. Put your attention on your neck, throat, chin, cheeks, nose, lips, eyes, forehead, sides of your head the top of your head. Put your full attention on the top of your head and feel your whole body sitting on the chair relaxed but alert. Take a deep breath in and out letting go of any holding on energy.

Now repeat going all the way down the body, part by part putting your full attention on each part as you name quietly to yourself down to your toes. Again hold the sensation of the whole body ; relaxed and aware. You can start in the reverse order also, at the top of the head going down.

Your whole body is now relaxed, alert and aware. Let any remain-ing tension drain down your body and out of your feet. You are the only one in charge of how you feel at any one time. By ‘checking in’ with yourself and mentally checking for tension allows you to stay aware of shifting moods and feelings and you learn to observe rather than react to the feelings and emotions rather watch them, acknowledge them and let them pass away, as they will, if you do not put attention on them and ‘engage’ in a story about them.

Just let everything pass through you without over-thinking situations, feelings and emotions that can and do trap you in unhappiness. It’s the same for positive feelings too. Just enjoy them when they come

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along. Don’t try and hold onto them and relive them (though it’s common we want the good feelings and not the bad feelings.)

In a future lesson we will look at liking and disliking, pleasant ex-periences and unpleasant experiences and learn techniques to not let negative feelings take over you.

Each week of the 8 week course we will look at a wide range of topics relating to thoughts and feelings and how practicing Mind-fulness can increase our awareness of our state of being and help us develop our attention and presence. In addition, we will practice breathing, listening and body scanning as the primary techniques to assist us to develop mindfulness.

WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

Write down how you felt while practicing the Mindfulness tech-niques.

Write down three situations you think Mindfulness might be useful.

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WEEK TWO

PUNCHING BAG AND EMOTIONS

You know those plastic punching dolls that are anchored with sand. You hit them and they wobble back and forwards almost touching the ground and take a while to come back to being still. When we are hit with strong emotions it is similar inside of us; we feel like the wind has been knocked out of us, and it takes time, sometimes days, to restore ourselves to inner balance. We usually go over and over the event in our minds, relive what was said and done, recreating the misery and unhappiness, the shock of the unexpected.

When we make a daily habit of practicing mindfulness, we might still be hit by strong emotions and reactions but it takes less time to return to balance and can even be avoided by being aware of not ‘hooking in’ to our own and other peoples anger and emotions. By developing awareness of the present moment we are better able to choose to respond to emotional situations/ shocks/negative situ-ations, rather than just react. We learn to step back and not say or do damaging or hurtful words or actions that we will later regret. If we are disturbed emotionally we can calm ourselves using the mindfulness techniques we are learning in this course.

What is STOP method in Mindfulness?

1. Stop

2. Take a breath

3. Observe

4. Proceed

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When life gets a bit too much and we feel overwhelmed by strong emotions or too much thinking it’s good to know when to stop and step back to give yourself a pause and centre yourself through breathing techniques such as STOP. Life is always going on and navigating our way through life requires skills and awareness, making good choices, not being overwhelmed and end up doing or saying something you later regret.

We all do and say things we later regret at some time. It’s usually when we are overwhelmed with hurt, sadness, misunderstanding, neglect, unhappiness.

It’s normal to strike out but it never feels good. It lets the pres-sure that is building upside inside your mind and body escape in a torrent of angry words or actions but in the end you end up usually feeling worse. Learning to observe and become aware of rising emotions, especially negative feelings, allows us to step back and calm ourselves through breathing, listening, body scanning as a way of allowing some space between the event and our reaction/response.

EVENT-REACTION

EVENT-MINDFULNESS-RESPONSE

Th e diff erence between a reaction and a response is a reaction is a spontaneous action, often not thought through. It is impulsive behavior usually as a result of being hurt in some way. It’s like you immediately want to hurt back but as we know that doesn’t always work out so good for you.

Stepping back and taking a pause allows you to process what is happening before you respond. A response is always more mea-sured and thought out and generally creates less damage and unhappiness by not reacting immediately and saying and doing things you later regret.

