Reflection is the ability to hold a stimulus in the present moment without reacting automatically. In a state of reflection, a person can notice or observe the presence of a thought or feeling that they are experiencing… noticing or observing can then lead to two different reflective actions; either the person can continue to observe the stimulus (thought or emotion) without judgment or the person can choose to use judgment as a means of guiding their next action (“what do I want to do as a result of this thought or feeling?”).
Without reflection, a person would believe that their actions can be controlled by their environment. This is because of the unconscious belief that the environment MAKES us feel or think a certain way… further, when a certain emotion is felt or a thought is experienced we carry the belief that we MUST react a certain way.
Emotion Examples would be: “he made me hit him because he made me feel disrespected.” (emotion governed behavior externalized)… or … “He made me stay at home in my despondency because of how disrespected he made me feel.” (Emotion governed behavior internalized)
Thought examples would be: “He made me hit him because he was being unfair.” (Thought governed behavior externalized)… or… “I could not go to the same function as him as he is not fair.” (thought governed behavior internalized).
I will go out on a limb and say that the ability to reflect may be the single most important component to mental health. With reflection we become emancipated from automaticity… we are no longer governed by thoughts or emotions as reflection serves as the tool to dis-identify our core self from attachments.
This is where the confusion sets in as people interpret the message of attachment as essentially disputing the validity of emotions… this is absolutely not what I am suggesting. Emotions exist… trying to rationalize them away is a form of avoidance that ironically leads to a life in which there is a dramatic increase in unconsciousness.
To accept a stimulus one must allow the stimulus to exist… denying the existence of a stimulus (such as an emotion) is a form of forced unconsciousness which could be said to be the exact opposite of reflection.
If I can allow myself to feel the sadness which does exist… If I can hold the emotion in a state of non-judgmental reflection, then the burden of that sadness will lessen as I do not fuel the sadness with resistant action (defensiveness, aggression, substance use etc.) or with over identification (ex. “I am the sadness” instead of “I am feeling the presence of sadness.”
As mentioned earlier there are two results of reflection…
The first is intrinsic … reflection is a state of allowing; it is a state of acceptance and presence which allows the clarity and completeness of the moment. In this moment there is serenity as everything simply is…
The second is instrumental … in a state of reflection a person is given the freedom to choose what actions they would like to engage in as a result of the emotion or thought they are holding in calm observance.
This creates the following sequence: environmental stimulus – automatic thought based on beliefs – reflection (can influence resulting emotion occasionally) – automatic emotion (usually this is automatic as well though with an advanced reflective ability it is not always) – Reflect on the emotion – Choose action based on what would feel most authentic in the relative moment.
The sequence without reflection is generally: environmental stimulus – thought and emotions surface mostly outside of conscious awareness (the person is generally aware of the secondary emotion – ex. “I am pissed” but not conscious of the preliminary emotion = ex. “I am embarrassed.” Additionally the thoughts tend to be viewed with dogmatic dichotomies ex. “this is the only valid belief concerning this stimulus.” – automatic action or behavior results.
Note: this is not to say that an automatic reaction is never authentic… in fact the resulting action could possibly be exactly the same despite the sequence used, but reflection allows choice, which increases the probability of authenticity (an action which is congruent with the core self).
I have been toying with the hypothesis lately that all effective psychotherapy interventions are essentially doing the same thing… increasing reflective ability and decreasing automaticity.
The reason that this result would be most impact by the therapeutic relationship is that perhaps increasing reflection necessitates a reflective, safe, and accepting space… this would possibly answer why technique (CBT, EFT, DBT, narrative etc) has shown to have very little impact on outcomes… the most important thing that the therapist is doing is holding space.
More on this later
In being a soft reflective water unrippled by judgments we allow the observer to placate the waters of their own existence… and reflection grows
In reflection we find the existence of dialectics and in this space of co-existing opposites acceptance becomes authentic.
Tag: Mindfulness & Meditation
-
Reflection and Psychotherapy
-
Why should I focus on my Breathing? – Worry reduction.
Quick summary –Normally breathing is something which is done automatically – you don’t think about breathing it just happens. When you intentionally focus on your breathing you give your mind something to do and this limits your minds ability to worry, which is often the source of your distress. Breathing is happening in the present moment (as opposed to the future or the past) – when breathing is done intentionally our minds must focus on the present moment (and generally speaking there is often nothing to worry about that is occurring at your present location in the present moment).
People in the wellness professions will often recommend that you focus on your breathing to increase wellness and to decrease stress and anxiety. There are many reasons why this is effective and today I will focus on the cognitive effects – future blogs will cover the physiological, behavioral, emotional and spiritual effects.
Often our minds ruminate or worry about situations that either theoretically could happen, are likely to eventually happen, or already did happen… our mind does this under the assumption that if it can work though various troubling scenarios this ‘worrying’ will increase our likelihood of survival if the ‘worried about situation’ were to happen in the future.
We will also ruminate about negative occurrences that took place – we do this under the assumption that either we can create meaning from the occurrence or we believe (unconsciously) that we could learn to avoid the reoccurrence of the negative instance in the future.
Unfortunately life is not fair, life is not 100% predictable, and things happen for reasons that are not easy for our minds to accept. Our minds believe that worrying is a helpful process which increases our likelihood of both surviving and of avoiding suffering – the problem is that this doesn’t seem to be true.
For one thing, the ‘worried about instance’ might simply never occur in which case your mind created suffering (which is a normal bi-product of worrying) over something that doesn’t and will not ever exist.
There is also a strong possibility that you can worry about something that will definitely happen in the future (ex. you know that your company is bankrupt and you will lose your job)… in this example your mind causes suffering in the present for absolutely no future benefit at all.
Do you know the expression “ignorance is bliss”? – perhaps this expression is meant to suggest that people who have less active minds tend to be happier. I would encourage you to answer the following questions for your self…
How much of your suffering is caused by something that is happening in the moment?
-ex. 1) I just was bit by a rattlesnake and my leg is swelling.
Or
-ex. 2) My best friend is telling me right now that he does not like me.
How much of your suffering is created by your minds desire to worry about the past or the future?
-ex. 1) I have two friends that have separate birthday parties in a week and I can’t go to one party without the other friend getting upset.
Or
-ex. 2) “My boss had no right to accuse me of not doing the evaluation correctly as I did it the way he taught me to do it.”
– Ask yourself – in what way is it beneficial to you to let your mind ruminate on thoughts such as these?
Try to focus on the breath to help with these unwanted automatic thoughts… below is an exercise designed to help you. As with most things… the more you practice … the more effective the exercise will be.
