#306 Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual

     Armoring is most easily noticed physically - taking on a tough, aggressive posture when frightened and hoping to intimidate potential attackers. This involves assuming a tense, physically powerful stance, with tightening of muscles - a hard external "shell" protecting our vulnerable organs eg heart. Our thoughts & attitudes tend to go right along with the physical armoring. Our mind also becomes tough, inflexible, black-or-white, no nonsense when we think we're under threat, when afraid. Rigidity is multidimensional, involving all of our aspects, body, mind, emotions, spirit - however you define the latter. Ideally, we should intentionally practice to progressively IMPROVE our flexibility, counteracting the age-related tendency towards overall rigidity. 
     Yoga is one discipline for cultivating physical (& mental) flexibility, to prepare us to undertake sitting meditation, in order to cultivate overall flexibility - body, mind, emotions, spirit. It takes long dedicated practice to soften and release the hard armor we've built up over a lifetime of fearfully guarding our self image (ego). Ancient Chinese and East Indian healing systems emphasize the critical importance of loosening and letting go of such energy blockages in every dimension of our being.
     As we continue practicing mindfulness, we realize that there are fewer and fewer clean, sharp "lines in the sand" we're able to draw between various categories. We realize that we ourselves made up these divisions, to make reality more easily comprehensible, navigable. But reality is infinitely complex, everything intimately connected and dependent on everything else. Clear-cut categories are artifacts of maturing minds.

Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, NS    March 30, 2013

#305 What's your Fondest Realistic Wish? What's "as Good as it Gets"?

     Many fantasize about becoming famous, wealthy, enjoying good health, and living happily forever (magical thinking). Some work hard constantly to suppress innumerable fears and anxieties.

     What if reality were entirely, qualitatively different, than either of these two common, equally unrealistic pursuits? What if the highest quality of life is readily available, but only after we let go of obsessing over our own happiness?

     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=hypo

Jane Morton Norton (1908-1988)   http://www.listenwell.org

#304 Positive Psychology, Cynicism, Arrested Development, Mindfulness the Middle-Way

     In her book "Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America," Barbara Ehrenreich (YouTube video below) rightly criticizes simplistic cheerleader-style optimism and associated intolerance towards critical thinking. Unfortunately, in a more recent YouTube "Barbara Ehrenreich - Smile or Die" she also explicitly states "cancer left me more cynical and meaner". Cancer can be a "shipwreck" experience - see: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/07/361-beyond-stress-management-resilience.html
     This reaction is understandable, but it's the sign of an early stage of adult psychosocial development ("spiritual journey"). Remaining stuck (wallowing) here is an unnecessary, sad, self-imposed life-sentence. This is NOT "as good as it gets." With intelligence, curiosity, perseverance, and energy we can definitely transcend this existential / spiritual dry period ("dark night of the soul").
     Mindfulness practice is all about fearlessly exploring what's real, who am I, how do I relate to reality in a way that reduces suffering (including my own), how can we experience the most profound quality of life. Mindfulness is not about being negative nor positive, but about waking up to & engaging reality.
     More about Normal Adult Development: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=development 

#303 Heart Mind Body Energy Life-changing Experiment

     As with everything in Mindfulness, this is an experiment to try. If it feels beneficial and reduces suffering (yours & others' around you) then try to do it more & more consistently, until it's an inherent part of your life - a way of being.
     If, for whatever reason, you don't connect with this particular experiment, don't force it. Just be curious about what you perceive, and move on with aspects of Mindfulness you do connect with, and find experientially beneficial right now.

     The heart region is a major energy center (chakra - yoga / Ayurvedic medicine; meridian - traditional Chinese medicine). In these ancient healing systems, health is associated with the free flow of energy, while illness / disease is the result of blockage / stagnation of energy.
     Countless daily minimal threats, primarily to our ego, cause a chronic state of defensive contraction of / armouring around our heart region, as well as an ongoing (primitive) reactivity at least in our thoughts, but also our speech & other behavior. All of this reactivity, in itself, has a large negative impact on us & everyone around us, tightening & closing down our hearts, blocking & draining our vital energy.

