Richard Taylor |

Dec
05
2007

It may be that Western-trained clinical psychologists have for too long over emphasized the importance of changing or modifying unpleasant symptoms without recognizing the importance of acceptance.  One reseacher has noted that acceptance involves 'experiencing events fully and without defense, as they are'.  Escape and avoidance behaviour as a mechanism of control is often a strategy used by many people in coping with stress and anxiety.  Control agendas in these terms are mostly destructive and only serve to entrench anxiety-related problems.  The alternative is acceptance and willingness which refers to how open you are to experiencing your own experience when you experience it - without trying to manipulate it, avoid it, escape it, change it, and so on.  In the sessions that follow I am going to review the acceptance of pain, thoughts, feelings, urges, or other bodily, cognitive (thinking), and emotional phenomena, without trying to change, escape or avoid them. 
David Brazier in 'Zen Therapy' sums this up quite nicely. 'While we long for clear weather, the clouds are an obstacle to our happiness.  When we learn to appreciate the whole sky, the clouds are seen simply as its adornment'. 

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

Share: Permalink

Oct
18
2007

Mindfulness is a 'hot topic' at the present time and is a powerful therapeutic intervention for everything from work stress to depression.  On this web site go Mindfulness therapy online course and get regular updates to progress your understanding and practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness skills, both traditional techniques and many modern innovative ones enable you to fundamentally change your relationship with upsetting and painful thoughts and feelings.  You can learn these skills and then practice them everyday in order to achieve greater calmness in mind and body.  You will stop wasting your time and energy in a fruitless battle with your inner experiences and instead start taking action in accord with your own values (see Skill one: Values).  So far we have covered four skill areas for psychological health and the topic areas have been values, exercise, spot meditation, and mindfulness.  All these areas can be addressed easily and they can be incorporated into everyday living with minimal disruption to existing routines (however, you old life routines may also be changing as you develop these skills).  We have three skill areas to go - can you identify what these might be?

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

Share: Permalink

Oct
11
2007

Mindfulness is about being a nonjudgmental observer and simply seeing clearly, or seeing things as they really are in the present moment of time.  It is a calming process without the emotions, frustrations and feeling states that can cloud your perspective of the world.  In being aware of what you are experiencing you are not anticipating something in the future, nor are you reflecting back on past experience or events (usually upsetting and negative ones). 
In the exercises above you have been applying awareness to your breath, however, this can be expanded to all physical and mental processes in becoming mindful of thoughts and actions as they are occuring in the present.  The process of mindfulness is the development of your ability to pay attention to, and acknowledge, your experience in the present moment, to what is going on in your mind, your body, and your life without making judgments.  A good analogy is to imagine sitting by the bank of a stream while you observe your thoughts and images floating by on the water.  Be aware of sensations that arise from within your body (not though thinking about them in your head).  Be mindful of these sensations without having any particular purpose in doing so.  Tune into the sounds around you as sounds without interpreting them or thinking about them.  After this you might then return to paying attention to your natural breathing process.  By seeing things as they really are you will reduce distractions and begin to feel calmer.
To sum up, mindfulness is a method of paying attention to the present moment that originated in Eastern meditation practice.  It has been described as 'bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis' or as 'paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally'.  Many people are constantly engaged in a struggle with their life experiences and are swept away by their thoughts, feelings, urges and desires to move on, to consume more or whatever.  In this context mindfulness can assist both to reduce, and control, anxiety and worry.  The most important sensations you will ever have are the ones you are experiencing right now in the present moment.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

Share: Permalink

Oct
02
2007

In this session I am giving a slight variation of the exercise learned in the previous session.  Find the method and approach that best suits yourself.
Eric Harrison in his books (which I highly recommend) 'The Art of Awareness' and 'The 5-Minute Meditator' (www.perthmeditationcentre.com.au) recommends starting any meditation with sighing a few times to loosen up the breath.  I have long used a simple breathing control treatment for panic attacks.  It is helpful to control your in breaths.  When you breath in think 'one' to yourself, as you breath out, think the word 'relax'.  Think 'two' on your next breath in and so on...after 'ten' go back to 'one'.  This is the meditational component.  Breathe smoothly and easily, count 'one...relax' and so on.  When you first do this you may find that you are a little breathless or even dizzy and even begin to speed up your breathing.  If so stop for a period and calm down.  Take slow, smooth breaths, right down to your stomach.  If thoughts creep in, as they will all too rapidly, acknowledge the thought content as you would passing leaves on a stream and let them go while gently re-focusing on your breathing exercise.  In practicing this you are pulling back into the present from thoughts (most often negative) of the future/past.  You are becoming more aware of your own behaviour - you are becoming what can be called an Observer Self where you can more easily observe yourself engaging in the behaviours of thinking and sensing.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

Share: Permalink

Sep
26
2007

The term mindfulness comes from Eastern religious traditions like Zen Buddhism.  Training in mindfulness skills can have many benefits for people suffering from anxiety and depression. Mindfulness involves bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occuring in the present moment, and is often approached through different meditation exercises.  We will discuss mindfulness in more detail as we go however this week you are going to learn a simple, quick and easy breathing exercise.  Practice this exercise during the course of the day taking time out betweeen the things that you are doing:
1. Get comfortable lying or sitting, or you can do this exercise while walking slowly. If you are sitting keep your back straight and relax the shoulders, letting them drop.
2. Close your eyes and focus on breathing and pay attention to the feeling of breathing in and out.
3. Feel your belly rise and expand, and fall, as you breathe in and out respectively - 'Ride the waves of your own breathing'.
4. When your mind wanders simply notice what took away your attention and then gently bring your mind back to your breathing.  Do not get discouraged if your mind wanders.  David Brazier noted in his book 'Zen Therapy', 'Mindfulness of breathing is one of the simplest and most profound forms of meditation and everybody can benefit from it'. The breathing exercise can be accompanied by a simple meditation exercise by Zen Master Nhat Hanh which was noted by David Brazier 'Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment. Breathing out, I know it is a wonderful moment'.  Take longer out-breaths and comfortably rest at the bottom before breathing in again.  Make the exercise soft and flowing and let any intruding thoughts pass 'like waves in the sea' as you return your attention to breathing. 
In the next session we will discuss this exercise further.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

Share: Permalink

Sep
20
2007

Many of my clients report the following:
- Thoughts that revolve and repeat.
- Endless thoughts about the past or the future that crowd out everything else.
- Intrusive ideas of a disturbing or irrational nature (for example, obsessions).
- Depressed mood triggered by negative thoughts.
- Thoughts crowding out an ability to concentrate.
- Negative thoughts preventing any appreciation of the immediate environment.
-Thoughts triggering anger.
Starting on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 you can do an online course on mindfulness. Mindfulness can help significantly with these and other problems.  In the first session I will briefly discuss just what mindfulness is with reference to both Eastern religious traditions and psychology.  I will give you a quick and easy mindfulness exercise that is one of the best starting points for the cultivation of the mind.  It is one of the most profound forms of meditation and everyone can benefit from it.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

Share: Permalink