Exercise –
sit or stand with your spine straight…follow the breath… breath in deep through your nose for 6 seconds…as the air moves in expand you abdomen, (stomach area) push the stomach out as this will pull air in… now exhale for 4 seconds… repeat this process… notice what is feel like as the air passes down the back or your throat… does it make a sound?… feel the gentle rub of your clothes on you skin as you stomach expands and contracts… your mind will try and tell you something – to get you to think about a plan, a should do, or a have to do… allow this to happen while returning your focus to the breath (if you resist your thoughts your mind will win)… if thoughts enter your mind imagine your thoughts to be leaves floating down a river or clouds expanding, traveling and disappearing…some people enjoy a mantra to further occupy the mind and to add positivity… breath in while saying the word relax to yourself without sound…. breath out while saying release… repeat… notice your heart beat… notice the movement of air as it passes your face… breath. -
Placebo effect – an underrated healer
Quick summary: I am going to suggest that we might be able to use mindfulness to gain control over the ‘placebo effect’ thereby positively influencing recovery of physical and mental disturbances. In scientific investigation it is always important to rule out the placebo effect when studying the effects of an intervention. To do so, researchers will commonly give one group a sugar pill or some other benign intervention, and the other group will be given the medicine or the treatment. In most cases, those who were given the sugar pill show health improvements… let me explain, if a person is told that they are receiving a pill that will help cure an illness and they are given a sugar pill instead of the actual medicine, they will generally show signs of improvement related to the illness. What does this mean? Do we human’s have an untapped ability to heal ourselves? What abstraction does a sugar pill represent… hope, belief? If we believed or held hope that we could cure our own illnesses, could we learn to mentally heal ourselves? I would suggest that the answer is yes… the placebo effect is too consistent to ignore… in short, people in control groups across the planet that are experiencing recovery without medical intervention are healing themselves. How can we learn to increase the effect of the ‘placebo effect’?
Perhaps we look at the placebo as a cognitive trick… scientists trick people into believing that they are given a healing agent when that healing agent does not physically exist… yet at the same time, some healing agent must exist as the patients typically show improvement. What is the healing agent inherent in the placebo?
The healing agent is a belief… if a person believes that they will recover than they can recover.
Hope is inherent in this belief… without hope they could believe that they were given a healing agent, but they will not necessarily think that it will be successful for them unless that belief also carries a degree of hope… hope that recovery is possible.
Hope is another curious variable in recovery…
In both medical interventions and with psychotherapeutic interventions, hope effects outcome. Both the client’s hope and the clinician’s hope, related to the recovery of the client, effects the outcome of the intervention.
What is the point of all this?
We could positively influence recovery of mental and physical disturbances by intentionally using the so call ‘placebo effect’ as a healing intervention.
I am conscious of how this news might seem insensitive to some people… it is possible to interpret what I am saying as somewhat absolute – as if I am suggesting – “if your loved believed and had hope that they could recover, then they would not have died.” This would indeed be insensitive for me to suggest… Death is unavoidable and inexplicable… I am not suggesting that premature deaths are entirely related to hopelessness. I am suggesting that if we as a collective were able to utilize the placebo effect in an intentional way, we would be able to increase the amount of people who experience recovery.
The first time that I heard this point was at a seminar concerning mindfulness… mindfulness teaches a person how to live within the present moment.
Part of being Mindful involves noticing your thoughts without judgment… in this process a person can reach a degree of separation from the chattering of their brain.
By using mindfulness we learn to not over-identify with the thoughts of the brain.
I do not claim to have the answer… yet… as to exactly how we can intentionally use the placebo effect to aid in recovery, but I have an idea of what the fist step would be.
It is likely that the 1st step is to gain a greater control over the brain and your thinking patterns… to be mindful
– Note – when I say ‘over identification with the brain’, I am talking about how the brain tricks us into believing that we literally are the thoughts that the brain transmits to our consciousness.
– Mindfulness can help you see that you are perhaps something deeper or more profound than the thoughts that your brain creates… and ruminates on.
– mindfulness can also help you to live in the moment by bringing a person into awareness of the brain’s tendency to focus on the past and the future… most people spend the majority of there time living within the their thoughts… they are either ruminating over something that happened in the past, or they are ruminating over something that could happen in the future.
– By living within our thoughts about the past and the future we over identify with our brain and lose a degree of control… within this pattern it would be difficult to have control over your hope or beliefs, which would ultimately make it difficult to control the’ placebo effect’.
In order to gain more control over your brain you might fist attempt to separate yourself (figuratively) from your brain.
When you watch your thoughts… who is the one watching those thoughts? Who is the observer? Your answer could be anything from ‘metacognition’ to ‘the spirit’… the truth is that it does not really matter what you believe the ‘observer’ to be for our purposed related to the ‘placebo effect’.
If the observer could control the brain, then the observer could intentionally create the hopeful belief system which seems to aid in recovery.
The 1st thing that is taught in mindfulness training is the skill of observing the breath… from here people are often taught how to take an automated activity (breathing) and add intentionality (you consciously breath in and out as you desire)… the point here is that breathing is automatic until you choose for it not to be…
What if the same was true for the brain… for our cognitions? Our thoughts are more automatic and outside of our control than we sometimes like to believe. Perhaps with mindfulness we could gain control of the brain just as we can take control of the breath… we could turn off the autopilot is some respects.
So the answer for today is – By involving yourself in Mindfulness practices you can weaken your over identification with your brain… by doing so you might gain a degree of control over your brain… perhaps if you had that control you could intentionally create the ‘placebo’ effect.
Faith and doubt are thoughts… how might we control these… -
The Evolution of CBT = Mindfulness – moving from changing projections to eliminating projections
Quick summary: I am going to propose that we can use mindfulness interventions to increase our ability avoid projecting our beliefs onto a stimulus. I am also going to suggest that we can use mindfulness to increase our reflective ability so that we can become aware of our projections before we react emotionally or behaviorally to that projection (knowledge, judgment, belief, opinion etc). CBT offers an intervention which helps a person to change a belief that they are projecting onto a stimulus. This is effective as unhelpful beliefs encourage us to experience unwanted emotional reactions and they encourage us to engage in behaviors which are against our best interests… the replacement belief (the helpful belief) encourages more desirable emotions and behaviors. I am suggesting that mindfulness is the next step in the evolution of psychotherapy (even though mindfulness is thousands of years older than CBT – misuse of the word ‘evolution’ has been noted) as mindfulness can teach a person to notice and/or stop projection altogether or at least can help a person to manage his/her reactivity to the projection.
Simple version –- We unknowing put beliefs and opinions onto things that we look at or touch or smell etc and then we are automatically and unknowing affected by those beliefs and opinions…
- We then feel a certain way or do a certain behavior for reason that we cannot always explain or understand…
- We seem to be acting and emoting without any control… we feel controlled by our environment…
- Mindfulness may be the way to learn how to stop ‘putting beliefs and opinions onto things.’
- CBT may be unintentionally encouraging our habit of projecting.
Perhaps you are not truly being controlled by your environment… perhaps you are being controlled by your own projections (knowledge, judgments, beliefs, opinions etc).
I propose this question: We are a country of immense privilege and resource… why are so many so depressed and anxious… what is the common source of our suffering?
When a person interacts with something (a person, an idea, a place, an object etc) with any of their five senses they unconsciously place their beliefs, knowledge, opinions, history etc onto that something which is the focus of their attention… people engage in behaviors and experience emotions related to that very projection.
In this piece when I say that people “project there beliefs onto a stimulus” I mean that we unconsciously put knowledge and judgments onto whatever is holding our attention…
We therefore do not solely attend to reality; we attend to a reality influenced by our subjective perceptions.- Example 1, if you look at a snake you might place the following beliefs on it: dangerous, evil, annoying, scary, useless, must be avoided, must be killed, the snake is going to try and kill me, snakes attack people for no reason, that is an immoral object.