Now pick up your pens and write down all the thoughts that come

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into your mind! Don't try and think about this, just write the thoughts as you have them. Th ere is a natural gap, a space between your thoughts that is empty-practicing mindfulness helps us to develop that 'emptiness' that gap and learn to sit with the present moment without having to DO anything just BE.

OK this exercise helps us to watch our thoughts. By learning to watch your thoughts you can be more aware of when you are thinking becomes negative or you are over-thinking or becoming emotional. Being aware of your thoughts from time to time is a good exercise to stay present in the here and now and not get too caught up in the past that is over or an imaginary future. Being fully present sharpens your senses and engages you more so your mind is not always drifting off to another place. You are training your mind to notice where you are and what is happening around you…right now.

Now let’s do:

1. Mindful Breathing

2. Mindful Listening

3. Body Scanning

WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

Have you remembered to take a few minutes to STOP and take a pause throughout the day? Take a few , deep clearing breaths? Listen to the birds? Write about any times you remembered or did Mindfulness techniques throughout the day.

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WEEK 3

MINDFUL THINKING

You can become aware of our thoughts in the same way you do our breath and sensations. While you do your practices, breathing, listening, body scanning, just notice when the fi rst thoughts come in and say to yourself ‘thinking, thinking,’ then bring your atten-tion back to your awareness of breath.

Being aware of our thinking helps us to not go over the past or dream off into the future or to focus on thoughts and situations where you ‘over-think’. It helps us be present in the here and now and connect fully with each moment.

Let's do this short exercise to draw attention to your thinking. Go to the window and look at the clouds in the sky. Look very care-fully at one spot where the clouds are changing shape and form. Really notice the qualities of the clouds; are they soft, grey, white Look intently at the cloud for one minute.

Now take a piece of paper and draw the outline of a cloud. Look carefully at the drawing of the cloud for one minute with no par-ticular focus- just the cloud.

Now, pick up a pen and write all the thoughts that are coming into your mind. Don't think about it- just watch the thoughts as they appear in your mind and write them down.

Now we will do mindful breathing, listening and body scanning as described in lesson one. Remember, it is doing regular daily prac-tice, even just 5 minutes a day, you really begin to notice increased inner calm and wellbeing as well as many other positive benefi ts.

Cloud Meditation

Sitting gently, relaxed but alert in your mindful body, shut the eyes gently and get a picture of the vast blue sky in your mind. Really see the spaciousness of the sky. Here come some large

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white soft puff y clouds, gently and slowly moving across the sky. Really observe the clouds changing shape, their colour and tex-ture. Now imagine a thought you fi nd diffi cult or an emotion and put it inside the cloud. Th e cloud continues to move gently and slowly across the sky until it disappears. Here you are letting go of anxious holding on to old hurts or emotions that you are stuck on. Doing this exercise you give yourself permission to loosen your grip on it and let it pass away. You can imagine the cars passing on the road carrying away unwanted thoughts also.

Now practise : mindful breathing.

mindful listening

mindful Body Scan

WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

Sit quietly for a few minutes and take a few deep breaths.

Now put your attention on your thoughts. Notice when a partic-ular thought arises. Just notice the thought and say to yourself...thinking. Now switch your attention back your general stream of thinking.

What did you notice while doing this exercise?

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WEEK 4

BODY AWARENESS AND PHYSICAL SENSATIONSWe will begin this lesson with some mindful breathing. Sitting in your chair, feel your back sitting straight (not stiff ) and feel your backbone against the chair. Be aware of your feet planted on the fl oor, anchoring you steadily to the earth.

OK now, place your right hand gently on your belly and breathe nor-mally. Breath in, breath out. Th e belly rises and falls, rises and falls.

Your job is to keep your awareness on the breath and belly rising and falling. When your mind wanders to something else; what’s for dinner, talking to a friend later, whatever, gently bring your attention back to the task; awareness of the breath.

Now you will do the second part of the breathing; put your atten-tion in the small area beneath the nose and become aware of the breath as it leaves the nose. Ask yourself is it warm, cold, smooth, rough. Notice the quality of the breath. Again do this exercise for 1-2 minutes and when your mind wanders bring it gently back. You are training your mind to be attentive to one thing. When you do this the mind becomes naturally calmer and quieter plus you are breaking habitual thinking, aimless thinking by focusing one thing.

