Mindful Boston

At this time of budget cuts, layoffs and other manifestations of economic crisis, it is not uncommon to react with feelings of fear, horror, etc. As a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher, I am not able to change these outside stressors for you.  I can't do anything about your bills.  I can't find you a new job. If you have health concerns, I can't cure your body.  I am deeply sorry. What I can do is help you with an "inside job."  I can assist you in addressing your own feelings of fear and horror.  I can show you strategies for transforming knee-jerk emotional reactions into measured responses . In mindfulness, we work towards creating sane responses that give us more control over our inner experience of happiness regardless of the outside circumstances, even when circumstances are dire.  In MBSR class, we work on our inner perceptions of reality. We work on seeing a feeling of horror as a feeling instead of perceiving the feeling as a reality...

During our MBSR class #6 last week, I handed out a sheet on logistics for the All Day Retreat.  At the end of the page I wrote a section on possible intentions for the All Day which included some blanks to fill in.  It looked like this: Possible intentions: A full and deep experience of the MBSR practices. Immersion into your own direct experiences without outside distractions. Respite.   _______________________     _______________________     _______________________   In reply, one student said, "I plan to have a Saturday."  We all laughed. This was a funny joke because class discussion has included the concepts of non-judgment, content-neutral acceptance, and unconditional kind regard (aka unconditional love).  For a couple of weeks now, as part of saying goodbye at the end of class, we have been telling each other "have a week" instead of "have a good week." "I plan to have a Saturday" is not only a funny joke, it is actu...

Think about a toolbox. In any toolbox, a screwdriver is great. A screwdriver is even essential.  A tool box could be considered incomplete if it doesn't include a screwdriver.  But a screwdriver is not enough in order to consider your tool box complete.  A screwdriver alone couldn't handle all of your handyperson needs.  Here we are in week number 5 of the fall MBSR series.  And the theme that I'm seeing arise for the students is that mindfulness by itself is not fulfilling all their needs.  Mindfulness is an essential part of the "toolbox" of life, but it cannot address everything.  During this week's classes, we discussed some of the other tools that are essential: compassion, humor, kindness, self-care, established coping mechanisms, therapy, therapeutic drugs,  friendships, social networks, family and chosen family, and more... I asked the class, "How many people here signed up for this program because they wanted to fix a specific thing ...