- Example 2, if you saw a person with a sticker that labeled them as being in support of a political party that you dislike you may project the following beliefs onto him/her: dangerous, evil, annoying, scary, useless, must be avoided, must be changed, the person is going to hurt our country, He/she attacks people for no reason, that is an immoral object.
- How might your projected beliefs influence your actions and emotions?
What’s the point? Why should I care about negative projections?- The emotional and behavioral reaction that you have to the stimulus is automatically affected by your projections… you can’t feel or behave differently until you alter your projections.
- CBT then helps people to have different emotional reactions and to engage in different behaviors by helping a person to change what they project onto certain stimuli.
I was Reading Dan Siegel’s ‘The mindful Brain’ and I was in the middle of one of his more scientifically mind-bending chapters (neurologically complex and specific) that was explaining the current research surrounding the part of the brain that places or projects ‘knowledge’ onto a stimulus and the part of the brain that encourages reflection (which would be your ability to notice that your mind is projecting beliefs) and attention without projection (which would be your ability to see a stimulus without placing judgments, ‘truths’, opinions, analysis etc on to it).- For more about Dan’s work please visit – http://www.drdansiegel.com/ – I cannot say enough about this professional… his work is absolutely fantastic. I would say that his scientific ability is respected to be at the highest caliber… what I was pleasantly surprised to find was how engaging and artistic his personal narratives are… wonderful, intelligent, inspiring, revolutionary books.
It then hit me that from a neurological perspective CBT is calling on the same part of the brain to simply offer a different and “better” projection onto a stimulus.
In short, if projection is the problem, than CBT might be strengthening the part of the brain which was ‘responsible’ for the problem. Excuse my oversimplification – again this is just a theory.
CBT encourages a client to isolate negative or hurtful thoughts and beliefs. The client is then asked to replace those ‘disruptive’ beliefs with positive or helpful thoughts and beliefs.- Research seems to be suggesting that projections primarily come from a specific part of the brain.
- The physical and functional qualities of the many different brain parts are affected by use. To dramatically oversimplify this concept this would mean that increasing the use of a part of the brain will increase that part both physically and functionally (just like your bicep).
- CBT might (this is just a theory) be increasing (in size and function) the part of the brain responsible for projections – which is the source of the ‘problem’.
Again, what is the point?- ‘Negative’ projections cause suffering and CBT helps people to begin projecting more ‘positive’ thoughts and beliefs onto the relevant stimuli.
- Some philosophies suggest that projections cause suffering despite whether the projection is positive or negative.
How suffering is caused by Positive Projections.- The suffering arises as projection eliminated the novelty of life… instead of living life we begin to live within our projections…
- These projections are known and understood and therefore do not require sustained attention or interest…
- Everything then becomes very boring…
- We loose our curiosity and our passion…
- We require the novelty of ‘new’ things or activities such as material items to elicit excitement… but this does not seem to help our suffering.
Common Example of projections making life boring
- Think about when you first met your partner or best friend etc… what did you feel? Were you curious about him/her? of course this person has changed – did your partner become less interesting, exciting, attractive, intricate, or did you become less interested in him or her… is it possible that you lost your curiosity as opposed to her/him losing anything to be curious about? What would happen if you stopped judging your partner? What would happen if you stopped convincing yourself that you had all the knowledge necessary about your partner? What if you removed all of the beliefs and knowledge that you have about your partner and then you met them again ‘for the first time’… what would be different?
- Remember the first time that you saw your house? What did you experience… what do you experience now?
- How about your first time seeing the leaves change… the first time it snowed… the first time you saw the ocean… the first time you experienced a thunderstorm or saw a rainbow…
- You may still have very positive beliefs about all these things, but for some reason they are not able to elicit the same excitement and curiosity out of you…
- These things are just as exciting and inspiring as they once were but your projections are keeping you from experiencing them… this causes suffering.
Mindfulness encourages a client to strengthen there ability to reflect upon the thoughts, emotions and sensations which the mind and body experience without taking automatic action.- Mindfulness reduces automatic reaction to projections.
- this increases control and freedom.
Mindfulness also teaches a client how to pay attention to a stimulus without placing a projection (judgment, belief, knowledge) onto that stimulus…- You learn to see the stimulus as novel as apposed to understood, quantified, known, defined, labeled, categorized etc.
- This makes everything interesting, exciting, and inspiring.
Children tend to be more mindful then adults… they can look at a leaf falling from a tree with complete amazement and glee… through mindfulness an adult can grow to have a similarly novel experience with such a stimulus.
In conclusion- CBT teaches us how to change or alter our projections
- mindfulness teaches us how to stop projecting or to stop reacting automatically to projections
- Research is suggesting that mindfulness increases the mass and function of the part of the brain responsible for reflection and for attending without projection.
- I theorize that CBT may be increasing the mass and function of the part of the brain responsible for projections (both ‘helpful’ and ‘unhelpful’ projections seem to come for the same part of the brain).
- I am suggesting that CBT will evolve into mindfulness as mindfulness reduces the unwanted affects of both positive and negative projections where as CBT is designed to reduce the unwanted affects of negative projections alone.
-
Mindfulness Interventions for Both the Therapist and the Client to Increase Therapeutic Effectiveness When Treating Trauma
Mindfulness Interventions for Both the Therapist and the Client to Increase Therapeutic Effectiveness When Treating Trauma
This is a reserach paper that I wrote… it is very involved… it covers many of the bases surrounding mindfulness and recovery.
Abstract: Research has suggested that Mindfulness interventions can be extremely beneficial in the treatment and prevention of symptoms associated with trauma and vicarious trauma. The intention of this paper is to look into the possible positive effects of incorporating Mindfulness practices into therapist self care routines, and therapeutic interventions. To arrive at such an end this paper will briefly discuss the basic tenants of mindfulness and will then move on in examining studies which have noted the positive effects of mindfulness integration. In closing this paper will outline why a Mindfulness state is so critical in relation to recovery from trauma.
Research has shown that mindfulness based interventions are helpful in promoting overall health (Krasner 2004). Mindfulness is described as a non-judgmental meta-cognitive state in which a person becomes very aware of their thoughts, surrounding, and feelings and attempts to experience all stimuli without judgment and without relating the stimuli to the past or the future. “In contrast, Mindlessness is a state of rigidity in which one adheres to a single perspective and acts automatically” (Carson and Langer 2006). Research has shown that clients who have experienced trauma often engage in avoidance behaviors and therefore make both concerted and unconscious efforts to be mindless (Follette et al. 2006). The research has shown that participating in mindfulness instruction or therapy has a positive impact in relation to stress reduction, maintenance of and avoiding relapse of depression, stress reduction for therapist and health care workers, longevity for the elderly, proper self care for person’s with diabetes, emotional health for cancer patients, and is found to be positive for self development in general (Waller & Carlson, 2006; Walach et al., 2007; Shapiro et al., 2007; Gregg et al., 2007; Shapiro et al.,2005; Krasner 2004; Helen & Teasdale, 2004; Martin, 2002; Teasdale et al., 2000) (Williams, 2000; Alexander, 1989). New findings specifically related to trauma demonstrate that existing CBT, DBT and ACT methods are more effective when used in conjunction with Mindfulness practices (Follette et al. 2006). Specifically, clients with PTSD seem to be more likely to fully engage in exposure treatment without resorting to avoidance behaviors if they have training in mindfulness (Follette et al. 2006). Avoidance is not only a process of the client; it is also a process of the therapist. Studies have shown that health care workers are particularly vulnerable to vicarious trauma and burnout (Shapiro et al. 2007; Shapiro et al. 2005; Walach et al. 2007). Carson and Langer has suggested that when therapists use mindfulness for self development, they allow themselves to be more authentic and free of judgment in the therapeutic setting; by freeing themselves from the confines of objectivity therapists allow themselves to experience clients and their narratives without psychological avoidance thereby reducing the likelihood of vicarious trauma (2006).