When you get caught up in thinking you forget that there is a qui-et space beneath all the thinking. Mindfulness practices ( breath-ing, listening , body scanning) all help you to recognise that quiet and to pay attention to it and have a break from endless thinking. It’s relaxing and refreshing!

When you put our attention on the physical feelings of the body the mind becomes quiet. It cannot think of two things at once. Th is is why we do the practices of awareness on sensations; it helps quieten our minds and gives us a rest from constant thinking, often aimless and unproductive.

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Feelings are the language of the body. By being aware of how you feel, really noticing, it can help you become aware of feelings as they rise inside the body and you can ‘listen’ to your body so the feeling doesn’t totally take over. Feelings, like thoughts have a nat-ural cycle and will rise up and eventually pass on. It’s only when you start thinking and then over-thinking about your feelings you can make them last longer inside our bodies. You give the feeling more fuel and they get stronger.

If you learn to watch your feelings and step back and let them pass through us without grabbing hold of them with your mind and prolonging the pain they often cause- this helps you restore balance quicker. Recurring feelings can also be an indicator of a deeper problem or anxiety and may need to be addressed through counseling or psychotherapy if the feeling persists.

When you become aware of a strong feeling rising up in you, you can take some deep breaths and just let it be. It will pass away quicker this way.

One additional exercise is- if you notice your lips are down turned like when you feel sad just gently bring a smile to the lips. It may seem odd but when you turn the sides of the lips up into a small smile, the whole energy of your face lifts up as well as the feeling inside you. Try it- it actually works!

Now continue practicing the Mindful listening and the Mindful

Body Scan.

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WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

Stop whatever you are doing and just become aware of your whole body breathing and sensations (feelings). How does that feel to put your full attention on being fully present and aware of yourself in that moment?

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WEEK 5

INTERCONNECTEDNESS

Developing a connection to nature has been shown to help with depression and reduce the symptoms of anxiety and stress while increasing a positive frame of mind and joyfulness. Walking in nature, a forest, by a river, near the sea, looking up into the endless sky either day or night, listening to the soothing birdsong reminds us we are part of a diverse world of living things; animal and plants and all the natural world around us.

By cultivating an increased awareness of our bodies we become more aware of how we co-exist in the natural world with all other life. We become humbled to realise we are part of an interconnect-ed world of all life in its many forms.

Our world is fi lled with plants, animals and humans that all de-pend on each other for survival. We all depend on the life-giving sun to warm and nourish us and the earth so that food is made for us to survive. Trees breathe in a gas called carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen which we breathe in and then we breathe out

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carbon dioxide for the trees so we need each other! Trees need people and people need trees. Th at’s a good reason to not cut down all the world’s forests!

Next time you breathe in just send out a thought of gratitude to all the natural world we live in-we are all interconnected.

It’s the same with people. No matter what our circumstances, some have more than others, better luck whatever, really we are all human, we all suff er physically, emotionally, we lose people in relationships and death. In a sense we are living a very similar life. Realising everyone suff ers in a similar way helps us feel compassion and caring towards others. We are all connected and living this hu-man life together.

How do you feel when you are in nature? Walking in a forest, walking along a beach, watching a sunset, gazing up at the daz-zling, star studded night?

Let’s look at a lemon (or any fruit). Can you see the elements in the lemon? Th e sun, rain, clouds, soil, the wind?

Th ink about the people that helped bring the lemon to this room. Who are they?

Someone gathered and provided the seeds. Th e farmer planted the seed, the pickers, picked the lemons, the truck drivers brought to markets, truck drivers brought to the supermarket. People stacked the lemons in the supermarket. Th e checkout person allowed us to buy the lemon to take it home. Th at is a lot of people we are connected to on the food chain. Any food you eat probably has the same chain unless you grow your own food! Th at's a lot of people to be grateful to.