     But this is just theory. To see if it's real for you - if there's experiential proof - see what happens when you keep your heart open for a week - challenge yourself! 
     No matter what, accept everything that happens for a week, and make the best of it. If you have a flood in your basement, "oh well, let's clean it up"; if immediately before a snow storm your snowblower decides not to start but instead leak gas, "oh well, let's clean it up"; and on and on challenges to keeping one's heart open continue.
     But we all know people, right now, with life-threatening illnesses. By always keeping the bigger picture in mind, it's easier to keep minor events in perspective. It's also useful to remember that we all have much greater challenges ahead of us, so learning how to deal intelligently, realistically, and effectively with relatively trivial day-to-day challenges is a very smart practice opportunity.
     The sooner we each discover for ourselves the benefits of keeping our heart open, in ALL situations, the better. Decide for yourself to try this - continuously for a week - right now. This experiment does NOT use up energy, it will SAVE / GIVE you ENERGY.

     These blogs may help inspire you to continue:
http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/03/301-open-heart-energized-closed-heart.html

http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/03/say-yes-to-everything-embrace-it-all.html

http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/03/clinging-aversion-vs-free-flow-of.html

http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/03/vow-to-keep-your-heart-open-no-matter.html

     Have fun with it!

Annual MBSR-style MINDFULNESS COURSE for Health-Care & Other Professionals in Halifax NS

MINDFULNESS
for Health-Care & Other Professionals: 

An 8-week Immersion in Self-care

Dr. John Lovas
Thursday Evenings, 5:30 – 8:00 pm early October – November each year

Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS, Canada

 

Course Synopsis
          Working in health care, other professions, and life in general, is very stressful at times. Yet to truly enjoy life, and best serve our patients, clients, coworkers, families and society, we ourselves need to be healthy. Effective, regular self-care is not only sensible, but also a professional responsibility. Mindfulness – a universal, but underdeveloped way of relating both realistically and kindly to ourselves and the world – is becoming a well-recognized foundation of self-care. 

          This continuing education course is designed for health-care & other professionals who spend an unhealthy portion of their life caring for everyone but themselves. The course provides a unique opportunity to learn about and experience a profoundly beneficial program of self-care practices. 

          Not simply a technique, mindfulness is a state of being “that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” (Kabat-Zinn) Mindfulness training “increases awareness of thoughts, emotions, and maladaptive ways of responding to stress, thereby helping participants learn to cope with stress in healthier, more effective ways.” (Bishop et al)

Course Objectives
          Participants will learn and practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, qi gong breathing, standing meditation, and partake (voluntary) in discussions about integrating mindfulness into our professional and private lives.
          Intended audience: Dental, medical, legal & other professionals. You and your entire office are invited to engage in a profoundly positive transformative learning experience. Attendance is limited to 20.
          Homework: Participants are encouraged to engage in up to 45 minutes of daily practice at home. We derive from this ‘practice’ precisely what we put into it.

John G.L. Lovas BSc, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C) 

          Dr. Lovas obtained science and dental degrees from the University of Toronto, and specialty training in oral pathology at the University of Western Ontario. He’s served as chief examiner in oral pathology for the Royal College of Dentists of Canada and as president of the Canadian Academy of Oral Pathology. Dr. Lovas was full-time faculty at the Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University, teaching oral pathology & oral medicine for 31 years, and served as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs until his retirement in 2014. He obtained teacher-training in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at UMass Medical Center, the Omega Institute in New York, and the Rochester Medical School. For over ten years Dr. Lovas has been leading Mindfulness workshops for dental, dental hygiene, medical, law and other students, practitioners and staff.

Course Schedule
5:30 – 6:00 pm Registration & Light Dinner
6:00 – 8:00 pm Thursday evenings. Please note that we will postpone any sessions that the majority cannot attend (eg for inclement weather).
Participants are expected to attend at least 7 of the 8 sessions. Positive group dynamics depend on consistent attendance and participation. 

For registration, please contact:

CDE Office          Phone: (902) 494-1674        Email: dentcde@dal.ca

See also:       http://jglovas.wix.com/awarenessnow#!courses/cfvg

CREDITS  16 hours of lecture

#301 Open Heart - Energized; Closed Heart - Disturbed / Lethargic

     “Although various energy centers exist within you, the one you intuitively know the most about opening and closing is your heart. Let’s say that you love somebody, and you feel very open in their presence. Because you trust them, your walls come down allowing you to feel lots of high energy. But if they do something you don’t like, the next time you see them you don’t feel so high. You don’t feel as much love. Instead, you feel a tightness in your chest. This happens because you closed your heart. The heart is an energy center, and it can open or close. The yogis call energy centers chakras. When you close your heart center, energy can’t flow in. When energy can’t flow in, there’s darkness. Depending upon how closed you are, you either feel tremendous disturbance or overwhelming lethargy. Often people fluctuate between these two states. If you then find out that your loved one didn’t do anything wrong, or if they apologize to your satisfaction, your heart opens again. With this opening you get filled with energy, and the love starts flowing again.”