According to Segal, Williams and Teasdale (2000) the following steps are necessary to reach a state of mindfulness. In a mindful state a person attempts to reach a point of non- judgment in which they remain impartial to their experience and try not to evaluate whether his/her surrounding are positive or negative. The person will be patient in that they can enjoy the now and accept that things will come with time. They will experience the world with a beginner’s mind, meaning that they will view the world with openness similar to if they were to be viewing something for the first time. The person will have a trust in him or herself. The person will have a non-striving disposition in that he/she will not be trying to do anything; instead she/he will simply accept what is. She or he will have an acceptance for all thoughts feeling, sensations and beliefs; in acceptance the person might take a meta-cognitive standpoint and accept that all the perceived stimuli simply are and don’t need to be interpreted. Finally the person will have a position of non-attachment in that they will not attempt to create an identity or a meaning out of their experience. This last point is particularly important for trauma survivors. It is often an inability to assimilate the trauma into a person’s stagnant narrative that results in higher level of symptoms (Crofford 2007; Wilson et al. 2006; Carson and Langer 2006). By helping the client towards a more mindful perspective, the client will be able to attain a wiser more dialectic view of experiences and will therefore be able to accommodate more seemingly contradictory plot lines into their narrative (Carson and Langer 2006). Or the client will reach a higher level of mindfulness in which they attain a comfort in accepting that the self is not defined by subjective of collective narratives and that we simply are.
Mindfulness based interventions usually follow a seven or eight week format in which each session discusses a certain theme (Krasner 2004). The clients learn to identify the automatic pilot (doing something without any awareness of what you are doing),to deal with barriers (firmly held beliefs that limit a person’s ability to perceive things differently), to learn mindful breathing (used to help people experience life without cognitive defensiveness, problem solving or judgment), to stay present (to experience thoughts feelings and body sensations without judgment), to allow one’s self to attend to stimuli without judgment (this is when clients learn to accept their freedom to choose the way they react to stimuli, they begin by accepting that the stimuli simply is without trying to make sense of it), to accept that thoughts are not facts (clients focus of feelings that surface with certain thoughts and realize that there are no truths and the way we interact with a thought is a matter of choice), to take care of one’s self (which is to be aware of the thoughts that lead us towards depression and choose to view them in a new way; it also involves joining the community and letting yourself experience positive things), and finally the clients review everything they have learned and use the group to explore the experience (Waller, Carlson, Englar-Carlson, 2006). The goal of a mindfulness intervention is for acceptance to take the place of resistance. After a traumatic incident individuals might find themselves hyper-vigilant and anxious, both of which reduce the individuals present focus in attempt to avoid what has been or what could be. In truth, life is unpredictable and striving to make universal meanings in order to make a predictable future is the very foundation of anxiety (Tolle 1999).
Research has shown that offering mindfulness services to beginning therapists and health care workers has a positive impact on their ability to successfully implement self-care skills and to lead less stressful lives (Shapiro et al.,2005; Shapiro et al.,2007). Shapiro and colleagues found that, “using a prospective, cohort-controlled design, participants in the MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) program reported significant declines in stress, negative affect, rumination, state and trait anxiety, and significant increases in positive affect and self-compassion”(2007). The same was found in the earlier study with health care workers (Shapiro et al., 2005). People in the health care field experience a high potential for stress. The previously mentioned study offers a very practical solution to a rather large issue concerning staff burnout and their resulting ability to aid clients. The positive effects of this study are immense and pave the way for future studies which might find even more useful results. For example, rumination is related to depression, so mindfulness might be a preemptive strike against the possibility of depression (Shapiro et al., 2007). The field of counseling is riddled with jargon, but the author would suggest that rumination is a different way of explaining a mindless state in which an individual strives to assimilate a traumatic plot line into their existing narrative. This is where vicarious trauma comes forth. Therapists are burdened with an existential chaos that erupts as a client’s traumatic experience cannot be integrated into our own subjective narratives. When this happens therapists too can experience PTSP like symptoms, which might put the therapeutic relationship in jeopardy as the therapist engages in avoidance behaviors and is therefore not fully present for the client (Carson and Langer 2006).
The benefits of mindfulness training are extremely relevant to the therapeutic process. Essentially, mindfulness trainings offer a proactive way of building those core skills which are most important to therapeutic relationship. Shapiro et al. found that MBSR interventions on beginning therapists raised self compassion and that self compassion is positively related to successful therapy as noted in out come studies (2007). Carson and Langer have written extensively about how the non-judging process of mindfulness allows individuals to accept themselves as they are and therefore promotes authenticity (2006). They also describe the pitfalls of self evaluation; as the process requires much of the therapist’s mental effort be directed towards assimilating behaviors towards external ambiguous expectations thereby removing energy that could be directed towards the therapeutic process (Carson and Langer 2006). As mentioned earlier the non-judgmental aspects of mindfulness aid the therapist in curtailing avoidance behaviors; the same process also facilitates unconditional positive regard (Carson and Langer 2006). If therapists are not evaluating clients based on their constructed belief system they are more able to view the clients, particularly those who might have been perpetrators, with unconditional positive regard. This creates a positive feedback loop as the response to unconditional positive regard is for the client to be authentic in the therapeutic process. The founding principles of mindfulness are related to being in the present or the now, so mindfulness allows for the therapist to be fully present with the client and to not be distracted by the past or the future (Tolle 1999). So then, Mindfulness might directly affect the therapeutic outcomes of client who are experiencing therapy with a therapist who is involved in mindfulness trainings.
