Everyday Mindfulness

Yeah right

I will need patience, I am aware of that. But my brain isn't.

I am almost finished reading Emotional Alchemy, and I started reading the "Mindfuless an 8-week plan" by Mark Williams.

I also read ( yeah, I'm an avid reader ) "Past Reality Integration" which doesn't specifically talk about mindfulness but uses "conscious living" instead.

Now I have to stop reading and start applying. I guess the easy part is over.

I'm glad I found this forum.

Philippe

Hi Philipe,

In my experience it's best to get some formal seated meditation instruction from a professional/experienced person.

Then the next part is to enjoy it - the relaxation, the emptying out, the simplicity, the lowering of psychological burdens...

It seems to 'work faster' when coupled with other mindfulness-related activities. A decent amount of exercise, enough sleep, healthy diet, and adequate stretching of the body also add vitality to the process.

All the best,

Bio

Hello Phillipe,

It's understandable that you want mindfulness to work fast, but unfortunately it doesn't always work this way (it didn't with me anyway). It's a difficult concept to grasp, but you have to give up on the notion of getting anywhere, and you have to give up on the notion of mindfulness doing anything for you. It's a crazy concept I know, but the important thing right now is to keep practising regularly, and these principles of mindfulness will begin to seep in over time. With mindfulness we accept our current situation exactly as it is, without trying to push it away or cling on to it.

There is a certain amount of faith required in the beginning because it won't be immediately obvious what this thing is doing for you. Mindfulness will also make positive changes to your brain, but again these take a little time. Keep practising and stick around, the community here will help you along the way.

What Gareth said.
Following Mark Williams' 8-week course worked for me. I would say that it's important to follow it pretty much to the letter and to practice every day. Each week lays the foundation for the following week so I would gently advise against jumping ahead. If, for any reason, I missed a day of practice, I would return to the start of that week's practice.
I was fortunate enough to find a local class at the same time so I attended that while I was following the Mark Williams course.
It's not essential to attend a class and be taught by a qualified person but it definitely helped me. So it might be worthwhile to check and see if there are any classes starting in your area.
As Gareth says, we'll be happy to answer any questions you might have and to help you over any bumps in the road.
Wishing you a great adventure into mindfulness, Jon

again , what gareth said.
i did the 8 week course a couple of years ago with a nhs group and after 8 weeks some still haven't got their head round what it's about.
i've worked on three other groups since and most get what mindfulness is but others still strive, try to make it work.
if you 'strive ' to make it work the it probably won't. striving is something to not do in mindfulness. it takes patience and acceptance, both of which can be hard to allow when you start. have a look at the 7 pillars of mindfulness.http://malynne.net/mindfulness.html
as others have said you're not trying to get anywhere you're just learning to 'be' in this moment, not in the past or future.
i would agree that some professional help may make it easier to grasp in the beginning.

Also what Gareth said
Welcome to the community Philippe I look forward to getting to know you.
Fee

Here's Jon Kabat-Zinn in Coming To Our Senses (2006), p67:

...striving can rapidly become counterproductive. Keeping this in mind, we will be more inclined to remember to be kind and gentle with ourselves, relaxed, accepting, and clear even in the face of turmoil in the mind or in the world. We will be less inclined to idealize our practice or get lost in "gaining fantasies" of where it will take us if we "do it right". We will be less entrained into the contortions of our own reactivity, more likely to let go and be able to rest effortlessly in non-doing, in non-striving, in our original beginner's mind, in the natural radiance of the mind's infinite spacious, compassionate, interconnected availability...

Indeed - non-striving is especially important from within an established practice. Right at the beginning, however, there will of course be some striving - to set up a routine - striving to get it done regularly enough so that a new habit of mindful practice is 'installed' in one's life. It all begins with striving to accept every moment and relax into one's body and make it as normal a part of one's life as brushing one's teeth - and it is at those early stages that the habit can very easily fade away if there is a lack of support from various places.

It seems we all come to practice with a vision of where we would like to get to, even though later things can take care of themselves. I've often heard people who may be willing to try mindfulness say something like "I've heard it's all about non-striving, so I'm not even going to strive to do it - that's the ultimate mindfulness practice". It's a shame someone would give up their practice at the beginning if they got caught up in such an idea.

Kabat-Zinn also says in Full Catastrophe Living (2005), p80:

I used to think that meditation practice was so powerful in itself and so healing that as long as you did it at all, you would see growth and change. But time has taught me that some kind of personal vision is also necessary. Perhaps it could be a vision of what or who you might be if you were to let go of the fetters of your own mind and the limitations of your own body. This image or ideal will help carry you through the inevitable periods of low motivation and give continuity to your practice. [...] "... to achieve peace of mind, people have to kindle a vision of what they really want for themselves and keep that vision alive in the face of inner and outer hardships, obstacles, and setbacks. [...] For some that vision might be one of vibrancy and health, for others it might be one of relaxation or kindness or peacefulness or harmony or wisdom. Your vision should be what is most important to you, what you believe is most fundamental to your ability to be your best self, to be at peace with yourself, to be whole.

Mindfulness in Plain English (2002) states, p131:

The ideal that you are striving for is to experience each mental state fully, exactly the way it is, adding nothing to it and not missing any part of it.

Once this ideal has lead one to install the practice in one's life, then it can be dropped - just a like a person who has carefully positioned their sled at the top of the hill and then jumps on. They no longer need to adjust the sled very much - they just need to remain on it as it effortlessly carries them down to the destination.

So my initial point was that with the initial vision and motivation to begin practice, and striving to put a solid, effective practice in place, one will make more effective progress starting to hone one's mindfulness skills if one is not eating hamburgers in front of the TV and drinking beer at discos at the same time. There are certain environmental and internal conditions which help the process along at the beginning - conditions which fertilise the plant one is attempting to grow. Fertilised and well-cared for plants grow faster and bigger.

As Gareth said, some "faith" is required at the beginning, since it can be difficult to see any change for a short while. In my opinion this period of blind faith can be made shorter if one makes the body healthier in standard ways so that one's general vitality allows for attention to be brighter, and for negative thoughts generated by a weak body to be less. The positivity will be able to shine through the tangles of the mind much earlier in this way.

The results of the practice can be 'tested' or witnessed in creative projects, under controlled pressure, or through contact with natural environments. By pursuing such activities and witnessing change, one's appetite and motivation can increase and add fuel to one's mindfulness 'fire' so that the practice intensifies and spreads into other areas of one's life.

Personally I found the benefits immediate. My family noticed the difference immediately too we're all different. I find using mindfulness in everyday situations helpful. I'm an all or nothin gal, so i just went for it lol xx

Likewise. I warmed to it very quickly. After four months people are telling me that I seem much more centred. Three of my close friends have signed up for the 8-week course too. Mindfulness is catching...