Making Space

Don't fill the Gaps:

"Gaps between activities allow our minds to reopen, expand and have original, often time-and-effort-saving big ideas. So don't walk with your head down, lost in thought. Don't just text and call folks when you're driving or waiting. Don't read the newspaper when you're in the bathroom. Allow a little space in your life. Doing nothing is the foundation for doing anything - and it's one thing we Americans are really, really bad at. So let go of one or two minutes of entertainment a day - and look out upon this life and world"

Waylon Lewis, Huffington Post

Help for Helpers

Training in mindfulness meditation can alleviate burnout experienced by many in the helping professions and improve their well-being, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report.

The training also can expand a physician's capacity to relate to patients and enhance patient-centered care, according to the researchers, led by Michael S. Krasner, M.D., associate professor of Clinical Medicine."From the patient's perspective, we hear all too often of dissatisfaction in the quality of presence from their physician. From the practitioner's perspective, the opportunity for deeper connection is all too often missed in the stressful, complex, and chaotic reality of medical practice," Krasner said.

"Enhancing the capacity of the physician to experience fully the clinical encounter—not only its pleasant but also its most unpleasant aspects—without judgment but with a sense of curiosity and adventure seems to have had a profound effect on the experience of stress and burnout. It also seems to enhance the physician's ability to connect with the patient as a unique human being and to center care around that uniqueness"

Seventy physicians from the Rochester, N.Y., area were involved in the study and training. The training involved eight intensive weekly sessions that were 2 ½ hours long, an all-day session and a maintenance phase of 10 monthly 2 ½-hour sessions.

Edward A. Stehlik, M.D., of the New York branch of the American College of Physicians and an internist who practices near Buffalo, said the training was "the most useful thing I've done since my medical training to help me in my practice of medicine."

"If you asked my patients, I think they would say I listen more carefully since the training and that they feel they can explain things to me more forthrightly and more easily," Stehlik said. "Even the brief moments with patients are more productive. Are there doctors who desperately need this training? Yes, absolutely."

ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2009)

Stress

The pace of life today can cause people to push their minds and bodies to the limit, often at the expense of physical and mental well-being. According to the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard University, 60 - 90% of all medical visits in the US are for stress-related disorders.

Letting go

And to die, which is the letting go
of the ground we stand on and cling to every day,
is like the swan, when he nervously lets himself down
into the water, which receives him gaily
and which flows joyfully under
and after him, wave after wave,
while the swan, unmoving and marvelously calm,
is pleased to be carried, each moment more fully grown,
more like a king, further and further on.

-Rilke

Non-Doing

"I always forget how important the empty days are, how important it may be sometimes not to expect to produce anything, even a few lines in a journal. A day when one has not pushed oneself to the limit seems a damaged damaging day, a sinful day. Not so! The most valuable thing one can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of a room."

- May Sarton
Journal of a Solitude

New Beginnings

A new MBSR Course starts this evening, and as always I am looking forward to meeting new people and to working with them on developing the day-to-day practice of mindfulness. Starting a new Course always stimulates me, because it brings me back to starting again, with fresh eyes, a collective ongoing work. I am exploring again, in an intensive way, a familiar terrain. It is not just the work of those who are starting the Course, it is my work also.

It renews my day to day life, because daily practice is an ongoing laboratory for examining my mind and my life. And they are always changing. So meditation is a starting over, a new beginning, every time I sit down. The introductory words said tonight can be freshly applied every day: No matter how many times your mind wanders, simply go back to noticing your breath, without making any judgments. In other words, Don't be too interested in how well you are doing. Be interested in how well you start over.

It is the same in our lives outside of formal practice. We make intentions to change, to have a new beginning. And often we fail. However, we base our confidence to change on a gentle attitude toward ourselves. When we get lost we simply say, "I will start over again", without judgment, thus avoiding the negative energy of blame and returning to the present moment. In this way we cultivate faith and confidence and move toward the future.

Distractions

There is a lot of research going on these days into the effects and benefits of meditation. Psychologists at John Moores University, Liverpool, tested meditators and non-meditators to see how effectively they could tune out distractions and complete a detailed task, as well as to see how well they could override their automatic thoughts and behaviours. They found that experienced meditators performed significantly better than those who had never meditated. Thus it seems that meditation promotes the flexibility needed to accomplish more and stay calm in stressful situations.

Better than Drugs?

The 2008 Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists at Imperial College, London was told that the evidence-base for the therapeutic value of meditation for a wide range of health problems was significantly stronger than most pharmaceutical products. A new meta-analysis of 823 randomly controlled trials of meditation, conducted by the US National Institute of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, showed the clinical benefits of meditation across a wide range of physical and emotional disorders.