Mindfulness appears to be playing a significant role in the resurgence of the philosophy that the mind and the body are connected and should be treated as such. Exciting research has been conducted in which Mindfulness trainings have had a positive impact on patients with cancer, patients with diabetes, and the elderly population (Alexander, 1989; Walach et al., 2007; Gregg et al., 2007). The studies should not be all too surprising as the medical field has long been aware that stress has a negative affect on physical health. Crofford found that, “somatic syndromes characterized by pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction are associated with stress exposure” (2007). As mentioned earlier Mindfulness studies have been shown to both reduce stress and to prevent a relapse in depression; one might extrapolate that future studies will then find a link between mindfulness and the reduction of somatic syndromes (Shapiro et al. 2007; Teasdale et al 2000). The body scan is a process by which the participant focuses on his/her breath and is encouraged to pay special attention to specific parts of the body; the goal is for the client to gain a greater awareness of the body. Preliminary research conducted by Berceli and Napoli have found that mindfulness training in conjunction with somatic stress release stretches have the potential to reduce somatic symptoms in trauma survivors (2006). Through mindfulness, patients are learning acceptance of what is without judgment, and with such an acceptance perhaps these individuals are able to look at their situations with a greater honesty. This paper contends that with this greater honesty, people might be encouraged to drop defenses so that they are more willing and able to take that action which is necessary in the present. Additionally, Hassain et al. found that authenticity is positively related to self esteem; this means that the more authentic a person is in a therapeutic process the more likely they are to feel an increase in self esteem as they make progress; the inverse was found to be true as well in that a lack of authenticity related o poor self-esteem (2003).
Studies on the personal factors that are consistently correlated amongst perpetrator and the factors which seem to inhibit the rehabilitation process amongst perpetrators have a huge overlap with what some authors have termed ‘mindlessness’(Craig et al. 2003; Blake and Gannon 2008; Carson and Langer 2006; Van Wijk et al. 2006; Langer and Louis 1980). The recurring theme amongst perpetrators is their lack of empathetic development and their automatic behavioral patterns based on socially undesirable schemas (Blake and Gannon 2008). The reason that mindfulness is so often used with traditional CBT or the newer DBT is that it allows thought processes, behaviors and feelings to come to awareness without being hindered by those avoidance strategies which arise from a negative evaluation of the relevant action (Follette et al. 2006). In order to help a perpetrator to arrive at more socially conducive thoughts and behaviors it is first necessary that the individual be aware of their existing schema and resulting responses (Follette et al. 2006). Research on rapists has suggested that the perpetrator seems to misinterpret the social cues of the victim and they lack the ability to empathize or to understand the emotions of the victim (Blake and Gannon 2008). Though Blake and Gannon were not suggesting Mindfulness interventions, their description of the perpetrators was clearly overlapping with Carson and Langer’s description of a Mindless state (2008; 2006). If a perpetrator is reacting to stimuli according to rigid schema then the same misinterpretation and resulting response is destined to repeat itself; if, with mindfulness training, the perpetrator looked at stimuli as novel they could be less likely to react according to pre-set principles (Follette et al. 2006).
Mindfulness has long been a positive moment for the human culture and we are currently seeing a resurgence of such practices as the West moves towards an acceptance of greater ambiguity. Mindfulness practice works very well in conjunction with many current therapeutic interventions (Follette et al. 2006). This paper wishes to conclude with an integration of Mindfulness with existentialism. Yalom and other existentialists have contended that much of human suffering is the result of an existential anxiety which arises from trying to arrive at a meaning in life (2002). PTSD symptoms after trauma seem to have relation to this existential drive towards making meaning out of the traumatic experience and in fact some have benefited from the creation of a subjective meaning such as becoming an advocate (Herman 1992). At times it is impossible to incorporate a traumatic instance into what we believe to be an objective and linear existence. In an effort to avoid such an existential anxiety people may become hyper vigilant to use the present to avoid what could happen in the future, or use avoidance to avoid what was in the past. Mindfulness is a method of focusing on the present so as to not concern your self with meaning, thereby reducing the possibility of existential anxiety (Tolle, 1999). If a question were to be used to some up the intention of mindfulness perhaps it would be, “If you have no control over the past or the future why not use your freedom to be as you desire right now?” It is not the intention of the author to minimize traumatic experiences, and it is understood that the Mindfulness worldview can be interpreted as minimizing the impact of trauma. Unfortunately, the impact of trauma can be minimized as Mindfulness all together is not concerned with the past or the future (Tolle 1999). However, it is necessary for clients to adapt to a post modern/constructionist/present focused/timeless view of reality (or lack of reality) to benefit from Mindfulness practices. By focusing awareness in the present we can all benefit from an increased understanding of ourselves and an increased comfort in our unique authenticity.
Alexander, Charles N.; Langer, Ellen J.; Newman, Ronnie I.; Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 57(6), Dec 1989. pp. 950-964.Barker-Collo, Suzanne; and Read, John. Models of Response to Childhood Sexual Abuse: Their Implications for Treatment. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Apr 2003; vol. 4: pp. 95 – 111.
Blake, Emily and Gannon, Theresa. Social Perception Deficits, Cognitive Distortions, and Empathy Deficits in Sex Offenders: A Brief Review Trauma Violence Abuse 2008 9: 34-55
Berceli, David and Napoli, Maria; A Proposal for a Mindfulness-Based Trauma Prevention Program for Social Work Professionals. Complementary Health Practice Review, Vol. 11, No. 3, 153-165 (2006)
Brown, Kirk Warren; Ryan, Richard M.; The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 84(4), Apr 2003. pp. 822-848.
Carson, Shelly and Langer, Ellen. Mindfulness and self-acceptance. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Vol. 24, No. 1, Spring 2006Craig L. A.; Browne, Kevin D; and Stringer, Ian; Treatment and Sexual Offence Recidivism. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Jan 2003; vol. 4: pp. 70 – 89.
Crofford, Leslie J. Violence, Stress, and Somatic Syndromes Trauma Violence Abuse 2007 8: 299-313.
Follette, Victoria; Palm, Kathlene and Pearson, Adria. Mindfulness and trauma: Implications for treatment. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Vol. 24, No. 1, Spring 2006
Gregg, Jennifer A.; Callaghan, Glenn M.; Hayes, Steven C.; Improving Diabetes Self-Management Through Acceptance, Mindfulness, and Values: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 75(2), Apr 2007. pp. 336-343. [Journal Article]
Herman, Judith; Trauma and Recovery. New York, 1992: Basic Books.
, M. S., & Langer, E.; A cost of pretending. Journal of Adult
Development, 2003. 10(3), 261–270.
Horowitz, Mardi J. Self- and relational observation..; Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Vol 12(2), Jun 2002. pp. 115-127.Katreena, Scott; Predictors of Change among Male Batterers: Application of Theories and Review of Empirical Findings. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Jul 2004; vol. 5: pp. 260 – 284.
Krasner, Michael; Mindfulness-Based Interventions : A Coming of Age? Families, Systems, & Health, Vol. 22 (2), Summer 2004. pp. 207-212
Langer, Ellen J.; Imber, Lois; Role of mindlessness in the perception of deviance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 39(3), Sep 1980. pp. 360-367.
Looman, Jan; Dickie, Ida; and Abracen, Jeffrey. Responsivity Issues in the Treatment of Sexual Offenders. Trauma Violence Abuse 2005 6: 330-353.