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MINDFUL EATING

Now we are going to shut our eyes and I am going to give you some food ( or if alone take a raisin or a piece of apple.) Just hold the food and feel it in your fi ngers. Feel the softness/hardness, texture, smell the food. Be aware of your thoughts; do you want to quickly eat the food? Can you hold back a little? Now place the food in your mouth, roll it around your tongue, resist the urge to chew and eat for a minute or two, all the while watching the thoughts that come into your mind. Now gently bite into the food…slowly. Be aware of the taste and texture and how it feels in your mouth. Now swallow the food.

Taking time to become aware of what we are eating, how we are eating and slowing down enough to be really present while we are eating has proven to be a very successful exercise in raising aware-ness and our state of presence.

Too often we eat too quickly, while distracted- we are not fully present while we eat. Our mouths are eating but our minds are wandering. Mindful eating is bringing awareness back to how we are eating. It raises our appreciation of the food we are eating, the elements that made it; sun, soil, wind, rain and all the people who were part of getting to where you are eating it right now! Being aware of the nourishment it is providing and allows us to be fully present in the here and now and all the enjoyment while sharpen-ing of our senses at the same time.

Now practise mindful breathing

mindful listening

mindful body scan

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WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

Make a list of all the people who are part of your dinner tonight. For example; someone planted the seeds for the vegetables, farmed the animals, harvested the food/prepared. Th e driver who took the food to a warehouse, to a supermarket. Th e cashier sold you the food ( or you grew it!) Th is exercise helps us remember how we are all connected in many ways and we all need to help each other.

Stop for a moment and give thanks for all the good in your life (even if you are having a hard time; you are healthy, have some-where to live, something to eat, someone to love….

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Tonight at dinner, take extra care to be really present while eating.

Now write a little about eating mindfully.

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WEEK 6

LIKING AND DISLIKING

MINDFUL WALKING ;

In this lesson, apart from doing the regular mindfulness practices of breathing, listening and body scanning we are going to look clos-er at how holding onto negative emotions, in the body and in the mind, causes unnecessary suff ering. Let’s start by observing where we experience emotions; either in the body as a sensation or in the mind as thought.

I am going to say some words that describe feelings and emotions and I want you to notice where you experience them; in your mind or in your body and where in the body;

JEALOUSY ANTICIPATION LONELY

JOY ANNOYED PEACE

HURT LONELINESS CALMNESS

SADNESS HAPPINESS DISTRACTED

EXCITEMENT CONFUSED

ACCEPTANCE

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Now I am going to say these words again and this time I just want

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you to acknowledge whether they are pleasant or unpleasant but nothing else- don’t go into a story about these feelings with memo-ries.

Eventually we come to realise that life is a series of events that come and go like the tide. When we learn to acknowledge these events without giving them the power to overwhelm us we see they have a natural time span-they rise up and then they eventually disappear. If we just acknowledge these feelings and let them just be they will pass on more quickly. If we start thinking too much, telling our-selves stories, reliving hurts and negative thoughts and feelings, they are harder to leave behind and we become unhappy. Bringing awareness to your thought process' can help you when you become trapped in unhappy, repetitive thinking and can help you know when to shift your attention away from this kind of thinking.

It’s only normal to like some things and not like others and have preferences. Th at’s part of being human. When we put too much attention on liking and disliking and preferences we are setting you ourselves up for unhappiness. Th is can cause unnecessary suff ering. Sometimes by accepting what life puts in front of us gracefully we make it easier for ourselves. Th at doesn’t mean if you are in an unhap-py situation or someone is not respecting you, you just put up with it.

If you invest too much energy in wanting a particular outcome that suits your agenda and this doesn’t happen, we become unhappy. Acceptance of what is, not what we thought we wanted can be very healing and helpful to allow life events to fl ow without adding un-necessary emotional reactivity because we didn’t get what we thought we wanted. Th ere’s a famous old saying…’ be careful what you wish for’.

Training ourselves to turn towards diffi cult emotions, people and situations and rather than 'hook into' having an inner commentary but learning to just let it be- while putting space around the diffi culty- is surprisingly freeing. Th e person or circumstance might still be there but we are choosing to accept rather than struggle against something we may not be able to change. Turning from aversion towards acceptance can be liberating.