       Singer MA. The untethered soul. The journey beyond self. New Harbinger Publications Inc, Oakland CA, 2007.

     See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/02/285-how-my-heart-feels-heavy-or-open.html

http://stevemccurry.com

 

#300 Suffering, Mindfulness, Self-regulation, Self-exploration, Self-liberation

     Interest in meditation is often "focused on its effects as a self-regulation strategy in addressing stress and pain management and enhancing relaxation and physical health. By operationalizing the content and components of meditation, and divorcing it from its (deeper) context, meditation could be viewed as a self-regulation strategy."
       Shapiro DH. A preliminary study of long-term meditators: Goals, effects, religious orientation, cognitions. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 1992; 24(1): 23-39.

     Yet, the actual aim of Mindfulness practice is "not to bring about particular desired states or experiences, but rather to accept experiences as they are without reacting to them or judging them negatively. It is therefore clear that the main aim of mindfulness programs for pain is not sensory pain reduction, but rather better control over the cognitive and emotional aspects of pain, and it is this that defines the usefulness of mindfulness within a pain self-management program." 
       Brown CA, Jones AK. Psychobiological correlates of improved mental health in patients with musculoskeletal pain after a mindfulness-based pain management program. Clin J Pain 2013; 29(3): 233-44.


      With continued practice, a gradual shift occurs even in the intention behind practicing - from self-regulation, to self-exploration, and finally self-liberation.
       Shapiro DH. A preliminary study of long-term meditators: Goals, effects, religious orientation, cognitions. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 1992; 24(1): 23-39.

Photo: Lanski   www.dpreview.com

 

#299 Challenges, Difficulties, Obstacles - Meditation - Opportunities, Gifts, Treasures

“Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth,

Tame the dragon and the gift is yours.”                Noela Evans

       Gardner-Nix, J.  “The mindfulness solution to pain. Step-by-step techniques for chronic pain management.” New Harbinger Publications Inc, Oakland CA, 2009.

     Remember how very difficult it was to sit still for 5 minutes, or to resist scratching our nose during our first few sittings? Then, a few weeks later, everyone in the group sits still for 30 minutes - comfortably! Sitting in stillness at first appeared to be an obstacle, but was in fact a teacher, a gift. Such shifts are very important signals that we are growing increasingly more comfortable and competent - being - resting in awareness, in the present moment.
     What today appears as an impossible challenge, may well be transformed through training into equanimity. Continuous mindfulness practice continues to unfold benefits which we literally cannot, with our current understanding, imagine.

http://stevemccurry.com/

#298 Readiness To Practice Mindfulness Meditation

     "Mindfulness" is now mainstream, but to actually benefit, one needs to have a regular mindfulness practice. The vast majority of people know about the benefits of aerobic exercise and healthy eating, yet obesity & cardiovascular disease remain epidemic. Mindless eating habits are a large part of the problem. Having conceptual awareness is rather simple, consciously changing one's lifestyle (behavior patterns) is at a whole different level.
     Our relationship with the momentum of our life is much like the relationship between a swimmer and the fast-flowing river that she's swimming in. It takes some mindfulness even to think of getting to the shore, then additional continuous effort to get there, and then more to climb out. But once the swimmer is out on the bank, she has a completely different perspective than while she was being swept away.
     A seasoned meditator once stated that meditation is not easy, but it's the easiest way he knows of to live well.

http://stevemccurry.com/

 

#297 Processing Obstacles to Meditation Practice, Cognitive Defusion, Attitudes, Moods

     After practicing sitting meditation for some time, one notices that the power of various apparent obstacles to this practice progressively, markedly diminish. Tickles, stiffness, muscle aches, mind chatter, obsessing over time, all gradually lose problematic intensity, and fade into the background, barely noticeable.
     Anything we perceive or think of, then focus on, and then quickly identify with, can become all-consuming, huge. This is exactly what we do by default, when we start to meditate, and this is precisely why most people stop meditating. Some people are simply not ready for cognitive defusion - letting go of identifying with transient attitudes & moods. To do so requires one to physically process (interoceptive exposure) ie sit still with & observe the temporary discomfort associated with not running from demons, nor chasing after magical solutions. Yes, it is very much like an addict undergoing detox.

