Global warming, or global climate change, is caused in part by too much manufacturing. That is driven by consumer demand. We want so much. For most of us, though, looking at the volume of our purchases brings a sense of sadness and disgust….. we might hear our inner voice saying something like, “Did I really buy all that stuff?”
Our wants are truly insatiable. What to do? Enter mindfulness, which can help us awaken to the pleasures of nature, of the pleasures of what we already have. Rick Heller at “Seeing the Roses,” has made a series of free YouTube style videos that we can watch for free. They start with Rachel Carson and take us through a series of short, thoughtful talks on how we can tame our desires and help reduce global warming at the same time. You can find them here:http://www.seeingtheroses.org/
You can buy and download a complete set of guided meditations for Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, tracks by Donald Fleck, from CD Baby.
Note: clicking on the graphic below takes you to CD Baby, my distributor. At their site you can see the listing of tracks and album description, and decide if you want to buy certain tracks, or the whole CD.
Mindfulness for Better Moods, Saturday Jan 28 at 10:30 am
Learn about mindfulness and how it can help you feel more upbeat, content, and more in touch with life. This 2-hour workshop will give you a framework with which to understand how mindfulness can nurture good feelings and help with difficult moods. During the workshop there will be time to practice guided meditations as well as time to discuss the experience. Participants will learn how people can overcome obstacles to mindfulness and come away with a tool they can use to enhance their daily lives. Workshop is free, at the Grand Central Branch of the New York Public Library, 135 East 46 Street, between Lexington and 3rd Avenues. Register by clicking here.
NPR interviewed Mark Williams, a luminary on the use of mindfulness for better moods. Hear his full interview, or read the transcript. Just press the triangular ‘play’ button below.
And here are my thoughts on mindfulness in everyday life,
Difference between meditation and mindfulness
The first of these talks was very well received. Participants were able to ask all their questions, to learn about mindfulness, and to experience it. It was a good introduction. One very important thing learned: when we want to meditate mindfully but find thoughts keep on popping into the mind, even though we do not want them, even though we have said to our minds, “quiet now, I’m going to focus on my breath,” when thoughts just keep on coming back again and again….. that is not the problem it seems to be.
While you would think that thoughts are wrecking the mindfulness meditation, really they are not. What is important is the intention to be mindful. Some background on the difference between meditation and mindfulness. In meditation the intention is to practice concentration, meaning to learn to focus just on the breath. In meditation there is a wish for the thoughts to go away. With mindfulness, in contrast, the intention is to be aware of all experience as it is, so thoughts are not a problem. They are just interesting. We note them. And we return to the breath.
So you would think mindfulness mediation is easier, because you just think about noticing the breath, but whatever happens is ok. Well…. I wish it were that simple. The problem that many people encounter is their own judging mind, the mind that says, “you should not be having these thoughts right now,” or the mind that says, “you’re just no good, whatever you try doesn’t work.” These thoughts come up often for people around here. There are so many things that make it hard to maintain positive self-regard. So we also practiced a sort of self-acceptance meditation, sometimes called Sending Kind Thoughts, sometimes called Metta, or Loving Kindness meditation.
Come to the next talk even if you missed the first. No previous experience required. I just thought you might like to know a little bit about what we covered. If you want to read more on mindfulness, there are articles within this Blog.
The University of Vermont has a Mindfulness Center for students, run by Miv London, one of the people who trained me in MBCT. Miv does a great job of finding interesting thinking about mindfulness, such as a recent one documenting that sex and mindfulness are the same to your brain. If you want to stay in the loop of mindfulness news, especially news that would be of interest to younger folks, join the UVM Mindfulness Practice Center, and click to receive updates. And thanks, Miv.
Ellen Fader’s work is well known to me. She is a compassionate, solution-oriented psychotherapist with advanced training in family work at the Ackerman Institute. She also is a Certified EMDR consultant (supervisor) and consults at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In addition, she brings a mindfulness-based focus to her work. Ellen sees individuals, couples, and families. Her website is here.