"Meditation is a way of life rather than quick fix achieved by using gimmicks such as incense, music and light," Dr Avdesh Sharma, past president of the Indian Psychiatric Association, said. "It doesn't work immediately. You need to practice it for several weeks before the effects begin to be felt." Dr Sharma added: "If meditation was a drug, we'd all want shares in it. It has a beneficial effect on most physical health problems and is very effective for mental health problems significantly reducing levels of depression, anxiety and insomnia by improving relaxation, oxygenation of the brain, and energy levels."

Working on Happiness

"Until recently, psychologists believed that the degree to which a person can naturally experience happiness, referred to as a "set point", was innate and unchangeable. We now know that, like weight, it's more of a predetermined range of potential rather than a single fixed number. Genetics influence about half of a person's total happiness level and circumstances another 10 percent. But the other 40 percent is affected by "intentional activity", meaning anything we do consistently and on purpose, whether a positive habit, such as regularly meditating, or a negative one, such as drinking excessively every night"

Terri Trespicio, "Thank-You Therapy", Body & Soul Magazine, Spetember 2008

Drinking Coffee

One of the nicest explanations of mindfulness I find is in Thich Nhat Hahn's description of washing the dishes. I remembered it as I had a lovely cup of coffee this morning. We can never be at peace if our mind is racing ahead of us thinking about what we must do next or fretting over what has just happened. Mindfulness helps us see the beauty in each moment. Sometimes, the fact that the event is already beautiful helps, like the cup of coffee this morning. But at other times the mind prefers to label certain activities boring or unpleasant. I find that this explanation helps me to attend fully to whatever I am doing:

"While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance this might seem a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions.

If, however, while we are washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as they were a nuisance, then we are not 'washing the dishes to wash to wash the dishes.' What's more we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes....If we can't wash the dishes, chances are we won't be able to enjoy our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future —and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.

Mindfulness and the brain

A 2007 study by Norman Farb at the University of Toronto, along with six other scientists, called "Mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference" is extremely interesting in our understanding of mindfulness from a neuroscience perspective.

Farb writes that people have two distinct ways of interacting with the world, using two different sets of networks. One network for experiencing reality involves what is called the "default network", the parts of the brain that we see involved normally in planning, daydreaming and ruminating.

However he writes that there is a whole other way of experiencing reality, which scientists call one of direct experience. When the direct experience network is active, several different other brain regions become more active.

In other words, you can experience the world through your narrative circuitry, which will be useful for planning, goal setting, and strategizing, and you can also experience the world more directly, which enables more sensory information to be perceived.

Farb's study found that mindfulness meditation strengthens the capacity to experience the world through the second, direct experience network.

This is interesting bcause this second way - experiencing the world through the direct experience network - allows you to get closer to the reality of any event. You perceive more information about events occurring around you, as well as more accurate information about these events. Noticing more real-time information makes you more flexible in how you respond to the world. You also become less imprisoned by the past, your habits, expectations or assumptions, and more able to respond to events as they are actually unfolding.

Frosty morning

The grass is covered in frost this morning. The Summer plants and flowers have begun to wilt and die this past week. The leaves have begun to fall. We see a frosty morning and learn to accept things that we cannot control, like the weather. Viewing life in this manner is skilful, because we see the wisdom in the continual change around us.

However, it is not always easy to calmly observe the changes around us and within us and they can give rise to fear. Fear has dominated the ecomonic and work climate this past year and the challenge is to find a way not to be consumed and corrupted by it. Learning to work skilfully with fear is essental to finding freedom and happiness.

As we persevere in practice we can see more clearly all our fears, some of which we may not even have known were within us. This may make us feel that we are getting worse not better, and uncertain about our strength and direction.

What the frost and falling leaves tell us is that even though we can never be absolutely safe, some difficult things are just part of the cycle of growth. We try to sit with these fears in a mindful way and not try to deny or avoid what is true. We try to simply observe its immediate and obvious manifestation. We don’t immediatel analyze it, try to figure out what the layers are, or what lies at its root. Our job as mindfulness practitioners is to meet, directly and gently, what is in front of us. We also try not to exaggerate the negative and judgmental thoughts which can arise when we are afraid.

The fearful situation, like the frost, can soon pass. Seasons come and go.

"We cannot be in the present moment and run our story lines at the same time. Impermanence becomes vivid in the present moment; so do compassion and wonder and courage. And so does fear. In fact, anyone who stands on the edge of the unknown, fully in the present, without a reference point, experiences some fear. That's when our understanding goes deeper, when we find that the present moment can be completely unnerving and completely tender at the same time".

Pema Chodrun Comfortable with Uncertainty

Since a Retreat on Saturday I have been reflecting on directing loving kindness towards ourselves.

