Welcome to this week's Mindful Monday meditation practice guidance.
I'm Nick Hammond.
Yeah welcome and yeah and referencing this week The book.
I previously mentioned by Jon Kabat-Zinn,
Wherever you go,
There you are,
Which I was featured in a session.
By the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation.
Last week and it's the 30th.
30-year anniversary of that book.
Yeah and I think it's something if you're interested in this area like to learn perhaps a little bit more about this area it's a really interesting Place to turn.
And I'd like to talk a little bit about the book over the next 10 minutes or so and then guide Yeah,
A bit of practice or probably more just allow a bit of space.
For yeah whatever is said here whatever is received by you here as an opportunity just to sort of to consider that,
Contemplate.
Yeah,
What is discussed here?
If that's helpful.
And Yeah,
And this book is Just really want to pick up a couple of headlines,
A couple of themes really.
As simply as I can.
And hopefully that's helpful.
And I think the main one the first one really is exactly that it's about simplicity and Jon Kabat-Zinn this guy who kind of kicked off the secular mindfulness wave,
If you like.
Um when he created the MBSR course Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course in 1979 in Massachusetts and it's kind of rolled out in various guises around the world.
That's a big part of what I've done.
Learnt and what I've used.
But his approach is things in a very simple way.
And you know he talks about using grounding techniques whether it's the breath or some other a kind of process that is really just a really very simple doorway to the present moment.
As he says,
Breathe in and out and you are there.
Or you are here.
And being able to pay attention to the breath.
Allows us to really kind of step away from the distractions of the past and future or even the present really powerfully.
He talks about it as being a superpower.
This possibility,
This opportunity to Have awareness.
Step into awareness.
Um.
.
.
And then also the way that that can potentially change the next moment.
I think I've quoted in the past.
Um.
.
.
A quote by Viktor Frankl which talks about Paul as being an opportunity for us to revisit.
To reconsider how we respond,
If we can pause,
If we can.
Take a breath between and action.
An event and our reaction to that event.
And a breath is a great way to really kind of super power that kind of pause.
Connect the mind and body.
It's really easy.
Of difference in many ways than simply just stopping and leaving a few seconds.
It's much more powerful than that.
There's a lack of complication John talks about in this book.
Often people have a concern that it is a complicated process and that it's kind of beyond them.
And I for sure felt a lot like that before I found this kind of world and the fact that our minds wander all the time.
You know that's not great and therefore you know maybe because my mind doesn't wander all the time I'm not for this world.
And I was running a session yesterday and.
.
.
Reminded of the kind of phrase that if you know someone said to me a while ago that if If it is that case,
That's your mind.
And isn't wandering doesn't wander off then you don't need any of this and there's no need for you to be taking this path and in fact the great thing about a wandering mind is that it provides an opportunity for us to notice stuff.
And to try and become better.
Uh to in doing that and more adept potentially as coming back to the present moment and all of the opportunities and the nourishment and energy that that can provide.
And it can provide a greater capacity there are more options we have a sense of space and I think you know if you have tried this and you've got into a situation where you've kind of been able to pour satisfactorily.
I think it's a real sense of space in a sense of what of not being so pressed in,
Not being so compressed.
Not be so hurried,
Not be so pressured.
And that can feel rather lovely.
And so the yeah the opportunity is he talks a little bit about the way that um you know what we're doing here when we talk about practicing you know practicing is absolutely that it is trying to and develop our ability to do stuff but he also talks about the way that actually we are tuning ourselves you know rather like and musical instruments change,
You know,
If you go to a concert,
Whether it's,
You know.
What concert aura.
Classical concert or whatever it is people generally tend to make sure that their instruments are tuned you know to make sure that they are working satisfactorily that they will provide the right kind of sound and that's what we're doing here we're kind of tuning our minds tuning our bodies.
And through this process we can kind of create the sense of being at home.
He talks,
He really talks rather beautifully about the fact that,
You know,
For many of us,
Yeah,
Hopefully for most of us,
You know,
The opportunity to be at home is great and it allows us to be.
.
.
To feel comfortable and if perhaps it's not at home perhaps there is another space where you can think of where yeah if I go there yeah I feel I feel safe I feel Secure.
Mindfulness is an opportunity for us too.
Feel that way wherever we are or in more places.
Yeah,
Just being in our favorite place,
If you like.
So,
You know,
Be able to connect with ourselves,
Connect with the body to get that kind of refuge,
That kind of security can be so powerful.
Yeah fine,
He says.
He asked the question he says how badly do we do you want to live your life before you die how badly do you want to live your life before you die and I thought it was interesting because I think you know we often talk about experiences and you know travel and tourism for sure there's a big part of what we do isn't it going to new places and having new experiences and broadening the mind and having fun.
And that's great,
And you know.
.
.
I'm not i don't have any concern with that but i don't what i'm trying to say here i think is that there is a difference between experiences and experience.
So,
You know,
We can experience,
Have experiences that then involve interaction with other things.
And that's,
And that can be fantastic.
And we should not stop doing that.
However,
I guess what I'm talking about here is experience.
How we are connected to our experience,
How.
Nick is connected to being Nick and Jane.
Karen Steve Michael what is your experience of yourself?
And the richness and depth that can come from having that kind of connection,
Having that kind of realization.
And And very simply,
That can come from sitting and breathing.
Not being distracted,
Gaining an energy and a real sense of connectedness through staying in the present moment.
And then,
You know,
Going out into the world.
Carry some of that with us.
So I hope that made some sense.
I just,
Yeah.
Perhaps taking the opportunity just to take a few moments,
Take a breath.
Um.
.
.
Yeah,
And perhaps we're in different places,
We're doing this at different times,
But we're still kind of together,
I think,
Connected through this amazing technology.
And this amazing opportunity right to accept the this moment as gift.
At the present.
As a present,
The present moment is a gift.
Yeah,
So perhaps closing your eyes if that feels comfortable.
Or lowering the gaze,
Softening the gaze,
Whatever feels.
Best for you.
Taking a couple of deeper breaths.
However or wherever that feels.
Yeah,
Most suitable most.
Supportive.
And seeing how those words,
Those thoughts,
Those reflections have landed if they see if it's possible perhaps just to have a sense of how the What kind of feelings?
Sensations bodily kind of reactions are.
Created by those words rather than trying to approach them.
Reflect.
Cognitively.
Intellectually.
And how's it feel?
How does it feel to be here now,
To be you now?
And if your mind,
When your mind wanders off,
Seeing if it's possible to notice that.
Come back kindly,
Gently to being here.
Being you,
Here now.
Bringing this short reflection reflective practice to a close in your own time Yeah.
Maybe help smooth fingers and toes,
Maybe a bit of stretching.
Yes,
I hope that was helpful,
And of course.
.
.
I'd really love to hear any thoughts or comments.
Already,
Yeah.
Considerations.
Contemplations that may come up as a result of this and look forward to and see you soon.
Bye for now.