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Now continue to do 5 minutes breathing exercises, 3 minutes, listening and 5 minutes fully focused body scanning. Remember, it’s regularly ( daily) practicing of these techniques that helps keep your mind clear, energized and balanced especially when you have a chal-lenging situation and life will always provide them from time to time.

MINDFUL MOVEMENT

We are going to practice mindful movements. Th at is we are going to do mindful walking and as we are walking, breathing in on the up step and out on the down step, just keeping our full attention on the link between movement and breath. Put your full aware-ness on your body moving. If your mind wanders from the focus of the breath on the movement, gently bring it back. Do this for 2-3 minutes.

Now walk as if you are tired. Walk as if you have heard some excit-ing news. Walk as if you are late. Walk as if you feel proud. Walk as if you want to pass unnoticed.

How did that feel? You may have found that walking mindfully doesn't change HOW you walk it simply changes how you experi-ence walking.

Now do the Mindful Breathing, Listening and Body Scan.

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WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

How does it feel when you put your full attention on walking? Why do you think we do Mindful walking?

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WEEK 7

VISUALISATION

When you practice mindfulness you are training your thoughts and behaviours to encourage acceptance, noticing where your attention is ( if we are focused on negative unhappy thoughts we can gently shift our attention to our breath, the sensation in our fi ngertips/palms). Th at isn’t to say when you have serious issues that require professional assistance say of a counselor or psychologist, we rely solely on Mindfulness- you don’t- but you do encourage cultivating more calmness and inner balance with regular mindfulness practice.

Th is week, apart from the regular breathing, listening and scanning exercises we are going to sit quietly with our eyes shut and do these following practices;

1. Imagine you are a fl ower. You are open towards the sun receiving the warm, life giving rays of the sun. You feel fi lled with the wonder of life on earth and the goodness of nature. As you breathe in say.‘I am a fl ower of the earth, fi lled with life, love and happiness.’

2. Now imagine you are a strong, tall mountain sitting very solidly on

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the earth. A beautiful river runs from the top to the bottom making the beautiful tinkling sound of running water and say to yourself; ‘I am a solid mountain, fi rm and clear. Every day I awake refreshed by the air, nourished by the sun and nature.’

Now spend a few minutes doing the mindful breathing. Listening and body scanning exercises as usual.

Mountain Meditation

Visualise a tall, strong mountain- one you are familiar with or one you just imagine. Look carefully at the top of the mountain. Is there an ice cap? Is there a river running down the mountain? Can you see rocks, trees. Really look closely now at the strength of the mountain, how tall and strong the mountain stands. Look at the base of the mountain- unmovable, silent, strong. Now imagine yourself inside the mountain- your head at the top of the mountain your shoulders in the cradle and your thighs and legs as the base of the mountain. You have a feeling of steadiness, strength, immov-ability, silent. Th e weather rages around your mountain; wind, rain, snow, sleet but you remain calm and steady as a mountain as the moving tide of emotions rises and falls inside of you. You are the mountain. Continue breathing slowly and steadily throughout this practice.

WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

What happened to you when you did the above exercises?

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For an exercise, throughout today stop and notice how you feel in yourself , that is purposely take notice of where your attention is three times. Write down where you were and how you felt.

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WEEK 8

CULTIVATING GRATITUDE,

ACCEPTANCE, KINDNESS

AND COMPASSION

It’s so easy to forget to give thanks for all the good in our lives. Peo-ple are so conditioned to receive and take that unless you make a regular practice of gratitude, giving thanks, it’s easy to be caught up and simply forget. Life provides you with so much; health, warmth, shelter, food, air, people who love you, nature, a kind word, a help-ing hand… the list is endless. Make a daily practice to remember three things you are grateful for. It’s humbling to acknowledge how much life just keeps giving and giving.

Equally accepting what IS rather than fi ghting to ‘GET’ a partic-ular outcome, can be very calming. We create a lot of our own prob-lems by getting in the way and wanting what isn’t there rather than just accepting what is. Th at doesn’t mean you stay in a bad situa-

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tion or don’t take action to correct wrongdoing but it does mean to look carefully at where you interfere, looking for a desired outcome, rather than just accept the facts.