Ma, S. Helen; Teasdale, John D.; Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 72(1), Feb 2004. pp. 31-40. [Original Journal Article]
Martin, Jeffery R. The common factor of mindfulness–An expanding discourse: Comment on Horowitz (2002).; Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Vol 12(2), Jun 2002. pp. 139-142. [Comment/Reply]
Paul, Lisa A.; Gray, Matt J.; Elhai, Jon D.; Massad, Phillip M.; and Stamm, Beth Hudnall. Promotion of Evidence-Based Practices for Child Traumatic Stress in Rural Populations: Identification of Barriers and Promising Solutions. Trauma Violence Abuse 2006Runyon, Melissa K.; Deblinger, Esther; Ryan, Erika E.; and Thakkar-Kolar, Reena. An Overview of Child Physical Abuse: Developing an Integrated Parent-Child Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Approach. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Jan 2004; vol. 5: pp. 65 – 85.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. Self-determination theory and the
facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.
American Psychologist, 2000. 55, 68–78.
Shapiro, Shauna L.; Astin, John A.; Bishop, Scott R.; Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Health Care Professionals: Results From a Randomized Trial. International Journal of Stress Management, Vol 12(2), May 2005. pp. 164-176. [Original Journal Article]
Shapiro, Shauna L.; Brown, Kirk Warren; Biegel, Gina M.; Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol 1(2), May 2007. pp. 105-115. [Journal Article]
Stelmach, Lew B.; Review of Attentional processing: The brain’s art of mindfulness. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol 50(3), Sep 1996. pp. 328-329. [Review-Book]
Teasdale, John D.; Segal, Zindel V.; Williams, J. Mark G.; Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 68(4), Aug 2000. pp. 615-623.
Tolle, Eckhart. (1999) The Power of Now. Canada: Namaste Publishing Inc.
Van Wijk, Anton; Vermeiren, Robert; Loeber, Rolf; Hart-Kerkhoffs, Lisette’t; Doreleijers, Theo; and Bullens, Ruud. Juvenile Sex Offenders Compared to Non-Sex Offenders: A Review of the Literature 1995-2005 Trauma Violence Abuse 2006 7: 227-243
Vien A. and Beech, A. R.. Psychopathy: Theory, Measurement, and Treatment Trauma Violence Abuse 2006 7: 155-174.
Walach, Harald; Nord, Eva; Zier, Claudia; Mindfulness-based stress reduction as a method for personnel development: A pilot evaluation. International Journal of Stress Management, Vol 14(2), May 2007. pp. 188-198. [Journal Article]
Waller, B. Carlson, J. Englar-Carlson, M. (2006) Treatment and relapse prevention of depression using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and Adlerian concepts. The journal of individual psychology, Vol. 62
Williams, J. Mark G.; Teasdale, John D.; Segal, Zindel V.; Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduces overgeneral autobiographical memory in formerly depressed patients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol 109(1), Feb 2000. pp. 150-155.
Wilson, John P. ; Drozdek, Boris; and Turkovic, Silvana. Posttraumatic Shame and Guilt
Trauma Violence Abuse 2006 7: 122-141.
Yalom, I. D. (2002). The Gift of therapy. New York: HaperCollins Publisher Inc.
-
Meditative Breath – focusing on the expansion and contraction of your chest and stomach.
Quick summary: I am going to explain an easy breathing exercise that will aid in the goals of stress/anxiety reduction, and mindfulness practice. Many have heard that to help facilitate a state of mindfulness (non-judgmentally existing in the present moment with an increased awareness of the moment) it is very helpful to focus on your breathing – to notice and to observe your breath as you ad a degree of intentionality to your breathing patterns. Focusing on your breath can help in the goal of not attending to the thoughts that naturally try and distract you from the moment. The exercise below is perhaps a more complicated way of breathing that requires a bit more attention to master… this added attention can be very helpful for people who have a difficult time with over-thinking while they are trying to engage in meditation or Mindfulness.
This exercise can be done with any set amount of time breathing in or out.- I generally feel most comfortable breathing in for 5 seconds and then out for 5 seconds… when I practice for a longer time I typically will extend to 6 or 7 seconds.
- If 5 seconds is too long for you that is perfectly alright – choose a number that works for you.
- Consistency is all that is important – you could also choose to breathe in for 5 seconds and out for 7 seconds.
- Simply do whatever interval you choose with consistency.
The focused breathing ‘body becomes a wave’ exercise
Start by sitting or lying down in a comfortable position with your spine straight and your head comfortably centered – the top of your head should be on the same plain as your spine (try not to have your head tilted up, down or to the side).
Bring your attention to your breath – simply notice and observe how you are currently breathing.
Notice your body – mindfully scan your body with curiosity – you do not need to physically move to do this. Observe your body’s tactile sensations with your mind.
Now begin to add intention to your breathing – Breath in deeply through your nose for five seconds and out for five seconds (or in for 3 and out for 3… or in for 5 and out for 7 – just keep you pattern consistent)
Focus on and follow your breath – observe the sensations as the breath: passes through your nose – touches the back of your throat – travels down your chest – starts to fill your longs – encourages your chest and stomach to gently rise.
As thoughts begin to surface gently allow your attention to move back to following your breath. (Note – this gets easier with practice. Many people’s minds will seem to be like a radio with no off button for the first few weeks that they practice)- Allow your thoughts to be separate from your sense of self – allow them to be something that can be observed just like your breath… know choose to observe your breath instead of those thoughts
Be compassionate, accepting and gentle with yourself – notice if you start to judge yourself and your “am I doing this right” thoughts… this is normal, you are perfectly ok … allow the attention back to the breath.
This next part takes more intentionality and can use much of the energy that could otherwise be used for ruminating.
The Wave
Push your abdomen (stomach) out and let this activity pull the breath into your body
let your abdomen sink down again as the breath leaves your body ( focus on the sensation and continue to breath in and out with your consistent breathing pattern – 5 seconds in 5 seconds out etc)
Continue this first part until your feel comfortable and natural with this full belly breathing. (Breathing while expanding and contracting your belly alone can have a very positive impact on reducing anxiety).
Breathe in and when your belly is fully expanded keep breathing in until your upper chest is fully expanded.- Allow for your belly to be fully expanded before your begin to allow the breath to expand your chest (note – this can be very difficult – the difficulty can greatly help in reducing those thoughts that “won’t stop”)
Breathe out and contract your upper chest first and as the chest empties – then allow the belly to contract.- Try and allow your chest to settle before you allow your belly to recede.
This is like a Wave – belly up – chest up – chest down – belly down – belly up – chest up – chest down – belly down – belly up – chest up – chest down – belly down – belly up – chest up – chest down – belly down
Focus your attention on the breath as it facilitates this rhythmic wave through your body.- I enjoy really engaging in the wave and allowing my body to relax as the breath gently creates a nurturing and relaxing wave up and down my body.
Continue for as long as you wish (15 minutes is a good place to start – you might notice that when you first begin your mind barely shuts off for the first 10 minutes).
Another image that I use is imagining by body to be as the ocean when the water meets the sand…. the water gently pushes forward onto the sand as I inhale and gently recedes from the coast as I exhale. This peaceful image gives me something other than my thoughts to focus on.
Why is it important to add mindfulness or breathe work into my life?- Happiness, relaxation and satisfaction are available in the moment – often our physiology or our cognitions will direct us towards an emotional disposition that feels less comfortable.
- Example – If your heart is beating very fast and you are taking short choppy breaths you will likely feel emotionally and physically anxious.
