Everyday Mindfulness

Hello Gareth and everyone,

my name is Pedro and I'm a psychologist graduated from Santa Catarina Federal University and psychotherapist from Brazil. In my college years I found mindfulness and this was life changing for me because, for the first time, I was able to deal effectively with my own anxieties and negative emotions. Since then I have been giving presential courses teaching the principles of Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Some weeks ago, though, I started an experimental project to do live online classes via Google Hangout (with a maximum of 4 people). It was a better experience than I had imagined. I believe online classes are great because since billions of people are connect through the internet you can find more easily people who are interested specifically in mindfulness and meditation. Also because you can find more easily people who have conditions like social anxiety, for example, that could have great benefity from learning the practice.

I don't know if there is some problem (I believe not), but I'll use this post to advertise and see if anyone is interested in joining the next classes. Is it okay?

About the price discussion, I agree with you guys about balance. I write a blog in Portuguese about mindfulness for free (http://www.pedrohsantiago.com/blogdepsicologia), did the presencial training lots of times for free and also will never refrain from giving free advice. But, if you choose to have a family, you have to pay the rent and all other life costs. I feel also that if I don't charge I will have to use my time to do another work to make the money and it will benefit people less - than doing meditation classes.

Other point is that, because of my country currency, I can charge less. And I believe this is a win-win situation. I'm thinking about charging £25 or U$35 for two one-and-half hour session, what I believe is fair (comments on that?).

So, anyone have interest? I will post the course structure below. I would also appreciate responses or discussions to the post.

Best Regards,
Pedro

This is the course structure.

Day 1 - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness

- Introductions and a thought experiment
- Learning about Thoughts
- Negative Automatic Thoughts
- The relation between Thoughts and Emotions
- Common Thought Distortions
- The Default Mode Network
- Understanding Rumination
- The relationship between Thoughts and Attention
- Mindfulness
- The practice of Mindfulness
- Mindfulness with Insight
- Exercise together

Day 2 - Biological Basis of the Practice

- fMRI - A revolution in Neuroscience
- Discovering Brain Plasticity
- Hebbians Plasticity
- Neuroplasticity and Mindfulness
- Exercise together
- Questions and Answers

Thank you!

Hi Pedro,

Lovely to meet you. I'll give your topic some shouts on Twitter. Why don't you stick around and help grow this community?

Do you have a Twitter handle that you want me to use?

Good morning Gareth,

I'll sure stick around! I liked a lot and get surprised with the forum, there are teachers here, experienced practicioners and some really quality discussions. The forum is also number one if you search "mindfulness forum" on Google, what is pretty cool.

Really thank you with the help on Twitter! In fact I didn't have one and always used only Facebook. But I created one yesterday to try this plataform. The handle is @NowMindful.

Best Regards,
Pedro

Mindfulness training is brain training. By practicing, you begin to notice when your mind has wandered, you can let go of distractions more easily, and you can refocus on what is important in the moment. In short, you become more mentally and emotionally fit.
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Hi Pedro,
Is that the course in its entirety?
If so, I have to wonder why there's an exclusive focus on the mind. Bringing attention to the mind is an important part of mindfulness practice but it's no more important than awareness of body. Just as mindfulness is as much about compassion for others as it is about self-compassion. I feel it's important to remind people of these points, particularly those who are at the beginning of their practice and just starting to get a grounding in the practice. I've known people to get stuck on the idea that mindfulness is all about the mind and, to borrow the Buddhist idea, they end up trying to remove one thorn with another. That's to say, a limited idea of mindfulness, confined to the mind, can be a very sticky trap.
There's a good reason why most 8-week mindfulness courses begin with a lengthy body scan and include mindful movement exercises. We are learning to relate to our whole experience, not just mental events.
To say that mindfulness is brain training is, in my view, misleading. Or, at least, it's a very narrow definition of mindfulness. Over here in the UK, the comedienne Ruby Wax is currently promoting (very successfully) a version of mindfulness that she terms "mind gym". In my view, we're talking about something other than mindfulness when we start comparing mindfulness practice to fitness regimes. Unlike a fitness regime, mindfulness is not goal-oriented. Mindfulness is not about getting anywhere. It's about being right here, right now, with our experience - good, bad or indifferent.
One last thing. You mention "exercises" as part of your course. Would these be meditations? If so, what kind? Or are they CBT exercises?
Best wishes and good luck,
Jon

Very good, Jon. I totally agree.

And I would like to add, that if one wants to ground oneself, one typically doesn't focus on the mind, but on the senses.

Peter