Being kind to others can be as simple as smiling at a passing stranger. It can be lending a helping hand to someone in need or saying a kind word to someone who is suff ering or having a hard time. Remembering to practice kindness regularly helps you to stay present and appreciative of all the kindness people show towards you especially when you really need a helping hand or a kind word.

Cultivating compassion can be as simple acknowledging anoth-er's suff ering, off ering a kind word or gesture, helping and giving, listening with patience.

Take a piece of paper and draw to large hearts. Write the name of someone you want to send loving thoughts to in the right heart and your name in the left heart and draw and arrow between the hearts. It can be anyone friend, family, someone who needs a little bit of extra love at the moment- maybe they are ill or suff ering from loss of a loved one, or maybe they are just feeling a bit sad.

Now take another piece of paper and draw two hearts as before placing your name in the fi rst one and the name of a challenging person; someone who has hurt you or upset you. Th is can be a very diffi cult exercise as we usually just feel angry to the one who has hurt or of-fended us and often want to hurt them back. Th is exercise helps defuse the anger and take away the damaging eff ect it has inside you.

Now, looking at the two hearts, one with your name and one with the name of the person who has upset you and …send out loving thoughts, thoughts of forgiveness. Th is exercise works surprisingly well with even the most resistant people reporting it was benefi cial and a good exercise to do leaving them feeling calmer and kinder. Forgiveness is very healing -letting go of old resentments frees you from the eff ects of the past and allows you to move forward with more inner spaciousness and awareness.

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Now continue doing mindful breathing, mindful listening and body scan-ning as we do in each lesson putting your full attention on each practice. If your mind wanders (as it will over and over) gently bring your attention back to the task. As you begin to strengthen mentally, emotionally, phys-ically through mindfulness practices it becomes easier to stay focused as you increasingly become aware of the subtle benefi ts that are happening to you; a calmer mind, a more peaceful inner state of being, refl ective and responsive as opposed to reactive and fi ery, improved sense of self- awareness and self- respect.

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WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

Stop for a moment and give thanks for all the good in your life ( even if you are having a hard time); you are healthy, have somewhere to live, something to eat, someone to love…. ( etc)

Write a list of all that you are grateful for: Remember every day, often bed-time a good time to tell yourself three things you are grateful for that day.

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Remember also it’s easy to share these techniques with family and friends. Th ey are not hard to do- it’s actually making time and space in your life to do the practices that reaps the rewards of; less reactivity and emotionality, more inner peace and clearness, better memory, more kindness, gratitude and contact with life right here and now!

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5 Steps to Wellbeing

1. Giving/ Gratitude

2. Keep learning

3. Noticing/ paying attention

4. Engage with people

5. Physical activity

AND FINALLY...

Practicing Mindfulness regularly, puts you in direct contact with an inner resource that is naturally present when intentionally and regularly exercised and can cultivate the ability to stay calm under pressure- to take a pause and respond rather than react to life events and pressures and accept gracefully life circumstances rather than struggle against them. A typical benefi t from regular practice is the increased ability to pay attention and to stay focused for longer periods of time - which is necessary for all learning.

With Mindfulness training you are not adding to your knowledge in the traditional sense- you are in fact removing some of the mental clutter that is holding you back from being naturally mindful and in a state of equilibrium. We experience a wide range of states that in fact are part of being human- including stress. However, it is when the balance is tipped to far and we fi nd ourselves mentally, emotionally and physically over-whelmed and in a constant state of anxiety that we need to remember there are things we can do to restore balance.

Breathing is fundamental to our lives and to mindfulness practice and has been shown again and again in research to be an eff ective means to

lower stress and anxiety. Practicing mindfulness ( paying attention and awareness of the present moment) is establishing a new, refreshing state of mind that energizes, restores our energy periodically throughout the day and when the pressure is on provides a pause and a space from the eff ects of being overwhelmed, stressed and anxious.

© 2016 Mindful NZ Schoolswww.mindfulnessinaustralia.com