- Example – You will likely hold anxiety if you are in a perfect environmental setting with loving people who support you and yet your mind is convincing you to attend to thoughts about resentments that you hold from the past, or worries that you hold for the future.
Mindfulness exercises, or exercises which encourage a person to focus there attention on their breathing, greatly assist people in overcoming the tendency to ruminate on the past or the future.- When we are thinking about the past or the future we will often have a physiological and emotional reaction to those thoughts.
- Often we experience a great deal of suffering for events that are not actually happening in the moment – they are happening in our minds.
- With mindfulness we can learn to live more in the present moment and less in our minds.
- This makes us happier and it makes us considerably more available to people and things is our present environment.
Breath work naturally reduces your physical anxiety, which in turn reduces your emotional anxiety.- I understand that this seems hard to believe for some people, but if you address the physiological symptoms of anxiety – you directly impact anxiety in general.
- If your body is relaxed with a steady heartbeat with controlled deep breaths – you will not “feel” anxious.
- Practice is important – I will not deceive you into believing that you can practice breath work one time and have total control over your anxiety related physiological symptoms – though practicing just one time will help.
- The more you practice the more effective the exercise will be at calming your thoughts and your body.
I would encourage you to sit down and focus all of your attention on your physiology next time you feel anxious (for this exercise do not try and alter or judge your physiology – instead simply observe).- Notice your heart rate – are you flexing any muscles? – are any muscles tight or knotty? – Notice your breathing patterns – are you hot or cold? – How does your stomach feel – what is your facial expression?
Now engage in the exercise and repeat your observation of your physiology – How do you feel? - I generally feel most comfortable breathing in for 5 seconds and then out for 5 seconds… when I practice for a longer time I typically will extend to 6 or 7 seconds.
-
Narrative therapy: the externalization of perception
Quick summary: By talking with a therapist and re-experiencing emotions, thoughts and emotionally significant experiences, a client can show his/herself that occurrences can be narrated and therefore separated from the concept of self… narration is freedom as we find ourselves to be the author of our own reality. Resiliency naturally emerges as our identity ceases to be determined by the plot of our lives… we are no longer automatically controlled by the plot… instead we are the author… we choose the conclusions of our conflicts.
Typically narrative therapists use externalization to separate a specific attribute or symptom etc from a client. I am realizing now that perhaps Michael White and David Eptson where suggesting that narrative therapy is a means to help clients externalize their perception of reality so that their sense of self is no longer determined by the perceived plot line of their life.
A simple way to externalize – add a preposition or a verb…- Example: ‘I am depressed’ – becomes – ‘I am a person with depression’ or ‘I am currently experiencing depression’.
- Example: ‘my life sucks’ – becomes – ‘currently, the way that I perceive my reality and the conclusions that I draw from the perceptions about my reality encourage me to hold negativity.’
Justice – it is very easy to perceive narrative therapy as suggesting that acts of injustice are simply a matter of the victim’s negative perception…- Narrative therapy does not condone acts of injustice… instead it offers a freedom of emotional and existential resolve following an experience of injustice of oppression.
- This freedom enables resiliency.
- It is the existential conclusion and the emotional response that is under the control of a person.
The result – “I perceive my reality this way and this perception has this emotional impact on me. Through externalization I have found my freedom to perceive my reality a different way so that I now hold this more agreeable emotional disposition in relation to the life I live.”
Example – ‘Losing or Failing’ – you have the freedom to perceive a loss as ‘a wonderful opportunity to grow from challenge,’ or ‘ an example of incompetence which should make you feel inadequate and hopeless’ … neither perception is more true than the other – you have the freedom of perception…
Often misery is the result of colluding with a constructed way of perceiving that was or is being perpetuated by those in privileged positions that hold the power to persuade the masses that their subjectivity is objectivity.- The offensive push of objectivity leads people into deterministic thinking which is a form of mental slavery.
- Example of a thought/feeling from internalizing the narratives of certain media– “I do not the hold the attributes which have been marketed as ideal and I should feel ________ about the ways in which I am different than the defined ideal.”
Michael White often spoke of the oppressive power of knowledge… knowledge can be used to oppress people.- Knowledge can be used to convince a person that there is a correct and incorrect way of perceiving reality…
- Knowledge tells us what we should do… how we should feel… how we should think…
- Suffering often arises when we follow a ‘should’ that our intuition or our core self was not or is not in favor of.
Euphemisms and reframes are devices for people to take back control of their perceptions… perhaps it is the notion that any perception is objectively more accurate than another which persuades us into determinism.
Externalization is a process used in Narrative therapy by which the therapist helps a client to see that they are separate from their perceived character traits.- This is useful in solving problems as it is easier to offer assistance in changing an attribute when a client stops believing that that attribute is an inseparable aspect of his/her core self.
- The client will learn that symptoms such as depression, low self esteem, or lack of ambition etc are separate entities that can be altered with the self as opposed to being altered by altering the self
- The therapist will suggest that a client is ‘with depression’ or ‘holds depression’ as opposed to promoting that a client ‘is depressed’. If a client is depressed then you must change the actual client… if the client is with depression than you can help to change the client’s relationship with depression… depression is removable without asking a client to change their core self.
I am suggesting that all of perception can be externalized – ‘this is a perception I hold of reality’ as opposed to ‘this is reality’.
Once perception is externalized the now separated core self can re-write the impact of the perceived plot line.
I am the Author and the Observer of my perceived reality… I will no longer allow myself to be oppressed by the forced conclusions that I chose to hold… I am free.
Suffering is the water which grows the seeds of my spiritual potential… suffering is no longer the walls of objectivity that holds me in determinism.
In this way Narrative therapy becomes an experiential engagement with the process of mindfulness.
Mindfulness allows you to be the observer of existence – the core self is asked to simply notice the emotions of the body, the thoughts and perception of the mind, and the information that the senses retrieve from the environment. These observation are experienced without judgment and without trying to change or alter anything (If you are sad… notice sad… if your thoughts won’t stop… notice this occurrence… if you can’t help but to judge your thoughts… notice this as well).
Narrative therapy is a way of assisting healthy Detachment!
Mindfulness is my favorite and I have always loved narrative therapy – now I see why – the potential of narrative therapy is growing in the emancipated perceptions that I hold. -
Mindfulness Exercise – notice your senses without judgment =54321 present
Quick overview: I will be offering my favorite mindfulness exercise that will help you to get into the present moment (as opposed to being in your head, which is usually concerned with the past and the future). The technique is very simple and I call it the senses 5 4 3 2 1 – it probably has many different names (I did not develop it). The point is to try and observe or to notice what your senses are sensing without placing judgment on the stimulus. I tend to use sight, tactile (feeling), and hearing… smell and taste can also be used in more specific settings. You will start by listing 5 things you see, then 5 things that you feel, then 5 things that you hear – then 4 of each… then 3 of each etc.
You can do this exercise anywhere and I prefer to do it in nature.
I have blog posts concerning why a mindfulness state is great for wellness – click on the mindfulness category to your right and the articles will pop up.
Start by engaging in a breathing exercise (read my blog on breathing if you would like more information)- Take a deep breath in for about 5 second and a breath out for about 4 seconds (or whatever taking deep breaths means to you).
