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The Chinese character for mindfulness.
The character means brining the heart into the present moment.
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MINDFULNESS TRAINING
Mindfulness is about waking
up, connecting with yourself - your True self. It is the art of living fully.
What is Mindfulness Training?
In a nutshell Mindfulness Training enables you to live a rich, full and
meaningful life while accepting the “pain” that goes with it.
The Buddha taught that “life is pain”. We all experience pain from
frustration, disappointment to more serious mental health challenges to actual
physical pain. At any moment our quality of life or endeavors can be threatened
by painful thoughts, feelings, reactions etc. Mindfulness Training teaches the
skills to be able to live and work well in spite of these.
1. Mindfulness is waking up. It is an awareness process.
Not thinking. It is about valued living. We are guided and aligned by
our deepest values.
Mindfulness Training is guided by 6 core processes:
2. Connecting with the present moment. We most often find
it hard to stay present. We get caught up in thoughts and lose touch with what
tis happening around us. This often saps us of energy.
3. Detaching. This is being aware of our thinking. Instead
of struggling with or clutching our thoughts we learn to hold them gently. We
understand them for what they are: mere thoughts made up of words and floating
pictures.
4. Acceptance. Means opening up and giving space to painful
thoughts feelings or emotions. We give them breathing space. This does not mean
“putting up with” unwanted thoughts or feelings. We simply observe them from a
space, often called our Observing Self.
5. Values: What does life mean to you deep down? What are
you on this planet for? What truly matters to you? Values are powerful because
they guide and direct us.
6. Committed Action: Nothing will work for us if we do not
take committed action. We often have avoided for too long or used other coping
skills that simply have not worked in the long term. Nothing worthwhile happens
without effort.
These 6 core processes produce Psychological resilience.
Psychological
resilience is power It
is like the bamboo in the forest. Try to bend and brake it – you can’t. It remains
flexible, beautiful but strong.
What Mindfulness Training Can Do for You
Reduce Stress and Worry
Rise above fear,doubt and insecurity
Handle painful thoughts & feelings more effectively
Break self defeating habits
Improve performance in your work
Have more satisfying relationships
Create a rich, full and meaningful life
Malcolm Hunt facilitates Mindfulness and Naikan Training. He is a trainer with 23 years experience in psychotherapy, counselling and mental health education. Malcolm is an experienced Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (A.C.T.) therapist. He has worked in mental health support and program management in Australia for NGO's. He has been presenter and trainer for the Commonwealth Care Link/FSG Australia, A Place To Belong Spiritus Care Services Queensland, Arafmi Queensland and Yin International College Shanghai.