     “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” William James

     "An attitude is an expression of favor or disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or event." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attitude_%28psychology%29

     "A mood is an emotional state. Moods differ from emotions in that they are less specific, less intense, and less likely to be triggered by a particular stimulus or event. Moods generally have either a positive or negative valence. In other words, people typically speak of being in a good mood or a bad mood." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_%28psychology%29 

http://stevemccurry.com/

#296 Wisdom, Meditation, Deep Insight, Mature Understanding, Deep Wellbeing

     Wisdom “is perhaps the most complex characteristic that can be attributed to individuals or to cultures.
     All authentic religions — including revealed traditions such as Christianity and Islam — contain contemplative or mystical branches. These are vitally important because they practice contemplative disciplines (eg meditation, contemplation, yoga) that foster an array of psychological and spiritual skills such as concentration, emotional maturity, and wisdom. When these skills mature, they can culminate in a direct insight into reality that yields a radically different (transrational, transconceptual, or transcendental) kind of wisdom known, for example, as jnana (Hinduism), prajna (Buddhism), ma’rifah (Islam), or gnosis.
     Wisdom is a function of deep insight into, and mature understanding of, the central existential issues of life, together with practical skill in responding to these issues in ways that enhance the deep wellbeing of all those who the responses affect."

       Walsh R. The varieties of wisdom: Contemplative, cross-cultural, and integral contributions. Research in Human Development 2011; 8(2): 109-127.

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/03/contributions-of-mindfulness-other.html

http://www.nicabm.com/powerofmindfulness/info/?ap_id=740023&del=affemail

#295 Metacognition, Cognitive Defusion, Executive Control

     We're all on autopilot most of the time, caught up in the momentum of the story of our lives, like swimmers in a fast-moving river. This momentum includes automatic reactive thought patterns and persistent moods, and provide the illusion of stability and control. Momentum seems strong, most of it causes suffering, and is entirely optional.

     "A clue as to how a standardized form of mindfulness meditation practice (ST-Mindfulness) affects mood and distress comes from findings that it leads to beneficial changes in cognitive processing in people with mood disorders, chronic functional disorders and chronic pain. Thus, ST-Mindfulness is reported to reduce self-reported rumination, which is the negative repetitive, self-related internal cognitions that predominate in major depression. In chronic pain and functional disorders, ST-Mindfulness is reported to reduce patients’ tendency to catastrophize and engage in repetitive negative cognitions such as, the pain is 'terrible and I feel it’s never going to get better'.
     Based on these self-reports of decreased rumination and related findings, numerous reviews have converged on metacognition - insight into one’s own thinking process, sometimes described as 'decentering' or 'reperceiving' - as a grand-mechanism underlying ST-Mindfulness efficacy. According to this view, metacognition is an emergent property of mindfulness practice in ST-Mindfulness that is derived from training in subsidiary mechanistic processes including attention and emotion regulation. Drawing on this emergent metacognitive capacity, ST-Mindfulness practitioners learn to monitor their moment-by-moment experience so that they can 'step back' from negative, distressing thoughts and feelings in order to view them as 'mental events' rather than as unmediated reflections of reality."

       Kerr CE et al. Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7: 1-15.

Photo: fathernature   www.dpreview.com

#294 All Imperfect, Carrying a Heavy Load, Self-Acceptance

     "Mindlessness is defined by rule-governed behavior, rigid thinking patterns and automatic emotional experiences. Mindfulness (the antithesis of mindlessness) involves observing and describing one’s internal experiences (emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations) without reacting to them."

       Fink S et al. Sexual body esteem and mindfulness in college women. Body Image 2009; 6(4): 326-9.


     "One common element of psychological disorders is the inability to effectively regulate emotions and self-evalua- tions in different contexts."
        Steger MF, Kashdan TB. The unbearable lightness of meaning: Well-being and unstable meaning in life. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2013; 8(2): 103-115.

     The longer and more continuously we practice mindfulness, the more aware we become of how deeply conditioned mindlessness is. There also seems to be a powerful, automatic, self-protective mechanism which only allows us to see ourselves very gradually. We are only able to peel away the onion layers at the rate we can handle successive reality checks - that we are but imperfect human beings. An elderly Zen master once famously said "Life is a series of embarrassments." We seem to accept imperfection in others, but need to formally practice self-acceptance.