- Notice the feeling of the air as it passes down your throat.
- Feel the air as it glides in and out of your nose.
- Let you abdomen (stomach) expand to take in a belly full of air.
- Notice the touch of your clothes on your skin as your body expands and contracts with your breathing.
It is your choice in relation to what words your mind uses as you notice a sense. There is no correct way to notice your senses – you are simply asked to notice without placing your individual beliefs, thoughts, feelings, opinions, judgments and/or other automatic reactions etc on the sense.
- Your words can be sounds.
- For wind I often say ‘whhhhshhhuu’ in my head instead of ‘wind’.
- You can state the color or another objective adjective instead of the object.
- Ex. you could say ‘green’ or you could say ‘leaf’ for the same stimulus.
- You may acknowledge without labeling – for feelings I visualize where I am having a sensation without adding an internal narrative
- Ex. I will visualize my hair instead of saying “wind rustling my hair.”
- You can be as specific or as un-specific as you choose.
- you may say ‘ten foot aspen tree with autumn colors’ or simply ‘tree’
- When judgments and unwanted thoughts pop up… allow them to be… do not resist them… they will pass.
Seeing – Let your eyes scan the environment and list 5 things that you notice without using judgments or other descriptors which are more influenced by your subjective perception (the way you individually and uniquely view the world ex. good is more subjective while ‘purple’ is more objective).
– Example: tree, blue, little bird, my dog, and path
– Remember to continue to breath and if a judgment or an unwanted thought comes into your mind – notice it without resistance… as the thought arrived without reason so will it leave without reason if you kindly allow it to be.
Tactile (feel) – Let you awareness turn to what you literally feel (ex. wet, dry, hot) as opposed to what you emotionally ‘feel’ (ex sad, glad, mad). Notice 5 things that your body is sensing.
– Example: wind on forehead, pulse in my foot, tightness of my belt, moisture in my hair, and dry air on the top of my mouth.
– Remember to continue to breath and if a judgment or an unwanted thought comes into your mind – notice it without resistance… as the thought arrived without reason so will it leave without reason if you kindly allow it to be.
Audible – turn your awareness to what you hear – sounds in your presence. List 5 things that you hear.
– Example: the wind rustling the tree, my dog breathing, the crickets hopping in the grass, the air leaving my lips, and the snow falling from the tree.
– Remember to continue to breath and if a judgment or an unwanted thought comes into your mind – notice it without resistance… as the thought arrived without reason so will it leave without reason if you kindly allow it to be.
You can do this with smell and taste… you will often have to set up the situation differently.- Example – eat something and notice its’ different tastes, the texture, the water content – etc.
- Example – open your refrigerator and close your eyes while smelling some of the food that you have.
You may now continue the exercise this time notice 4 things for each of the three senses…then notice 3 things each… then two…. then one… you are done.
You may use the same sense twice or more if you so desire (you are not required to come up with 45 different senses though you could)
You have just spent a little bit of time doing your breathing exercises –which have been studied to have significant positive impacts on your health (many studies say just 15 minutes a day has a statistically significant positive impact).
You just spent time focusing on the current moment and your current surroundings.
You just learned how to give yourself a moment to notice and to give full appreciation to your senses – sometimes your body knows how you are emotionally feeling before you are aware of those feelings.
You just gave your mind something to do so that you could stop ruminating, or thinking about the past and the future for a little while.
How do you feel? Perhaps it is hard to articulate what a mindful state feels like… is wellness present?
-
Mantras while you exercise – increase your awareness of your present surroundings
Quick summary – I have long been an avid runner (my dog appreciates this the most). The activity balances my neurology, keeps me in shape, gets me outside, and naturally helps anxiety and stress. Sometimes when I run (or exercise in general) I find it hard to let go of negative thinking – politics, work, a disagreement, things I should do etc. – I have found that if I add positive words to the rhythm of my breathing pattern I can become more aware of the present moment and my present setting. Every breath in (and every breath out) is one rhythmic syllable. Ex. – breath in, breath in, breath out (hu hu haaah) is three syllables – (you could say – I am kind… I hold love… now is nice etc).
The techniques that I am going to describe can be used in any activity or exercise (as we breathe in every activity and you can always find a rhythm to that breathing).
Mantras have lots of different uses and meanings in many different cultures. When looking up what I call a mantra – I found that I use the term somewhat loosely – though mantras have a spiritual effect on me I am not using mantras with a spiritual intention as is very common in certain settings; to some mantras are much like prayers.
I use mantras to help myself to enter a state of mindfulness (I will write a blog about this).
Mindfulness (in short) is when your attention is on the present moment so that you are almost hyper-aware of you setting, your body’s response to the setting, and the setting’s response to you… while also releasing yourself from judgment.
When someone is in a state of mindfulness they free themselves of their mind’s preoccupation with the past and the future.
I learned about mantras in my studies of mindfulness and specifically from the book “Walking Meditation” by Nguyen Anh-Huong and Thich Nhat Hanh – this is my favorite book concerning mindfulness or being in the present moment – it is very easy to read, it is experiential, it is poetic, it is short, and it is easier to understand than some more philosophically based texts that I have enjoyed. I very much enjoy the walking meditation that is described in this book and I have adapted it to running (though you cannot enjoy all the gifts from walking meditation if you are running).
The techniques are as simple as I described in the summary – every breath in is a syllable and every breath out is a syllable.
I use three types of mantras. All three types also serve the function of giving my mind something to do so that I can be present instead of ruminating about things. All the mantras I use follow my rhythmic breathing.
For all of my examples ‘hu’ signifies a breath in (one syllable) and ‘haah’ signifies one breath out (again, one syllable). hu hu haah = 3 syllables.
Positive psychology based mantra – the belief that positive thoughts create a positive disposition or a positive emotional state (many also believe that positive thinking creates a more positive reality all together.)- ex. – hu hu ha – “I have love” or hu hu haah haah – “I am hap-py”
Focus on my setting mantra – For this Mantra I will call out thing in my setting so that I focus more clearly on subtle details that I might have missed if I was in my head… I will focus on a dewdrop, my dog’s smile, the subtle green in the horizon etc.- ex. – hu hu haah – “smi-ling dog” or “rain dew-drop”. Hu hu hu haaaah – “I see green cloud”
Love and kindness mantra – For this mantra my intention is to offer positivity to my surroundings (people and things).- ex. – hu hu haah – “peace to you” or “I send love.” huuu haaah – “love you”
I generally connect my mantras. Here are some of my favorites –
hu hu haah… hu hu haah. (6 total syllables – 4 breaths in and 2 breaths out)
– I am love… I am now
– I see tree… love to tree
– for that man… kind and peace
hu hu haah haah… hu hu haah (7 total syllables – 4 breaths in and 3 breaths out)
– I have kind-ness… peace and joy
– to the fami-ly…hap-py-ness
– I see foot-prints… on the ground
I rarely listen to music anymore when I run as I find that the healing powers of exercise are enhanced when I do my mantras. I realize that this might seem different for some people but try it and notice its’ effect on – people around you, your attention to the beauty of the moment, and your emotional disposition.