Download - Mindfulness presentation
Who am I?
15 years of Meditation Practice
BA in Religious Studies
MA in Western Esotericism
Diploma in Mindfulness, Meditation & Relaxation
www.myfreemind.im
What is Mindfulness?
Mindful (Definition)
Attentive or heedful
Keeping aware
Bearing in mind
While thus unmindful of his steps he stumbled - George Bernard Shaw.
Paying attention on purpose- Jon Kabat-Zinn (1944-)
The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention over and over again, is the very root of judgement, character and will [] An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellance.- William James (1842-1910)
Mindfulness is to be fully human, fully present, fully here and now.
We spend all our lives stuck in our ideas about how we think things should be that we are constantly missing how things actually are.
Why would we want to see how things actually are? Because they are like it whether we like it or not.
We let go of fixed ideas and rest in the present moment.
What's so interesting about Now?
Origins of Mindfulness
All the worlds cultures are now available to us [] Knowledge is now global. This means that, also for the first time, the sum total of human knowledge is available to us the knowledge, experience, wisdom and reflections of all human civilisations premodern, modern and postmodern are open to study by anyone.- Ken Wilber (1949-)
Vipassana means to see things as they really are (rather than how you think they should be).
It cultivates attention so we can observe our thoughts and compassion so that we can accept them.
Modern Mindfulness is the fusion of ancient practical wisdom & modern science.
Mindfulness & Modern Audiences
Available to anyone
Practice based with simple techniques
No beliefs or lifestyle changes required
Places responsibility for your life in your own hands
Backed up by scientific research
Who Meditates?
Olympic Athletes
Soldiers, CIA and the Military
Google and other Multinational Corporations
Schools and Education programmes
Hospitals
Prisons
Scientists
Politicians
Anyone interested in more skilful ways to relate to their thoughts, feelings and emotions
The Science of Happiness
Neuroscience & Meditation
Neuroplasticity: The Dynamic Brain
The brain changes based on how it is used
If you are stressed on a daily basis you are hardwiring your brain for stress
What we pay attention to is what we feed the brain
How we use our brain on a daily basis effects how we use our minds and how we use our minds (i.e. what we think) effects our brain
So how are we using our minds?
You can't stop you're brain from changing. The only question is: are you getting the changes you want?- Rick Hanson
Mindfulness & Medicine
300-400 scientific papers on Mindfulness are published each year
The evidence shows it to be effective for a wide range of issues
Mindfulness is now recommended by Gp's and the NHS
Almost three quarters of Gp's think it would be beneficial for all patients to learn Mindfulness skills
almost three-quarters of GPs think it would be beneficial for all patients to learn mindfulness meditation skills.
The Benefits of Mindfulness
It produces long-term positive changes in the shape of your brain
reduces chronic pain, anxiety & depression, prevents relapse & improves emotional disposition
Boosts immune system
Reduces effects of skin diseases like psoriasis
Improves relationships
Increases self-awareness
Enhances focus, concentration and performance
Enhances creativity
Combats the ageing of the brain
Improves memory
Helps with sleep
Mindfulness Meditators are happier than non-meditators
Can help you become more compassionate and understanding
Why Meditate?
Why meditate rather than go to the gym?
Meditation is the only activity where we are consciously choosing to do nothing.
It is the only activity where we can observe the mind without using the mind.
As the volume of our thoughts becomes less, our natural stillness of mind begins to take over.
To Think or Not to Think
Thinking is the default setting of the mind
Without thinking, how would we live?
Meditation is not about trying to stop thinking altogether but to discover a new relationship to our thoughts.
Mindfulness of thoughts leads to Mindful thinking
Exercise 1:
The 3 Zones of Awareness
Where do we spend 99% of our time? In the present moment or in the thoughts about the present moment?
Where is your attention?
Attention is you greatest commodity. Where it goes, your life
goes.
Can you change the past?
Can you predict the future?
The whole of human suffering can be boiled down to the fact that we spend most of our lives treating ideas about reality to be reality itself.
We live in a constant state of fight or flight, anticipating situations which just don't exist outside of our thoughts about them.
How to Meditate
How to Meditate
Attitude: Relaxed & open, non-judgemental, beginners mind
Posture: Sit up straight & pay attention
Awareness of breath
10 Minute Meditation
How Sweet it Tasted!
There is surely nothing other than than the singular purpose of
the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment
after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, the will
be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue.
- Yamamoto Tsunetomo
What's so important about the body?
We spend most of our time living from the neck up.
We relate to ourselves through a veil of ideas, beliefs and concepts rather than our raw moment to moment experience
When we live disconnected from our sensations and emotions we feel disconnected, isolated, unreal
When we feel alive we naturally feel happy & content & at peace with ourselves.
Paying attention to our raw experience can transform the way we relate to ourselves
Compassion & Loving Kindness
In the East, Mind and heart are interchangeable. To practice mindfulness is to practice 'heartfulness'
Without cultivating compassion, self-acceptance, understanding, tolerance and patience we cannot have peace of mind
When we truly understand ourselves we truly understand others
Compassion fatigue in the news
Care and compassion are what matter most. We respond with
humanity and kindness to each person's pain.
- NHS Constitution
Healing empathy.
- Prince Charles
We cannot fake compassion, empathy and understanding, but we can
grow it.
We remove emotional & mental obstacles not by opposing them but
by loving them to death.
Guided Loving Kindness Meditation
Conclusion
We can train our attention to be here and now
Where our attention goes, our life goes
We can reprogramme the brain with happiness rather than fear, insecurity & stress.
We enjoy a more expansive & free life, deeply connected with our raw physical sensations
We discover the natural peace of awareness
We increase our compassion for ourselves and all other beings
We become more resilient to the ups and downs of being human
Mindfulness is a daily practice, not a miracle cure
From practice comes deep insight which then informs our practice further. This is an upward spiral of understanding.