Loving-kindness is the intention of goodwill towards ourselves and others. The classic phrases that are taught for practicing loving-kindness can be stated as "May I be well. May I be safe. May I be happy. May I have a life of ease." I was reminded that when these phrases were written they were considered natural, and easier than wishing kindness toward others. Nowdays, however, people have great difficulty in regarding themselves with acceptance.

Sometimes what is needed is just taking time in one's meditation to quietly hold ourselves in our hearts and wish ourselves well. I remember the words of the Buddha: "You could search the whole world over and never find anyone as deserving of your love as yourself." He reminds us that love for oneself is possible; but more, his teachings describe this as a capacity we must nurture. It is the foundation for being able to truly love and care for others.

Othertimes, what is needed is the constant love of another person to provide the safe container, allowing us to look at our fears. When someone loves us, they supply the strength which we often lack to sit with what we do not like:

As Rumi said

"Don't turn your head.
Keep looking at the bandaged place.
That's where the light enters you"

Acceptance and expectations

Mindfulness practice encourages us to accept each moment as it, without wanting it to be different. It is a form of non-violence towards our life as it presents itself. This acceptance of life should also extend to an acceptance of ourselves, a gentle non-judging attitude towards our inner self and its growth.

I notice that often what hinders this is the expectations which we and others place on us. Expectations can come in many forms, the ones we put on ourselves, the ones others put on us, or a general sense of having to be a certain way or do certain things. They often can be hidden inside us and work against the type of kind gentleness which we are trying to adapt towards where we are in life and our efforts to do as well as we can in each moment. Real radical acceptance is freeing. It is the opposite to the fear which sometimes drives us.


As I read recently,"Opening to possibilities is empowering; falling into expectations is crippling. Recognize the difference and free yourself.

Working with change

That change is constant is one of the main things we realize early in practice. Just to sit for 30 minutes lets us see the constant movement in our internal life, the coming and going of thoughts or the changing emotional reaction to simply letting our life be, as it actually is. Fears and doubt easily arise, leading to a feeling of being separated from your Self.

Mindfulness practice tells us that the best way to work with change is to look inside, to be curious and increase our interior freedom in the face of our inner afflictions. This can help us to avoid holding onto situations or alternatives that are actually unhealthy. When we bring mindfulness to bear on our life’s situation we try to stay true to the underlying values that bring real freedom.

Being open to the reality of change and not holding on is healthy, for just as we are beginning to see around us these days in nature, parts of our lives have to fall away, lie fallow and die so that what needs to emerge can do so. Trusting this process means that we can come to see that what we thought once was vital and solid for our life is not necessarily so. Much of our sense of Self is based on the past – what we recently were and what we perceived to be important. Mindfulness practices helps us stay in the present, not defining our life by the past nor living in our fears about the future.

Mindfulness and attention, of interest in the workplace

There is a lot of research on the effect of meditation on the brain and the results have implications in different areas of life. The following research was of particular interest to educators and to those involved in employment requiring an attention to detail:

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that practicing even small doses of daily meditation may improve focus and performance. Meditation, according to Penn neuroscientists Amishi Jha and Michael Baime, director of Penn's Stress Management Program, is an active process that literally changes the way the brain works. Their study was the first to examine how meditation may modify the three subcomponents of attention, including the ability to prioritize and manage tasks and goals, the ability to voluntarily focus on specific information and the ability to stay alert to the environment.

Researchers found that even for those new to the practice, meditation enhanced performance and the ability to focus attention. Performance-based measures of cognitive function demonstrated improvements in a matter of weeks. The study, published in the journal Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, suggests a new, non-medical means for improving focus and cognitive ability among disparate populations and has implications for workplace performance and learning.

Mary Oliver poetry

Mary Oliver's poems reflect a deep sensitivity to themes in nature and to being present in each moment. They are often used as reflections in MBSR classes.

Julia sent me a nice link to an examination of some of the influences on Mary Oliver as a person and a poet in the New York Times.

The link can be found here:

/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/05/travel/20090705-mary-oliver-audio-ss/index.html

News of MBSR in French in Geneva

There is good news from Beatrice Weber who runs MBSR Courses in French in the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève. She is running two Courses in French, starting October 6th and 26th both of which are full. Her next available Course will be held in January 2010, starting on the 12th.

Beatrice can be contacted at 022 7184522.

October dawns

Called, Deireadh Fomhair in Gaelic, meaning the last harvesting of the fruits of what we have planted earlier in the year.

So some thoughts on the difference between success - so prized by society today and by corporate life - and fruitfulness, which is sometimes a process hidden from our eyes.

"There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another's wounds. Lets remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness"
Henri Nouwen