     See Kristin Neff's excellent TedX: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/02/290-self-esteem-narcicism-self.html

Mr. Pickles in deep meditation, Jet in attendance - Photo: Mandy Wintink

#293 Presence, Therapy & Healing

     “Therapeutic presence is the state of having one’s whole self in the encounter with a client by being completely in the moment on a multiplicity of levels – physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually. Therapeutic presence involves being in contact with one’s integrated and healthy self, while being open and receptive to what is poignant in the moment and immersed in it, with a larger sense of spaciousness and expansion of awareness and perception. This grounded, immersed, and expanded awareness occurs with the intention of being with and for the client, in service of his or her healing process. The inner receptive state involves a complete openness to the client’s multidimensional internal world, including bodily and verbal expression, as well as openness to the therapist’s own bodily experience of the moment in order to access the knowledge, professional skill, and wisdom embodied within. Being fully present then allows for an attuned responsiveness that is based on a kinesthetic and emotional sensing of the other’s affect and experience as well as one’s own intuition and skill and the relationship between them." 

       Geller SM, Greenberg LS. Therapeutic presence. A mindful approach to effective therapy. APA, Washington, DC, 2012.

Photo: Sara Naomi Lewkowicz   http://saranaomiphoto.com/Los-Ni%C3%B1os-Felices-/13/

#292 Presence - Healing Ourselves & Others

     Presence has been defined as "an intersubjective and intrasubjective energy exchange with a person, place, object, thought, feeling, or belief that transforms sensory stimuli, imagination, memory, or intuition into a perceived meaningful experience" and also as: "a powerful interhuman connection experienced by all realms of the universe. It is being with the rhythms of the sounds and silences, the visions and blindness of the whole-in-motion.
     Whole-in-motion and being in rhythm reflects the embodiment of mind, body and spirit."
     An example where presence was experienced: "the nurse was conscious of her own thoughts feelings and actions ... mutually shared ... The patient sensed the nurse's compassion and felt understood."
     An example of lack of presence: the nurse competently attended "to a patient's IV therapy, yet failed to acknowledge the patient either verbally or with eye contact. In this interaction, there was no connection between the nurse and the patient in either the physical, emotional or spiritual realms of the patient's world. ... the nurse was not cognisant of her own nor the patient's humanness, and therefore there was an absence of presence."

       Welch D, Wellard S. The phenomenon of presence within contemporary nursing practice: a literature review. Aust J Holist Nurs 2005; 12(1): 4-10.

At the Halifax Seaport Market, February 23, 2013

#291 Colonialism, Creolization & Mindfulness

     "Colonialism is ‘the conquest and control of other people’s land and goods... the takeover of territory, appropriation of material resources, exploitation of labor and interference with political and cultural structures of another territory or nation.’" Loomba A. Colonialism/postcolonialism. ed 2, Routledge, NY, 2005. Quoted in Kral MJ et al. Unikkaartuit: meanings of well-being, unhappiness, health, and community change among Inuit in Nunavut, Canada. Am J Community Psychol 2011; 48(3-4): 426-38.

     The paper above deals the destructive impact of colonialism on the Inuit. But none of us is spared from the massive impact that multinational big business has on our local economy, culture, community, and ultimately our individual life. One of the many warning signs comes from this morning's headline in my small city of Halifax, NS: "Last year the Mainline Needle Exchange handed out close to 565,000 sterile needles to intravenous drug users. This year, the program has handed out about 660,000 needles, and the year isn't over yet. That's a 14 per cent jump in demand." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/03/01/ns-halifax-needle-exchange-mainline.html

     "I call creolization the meeting, interference, shock, harmonies and disharmonies between the cultures of the world . . . [it] has the following characteristics: the lightening speed of interaction among its elements; the awareness of awareness: thus provoked in us; the reevaluation of the various elements brought into contact (for creolization has no presupposed scale of values); unforeseeable results. Creolization is not a simple cross breeding that would produce easily anticipated results." Glissant E. Poetics of relation (B. Wing, Trans). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press 1997. quoted in Kirmayer LJ. Culture and psychotherapy in a creolizing world. Transcult Psychiatry 2006; 43(2): 163-8.

     As Einstein said, "We cannot solve the problems of today at the level of thinking at which they were first created." To not just scrape by, but actually thrive in our increasingly complex, potentially disorienting environment, we must intentionally, wisely, continuously upgrade our level of consciousness via mindfulness-enhancing practices.