It's easy to overthink it all, so it was helpful to be reminded today of why practising mindfulness and the self awareness it brings is so important to me. I noticed low mood when I woke up, and as I went about the morning some niggling worries and doubts were joined by small disappointments. The little things joined forces and before I knew it some big negative thoughts were centre stage. It didn't help that it was raining and by late morning I felt pretty down.
I didn't much feel like practising but have learnt that's all the more reason to do it. So I put on a guided practice and watched it all coming and going - the thoughts and feelings remained very much there but I practised viewing them as an observer, allowing them to be and not taking them too personally. Later the sun came out and I walked to school to pick up the boys, noticing that the thoughts I had allowed to be there, rather than trying to analyse or squash, had loosened their grip on me. "And some of the time you're gonna get low..." ~ Stornoway
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A pebble reminder from a lovely one-to-one children's mindfulness session recently.
Whatever is going on in our minds, whatever we are feeling, we can come back to the present using the breath as an anchor. Feeling the breath coming and going is best practised gently when children are feeling calm and relaxed, not when they are agitated, and only if they are receptive. Welcome whatever is noticed, whether that is the breath or something else in the moment. With practice, they may then make their own discoveries about when focusing on the breath could be helpful. There are breath practices tailored for children including five finger breathing and tummy breathing with a teddy (‘breathing buddies’). ‘For many philosophies the key to happiness is to know the truth about yourself, to understand who, or what, you really are. Most people wrongly identify themselves with their feelings, thoughts, likes and dislikes. When they feel anger, they think, “I am angry. This is my anger.” They never realise that they are not their feelings, and that the relentless pursuit of particular feelings traps them in misery… Our feelings are no more than fleeting vibrations, changing every moment like the ocean waves.’ (Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens)
We can visualise ourselves as a tree, rooted in the ground, experiencing different weather coming and going during our day. Instead of “I am angry”… “here is anger”, gently allowing the feeling to be here, before choosing how to respond (this takes practice!!!) Noticing what makes us happy, enjoying and savouring this happiness. But also noticing when we time travel away from the present moment, perhaps worrying about the happy feelings ending, or craving more. There are reminders everywhere that everything changes…
‘Despite the fact that impermanence is obvious to anyone who thinks about it for a moment, we have minds that seek permanence and stability.’ (Paul Gilbert, Mindful Compassion). This can be the source of much dissatisfaction because our minds chase and crave pleasant feelings, and want to hold on to them. ‘According to Buddhism, the root of suffering is neither the feeling of pain nor of sadness nor even of meaningless. Rather, the real root of suffering is this never-ending and pointless pursuit of ephemeral feelings, which cause us to be in a constant state of tension, restlessness and dissatisfaction… People are liberated from suffering not when they experience this or that fleeting pleasure, but rather when they understand the impermanent nature of all their feelings and stop craving them. This is the aim of Buddhist meditation practices…. Once you stop craving particular feelings, you can just accept them for what they are.’ (Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens) Formal mindfulness practice involves noticing constantly changing experiences, including thoughts, feelings, sensations, and our reactions to these. For the next week, I am going to try keeping the truth of ‘impermanence’ in the foreground of my mind as I go about my day, and seeing what I notice... Having spent time in bed with flu recently encountering huge resistance to being in the body, a focus on reconnecting with it this week has been timely. We practised leading mindful movement as part of our MBCT training - seeking to "create a space" for supporting mindful movement; reminding ourselves of yoga as enquiry rather than a series of postures.
And then an Oxford Insight Meditation retreat day led by Chris Cullen, with a theme of 'body, here, now' - the body as a portal, as a classroom. Knowing the body as it grounds us in the present moment, and also 'unknowing' the body, becoming aware of our perceptions of the body and understanding that these are simply perceptions. That a wide range of perceptions ("mirages") are possible, and may be helpful or less helpful at times. |
AuthorI'm Claire - and I (re)learn something every day from practising and teaching mindfulness... Archives
March 2022
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